Object Lesson - Turkey Feathers of Thanksgiving

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Object Lesson
- Turkey
Feathers of
Thanksgiving
www.CreativeHolidayIdeas.com

Thanksgiving Day was first
celebrated in the American
Plymouth colony in 1621, when
Governor William Bradford
proclaimed a day of thanksgiving
and prayer. Before that, a Native
American named Squanto taught
the pilgrims how to plant corn
and how to survive in the new
land. When the harvest came, it
was celebrated by all the colonists
and neighboring Native
Americans who had helped them.
Gradually it became a common
annual custom to celebrate
thanksgiving after the harvest.

While turkeys were known to the
colonists and Indians, we don't
have any proof they were served at
the first thanksgiving. But they
were added later as part of the
celebration that continues until
today. Long before that, the
Isrealites has a similar feast day to
Thank God for what he had done
for them. It was called the Feast of
Tabernacles and can be found in
Leviticus 23:33-44; Numbers 29:12-
39; Deuteronomy 16:13. The games
in this lesson use feathers, not only
because they are associated with
Thanksgiving, but also because
there are places in the Bible where
God is compared to a protective
bird who covers us with his wings.

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What You Need
Lots of feathers – Most of these
games work best with feathers that
are light and fluffy and not the
heavy quill-like feathers. You can
buy them at any craft store or pluck
them from a cheap feather boa.

Games using Feathers
Falling Turkey Feathers – The youth
on one or more teams must all hold
hands in a circle. Throw a feather up
into the air inside each circle and
then each team must keep the
feather from touching the ground
only by blowing it upward. They are
not allowed to release their hands to
keep the feather up. Have a
competition to see which group can
keep the feather in the air the
longest, or which group in the matter
of three minutes drops the feather
the least, etc.

Feather Blow Floor Race – Tape two
lines on the floor at opposite ends of
the room as goal lines. Teams blow the
feather along the floor to the opposite
goal and back. First team to complete
the relay wins. Team members should
cheer their teams on with the loudest
gobble-gobble sounds as possible.
Fluffy Turkey Feathers Matre d: Youth
must carry feathers on a plate or
plastic spoon to a target and back. The
players must pick up any feathers that
drop. First team to have every
member complete the relay wins. You
can also designate a body part the
feather must rest on such as the back
of a hand, on the shoulder, on an
elbow, etc.

Feathers – Play the regular game of
Spoons, but substitute feathers for
the spoons. In the middle of the
table, place one less feather than
the number of players you have.
Shuffle a standard 52-card deck and
deal 4 cards to each person. Have
everyone take one of their cards and
discard it to their left
simultaneously. The person to the
right of the dealer, however, should
put one of their cards down on the
table to start the discard pile, while
the dealer picks up a new card.
Repeat this process of everyone
passing to the left.

Each round the dealer should pick
up a new card and the person to
their right should add to the discard
pile, so as to have a continuous
influx of new cards. The first person
to have 4 of a kind (e.g. all 4 aces or
all 4 nines) has to pick up a feather.
Following this, all other players need
to do the same, with the slowest
person left without a feather and
out of the game.

Highest Feather Blow – Award a prize
for the person who can blow a feather
up to the greatest height.
Pin the feather on the Turkey - In this
thanksgiving version of the classic kids
game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey,
blindfolded kids try to pin the Tail
Feather on the Turkey.
Turkey Feather Circle Relay – Youth
form a circle. The first person blows a
feather to the next person who
catches it in his or her cupped hands.
Each person blows the feather to the
next person. First team to have the
feather travel around the circle wins. If
the feather is dropped on the floor the
team must start over.

Turkey Feather Darts – Attach a
small weight to the tip of some
feathers. These can then be tossed
like a dart at cups or targets. You can
play with harder to hit targets which
are worth more points or have a
bullseye like in darts where the
closest toss wins.
Turkey Feather Float – Give a light
fluffy feather to each youth. On
“GO” each youth starts blowing to
keep their feather in the air. The
youth that keeps their feather in the
air the longest is the winner.

Turkey Feather Juggling – In this
minute to Win It Game, keep your
head up, eyes open, and a steady
stream of air coming through your
mouth as you attempt to keep two
feathers in the air for a full sixty
seconds while staying within set
boundaries. Prior to the game
create a circle in the middle of the
floor that will be the playing area.
Make the boundaries large enough
to allow some moving room but
small enough to keep things
challenging.

Turkey Feather Relay – Designate a
start line and a finish line. At the start
signal, the first person on each team
tosses the turkey tail feather into the
air and tries to blow it up into the air
and across the finish line. Anytime a
turkey tail feather touches the floor,
the person must make loud gobble
gobble sounds and take three large
steps backward toward the start line.
They can then toss the turkey tail
feather up again and start moving
forward. When a player makes it back
to the team the next person starts and
the person who just completed the
dash, goes to the back of the line and
sits down. Team members should
cheer their teams on with the loudest
gobble-gobble sounds as possible.

Turkey Feather Soccer – Play a
game where the youth must blow a
feather into a cup, bucket or small
box that is lying on its side. It is not
as easy as it seems. This can also be
a great minute to win it game.
Turkey Feather Table Tennis –
Youth split into two teams across
from each other on opposite ends
of a table. The objective is to blow
the feather off the opponent’s end
for a point.

