Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and this year’s forecast calls for beautiful weather! With the recent lockdowns and travel restrictions lifted, we’re expecting a big Thanksgiving this year—with many seeing family members they haven’t seen in a while, and many more having their first communal gathering in quite some time.
No matter what your Thanksgiving get-together will look like, this year will be a great year for outdoor activities in Fresno! We’ve put together a list of some outdoor activities for kids and family this Thanksgiving.
Have a Pumpkin Hunt
Everyone loves Easter egg hunts, and this is a Fall take on the classic searching game. There are a lot of fun ways to put together a pumpkin hunt, but the basic premise is this: pumpkins are hidden around the area, and participants search for them. Whoever finds the most pumpkins is the winner.
There are a ton of extra optional ways you can customize your game too. You can use mini pumpkins, or even just paper bags with pumpkins drawn on them, filled with candy. You can count each pumpkin found as a voucher for receiving candy or other treats at the end of the game, and you can even paint the pumpkins first, and hold a contest at the end for the best-painted pumpkin. However you choose to do it, pumpkin hunts are a fun time for the whole family, including the little ones.
Fresno Turkey Trot
Fresno’s annual Turkey Trot is a great way to spend some family bonding time, get some fresh air, exercise, and do something with your local community. Held in Woodward park and benefitting the Fresno Food Bank, the Turkey Trot takes place early in the morning, so you can take the whole family, get some air for a great cause, and still make it back in time for Thanksgiving dinner! Parking is at the Mt. View parking area, and participants are encouraged to arrive by 7 AM.
Play Cornhole
Playing cornhole is a great way to enjoy the outdoors and have some laid-back fun, throwing bean bags around the lawn. With a mild learning curve, the game is fairly simple and not physically demanding, so even first-time players are sure to have a blast. Cornhole can be played by even young children and elderly family members.
Take A Hike
Even if the Turkey Trot isn’t your scene, or if that just wasn’t enough walking for one day, there are a ton of great areas to take a short hike around Fresno on Thanksgiving! Some of our favorite trails to hit are the Fresno Clovis trails that intersect Old Town Clovis—perfect for a morning family outing, River West Access, and Lost Lake Park.
Getting some fresh air, and taking in all nature has to offer is a great way to preface Thanksgiving dinner, and even work up an appetite for all the wonderful foods you’ll be enjoying with the family.
Have A Turkey Bowl
An ages-old tradition of Thanksgiving celebrations, playing a friendly game of tag or tough football is a great way to start a new family tradition or hold on to an old one! Having an annual Turkey Bowl is a great way to bridge generational gaps, work up a hearty appetite and have fun enjoying the outdoors while everyone excitedly awaits Thanksgiving Dinner.
Play Turkey Tag
While having a Turkey Bowl is a great way to spend time with family and enjoy the outdoors, some of the little ones might not be big enough yet, or maybe some members of the family simply aren’t interested in football. Whatever the case may be, they’ll probably enjoy Turkey Tag as well!
The game is simple. Turkey tags can be made out of wooden clothespins and craft feathers, or even construction paper. Then, during the celebration, players are encouraged to stealthily stick tags on as many people without being noticed. If you’re tagged, your goal is to remove the tag and stick it on someone else without their noticing.
Turkey Tag can also be made into a chase-style tag game, wherein players are all clipped with a certain amount of tags—two or three—and can chase one another around removing tags. Whoever collects the most tags wins!
Whatever you choose to do…
Thanksgiving is an exciting time of year and a time to spend with family, friends, and loved ones—and perhaps most importantly, eat good food together. This year, the weather is going to be great, and there are few better ways to enjoy it than together with the family while reflecting on the things we’re most grateful for in our lives—like each other and canned cranberry sauce. Enjoy the outdoors and the company of your loved ones this year with these fun outdoor Thanksgiving activities for kids and family!
I love where I live, and I also love what I do. I'm lucky to be able to work in a profession in which I get to build relationships; one that has me meeting new people each and every day and helping them to build new lives in my beloved city. I'm lucky enough to work in a profession in which I can marry cutting-edge technologies and marketing techniques to good, old-fashioned, nose-to-the-grindstone work. I am lucky enough to work in a profession that allows me to work as an advocate for my clients; to use every tool at my disposal to get a job done well for them, and with as little stress and expense as possible.
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Fresno? I say FresYES
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