About Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a harvest festival for giving thanks, celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday of November and in Canada on the second Monday of October. Families gather for a big shared meal, often with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and pumpkin or pecan pie.
Many of the holiday's words come from autumn and the harvest: squash, acorns, pumpkins and the cornucopia, a horn overflowing with food. The list below explains every word in the puzzles, so the word search doubles as a short vocabulary lesson.
Did you know?
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier to lengthen the holiday shopping season. Some states refused to follow, and in 1941 Congress fixed the date as the fourth Thursday of November.
Canada's Parliament set Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October in 1957.
"Cornucopia" comes from Latin words meaning "horn of plenty".
Pumpkins are a kind of squash, and botanists count them as fruit because they grow from flowers and carry seeds.
Male turkeys are called toms and females are called hens. The famous gobble comes mostly from the toms.
Words in this puzzle 31
Thanksgiving list 20 words
- acorn
- The nut of an oak tree, sitting in a little cup-shaped cap.
- autumn
- The season between summer and winter, when leaves change colour and fall. Called fall in North America.
- cornucopia
- A horn-shaped basket overflowing with fruit and vegetables, a symbol of plenty.
- cranberry
- A small, sour red berry grown in boggy fields, made into sauce and juice.
- family
- A group of people related to each other, like parents, children and grandparents.
- feast
- A large, special meal shared by many people.
- gratitude
- The feeling of being thankful.
- gravy
- A warm sauce made from meat juices, poured over turkey and potatoes.
- harvest
- Gathering crops when they are ripe, and the crops that are gathered.
- leftovers
- Food left after a meal, saved to eat later.
- parade
- A procession of marching bands, floats and performers along a street.
- pecan
- A sweet nut from a tree native to North America, used in pecan pie.
- pilgrim
- Someone who makes a journey for religious reasons. The Pilgrims were English settlers who sailed to Plymouth in North America in 1620.
- potatoes
- Starchy vegetables that grow underground, often mashed or roasted for the holiday meal.
- pumpkin
- A large, round orange squash with a thick rind, used for pies and carving.
- squash
- A family of vegetables with hard skins, including pumpkins and butternut squash.
- stuffing
- A savoury mix of bread, herbs and vegetables, baked inside the turkey or in a dish. Also called dressing.
- thankful
- Feeling grateful for something or someone.
- turkey
- A large bird, roasted whole as the centrepiece of many Thanksgiving dinners.
- wishbone
- A forked bone from a bird's chest. Two people pull it, and the one with the bigger piece makes a wish.
Little helpers list 11 words
- apple
- A crisp, round fruit picked in autumn, baked into pies and pressed into cider.
- corn
- A tall grain plant with ears of yellow kernels. Also called maize.
- fall
- The North American word for autumn.
- hay
- Grass that has been cut and dried to feed farm animals.
- leaf
- A flat, usually green part of a plant. In autumn many leaves turn red, orange and gold.
- nuts
- Hard-shelled seeds or fruits, like pecans, walnuts and acorns.
- oven
- A kitchen appliance that bakes and roasts food with heat.
- pie
- A baked dish with a pastry crust and a sweet or savoury filling.
- plate
- A flat dish that food is served on.
- thanks
- Words or feelings that show you are grateful.
- yams
- Starchy root vegetables. In the US the word is often used for orange sweet potatoes.
A quiet table activity for a busy day
Thanksgiving Day has a lot of waiting in it: waiting for guests, waiting for the turkey, waiting for pie. A word search keeps the kids' table happy and gives classrooms a calm activity before the holiday break. This page builds a fresh puzzle from an original 20-word list (cornucopia, gratitude, wishbone, cranberry and more) every time you press the button.
Choose a sample to start. Little helpers uses 12 short words in a 10×10 grid, running only across and down. Harvest table adds diagonals, and Feast challenge hides all 20 words in every direction, including backwards.
Ideas for November
- Print a different puzzle for each seat so cousins can race without copying.
- Add family names or favourite dishes to the list for a personalised placemat.
- Use it with a gratitude activity: every word found, share one thing you're thankful for.
- Pair it with Thanksgiving bingo for a full kids'-table activity pack.
Printing
The puzzle has an editable title and a name line, and the answer key prints separately with every word outlined. Choose Letter or A4 above the preview. Need something ready right now? The Medium and Hard PDFs below are one click away.
Questions people ask
Is there an easy Thanksgiving word search for young kids?
Yes. Pick the Little helpers sample: 12 short words in a 10×10 grid, with words running only across and down.
Does it come with an answer key?
Yes. The answer key prints on its own page with every word outlined, and the ready-made PDFs include one too.
Can I add our family's names or dishes?
Yes. Edit the list in the options. Every word is placed, or the generator tells you which ones didn't fit so you can enlarge the grid.
Can every child get a different puzzle?
Yes. Press New puzzle between prints; each copy has the same words in a different layout.
What is in the Medium and Hard PDFs?
Medium is an 18×18 grid with words across, down and diagonally. Hard is 20×20 with words in all eight directions, including backwards. Both list all 20 words and end with an answer key.