Turkey Feather Toss Race – First
youth in each team is given a
feather. On ‘GO’, he or she throws
the feather towards the finish line.
From where it lands, it is thrown
again, repeating until it lands past
the finish line. The participant can
then pick up the feather and run it
back to the next person on the
team. First team to complete the
relay wins.

Turkey Feather Volleyball – Tie a
string across the room as a net.
Each team tries to blow a feather
over the string rather than hitting
a ball. Rules are similar to
volleyball, but they have to blow
the feather. The feather can be
blown as many times as necessary
to get it over the net. You can also
play with four teams and the room
divided into quarters. Add more
than one feather for more fun!

Feathers and Gobblers – All the
players sit in a circle. The leader
stands on a chair and releases a
light fluffy feather. As it flies
through the air, everyone must
make the gobbling sounds of a
turkey. The moment it lands they
must become completely quiet.
Anyone who makes a noise after it
lands is out. The objective is to be
wild and crazy so that others can’t
help but laugh and make noise.

Turkey Feathers in the Wind – The
youth kneel around the four sides of
a sheet or blanket and then grab the
edge. They must then pull the sheet
taut and hold it just beneath their
chins. Place a light fluffy feather on
the middle of the sheet. Each side of
the sheet is one team. The youth try
to blow the feather away from their
side. If a feather touches someone,
get’s blown off the edge, or gets
blown over the head of someone
then that side gets a penalty point.
The lowest points wins. You can also
play this like musical chairs and the
person the feather is closest to when
the music stops is out.

Turkey Tail-feathers – With a glue gun or
piece of adhesive tape, attach feathers
to both legs of each clothespin. Give
every person two clothespins (Turkey
Feathers) as they enter. When everyone
has their turkey feathers, tell them
you’re giving them two minutes to get
rid of their feathers. The only way for
participants to get rid of the feathers is
onto pin them to someone else. Award a
prize to the person with the least
number of feathers. The person with the
MOST feathers is the official TURKEY!
Icebreaker idea: After playing the game,
each person must state one Fun Fact
about themselves for each feather they
are wearing. If they have no feathers
they only have to say ONE thing about
themselves.

TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL
MAKE IT SPIRITUAL
The first Thanksgiving was a
time to remember and thank
God for what he had done. What
do you think people do the
most: complain or give thanks?

MAKE IT PRACTICAL
• What are some of the things we
should be thankful to God for?
• Looking at some of the scripture
verses, what does the Bible teach
us about Giving thanks? (Share
some of the scriptures included
in the lesson plan)
• What are some ways we can say,
“Thank you” to God?
• How many of us have said THANK
YOU to someone today? . . .in the
past day? . . . in the past week? . .
. the past month? Why should we
be thankful to other people?

MAKE IT PERSONAL
• What do you do the most:
complain or give thanks?
• What are some things that
you are thankful for?
• Name 5 things that God
has done for you that make
you thankful?
• What are some things you
can do to show your
thankfulness to God this
week?

CLOSING ACTIVITY
In advance, make a large
turkey body with no tail
feathers. Give each youth a
piece of paper cut in the shape
of a turkey feather. Ask the
youth to write at least 5 things
they are thankful to God for on
the tail-feather and attach it to
the turkey.

SCRIPTURES
1 Chronicles 16:34 – “Give thanks
to the Lord, for he is good; his love
endures forever.”
1 Thessalonians 5:18 – “give thanks
in all circumstances; for this is
God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Timothy 4:4 – “For everything
God created is good, and nothing is
to be rejected if it is received with
thanksgiving,”

Colossians 3:17 – “And whatever you
do, whether in word or deed, do it all
in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through
him.”
Ephesians 5:20 – “always giving
thanks to God the Father for
everything, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ.”
Matthew 23:37 – “Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets
and stone those sent to you, how
often I have longed to gather your
children together, as a hen gathers
her chicks under her wings, and you
were not willing.”

Philippians 4:6 – “Do not be anxious
about anything, but in every
situation, by prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving, present your
requests to God.”
Psalm 100:4-5 – “Enter his gates with
thanksgiving and his courts with
praise; give thanks to him and praise
his name. For the LORD is good and
his love endures forever; his
faithfulness continues through all
generations.”
Psalm 105:1 – “O give thanks unto
the LORD; call upon his name: make
known His deeds among the people.”

Psalm 107:8 – “Let them give
thanks to the LORD for his
unfailing love and his wonderful
deeds for men.”
Psalm 118:1 – “Give thanks to the
LORD, for he is good; his love
endures forever.”
Psalm 118:21 – “I will give you
thanks, for you answered me; you
have become my salvation.”
Psalm 136:1 – “Give thanks to the
LORD, for he is good; his love
endures forever.”

Psalm 17:8 – “Keep me as the
apple of your eye; hide me in
the shadow of your wings”
Psalm 28:7 – “The LORD is my
strength and my shield; my
heart trusts in him, and I am
helped. My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in
song.”
Psalm 36:7 – “How priceless is
your unfailing love, O God!
People take refuge in the
shadow of your wings.”

Psalm 91:4 – “He will cover you
with his feathers, and under his
wings you will find refuge; his
faithfulness will be your shield and
rampart.”
Psalm 95:2 – “Let us come before
him with thanksgiving and extol
him with music and song.”
Ruth 2:12 – “May the Lord repay
you for what you have done. May
you be richly rewarded by the
Lord, the God of Israel, under
whose wings you have come to
take refuge.”

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Object Lesson - Turkey Feathers of Thanksgiving

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