November Bucket List – 52 Great Ways to Enjoy This Month
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November abounds with opportunities to practice gratitude, gather with loved ones, embrace coziness, enjoy good food, and more.
Here’s a November bucket list to offer you and your loved ones fun ways to connect and make memories this month. Enjoy!
November Bucket List – Thanksgiving Ideas
- Make Thanksgiving placemats.
- Have your child make some Thanksgiving art to hang on your front door or in your window – see #3 for some ideas.
- Draw Thanksgiving pictures together. For school-aged kids, a “Happy Thanksgiving” message, turkey, or cornucopia would all be fun options. If you have a preschooler, here’s how to draw a simple turkey using shapes.
- Make a turkey suncatcher or hang some Thanksgiving-themed window clings (make them if you’re feeling up for a project, buy them if not so much).
- Read Thanksgiving picture books.
- Share Thanksgiving jokes. For fun throughout the month, you could print out one joke for each day leading up to Thanksgiving and make it a morning/dinnertime ritual.
- Print out some Thanksgiving activity sheets for your kiddos.
- Host a Friendsgiving celebration.
- When you come across a Thanksgiving recipe that’s a keeper, print it out and add it to a holiday recipe binder.
- Place three beans next to each plate at the Thanksgiving table. Go around the table and have each person drop their beans into a jar as they name three things they’re thankful for.
- Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.
- Sign the whole family up for a turkey trot 5k.

November Bucket List – Special Day Ideas
- Learn about and celebrate Dia de los Muertos on November 1st.
- Take your kids with you to the polls when you vote on November 7th.
- Thrill your kids with a drive-thru dinner on November 9th, National Fast Food Day.
- Enjoy store-bought or homemade vanilla cupcakes on November 10th, National Vanilla Cupcake Day.
- Learn about Veterans Day and light a candle in honor of veterans on November 11th.
- Carry out some good deeds on November 13th, World Kindness Day.
- Have fun with tongue twisters on November 14th, International Tongue Twister Day.
- Eat baklava for dessert on November 17th, National Baklava Day.
- Go directly to jail and do not pass go on November 19th, National Play Monopoly Day.
- Give your kiddo a “Yes Day” to celebrate National Child’s Day, November 20th.
- Get a jumpstart on Christmas baking on November 21st, National Gingerbread Cookie Day.
- Interview a family member — make sure to record the conversation! — using tried-and-true questions from Storycorps on November 25th, National Day of Listening.
- Snag some deals on November 25th, Black Friday, and November 26th, Small Business Saturday.
- Whip up some French toast on November 28th, National French Toast Day.
- Learn about a cause and give money to a charitable organization on November 29th, Giving Tuesday.

November Bucket List – Anytime Ideas
- Put up a bird feeder to nourish our feathered friends in the cold months to come. Get a bird identification guide and track what birds come to your feeder. Making your own simple birdfeeders is a fun project on a chilly day.
- Have a bonfire.
- Go on a November scavenger hunt.
- Read The Little Book of Hygge by Meik Wiking and bring some hygge into your home.
- Watch a football game as a family (if, like me, you’re not a big football fan, bring in some bingo cards to make it more fun!).
- Host a pie party – have each guest bring a pie. You provide the whipped cream, ice cream, and drinks.
- Celebrate Native American Heritage Month with some great picture books.
- Read picture books about voting and elections.
- Make a fall simmer pot to fill your house with a blissful seasonal aroma.
- Feature a quote about gratitude or fall on a letter board.
- Make fall-scented playdough.
- Read the picture book In November by Cynthia Rylant.
- De-clutter your living spaces to get ready for more indoor time.
- Light candles in warm seasonal scents.
- Add a small lamp or decorative lighting to create a cozy, inviting glow.
- Make a gratitude tree or, for a simpler alternative, a gratitude wall. If you host Thanksgiving, invite your guests to add to it during the day.
- Send gratitude postcards. Using blank postcards with drawings made by your kiddo adds a special touch.
- Read gratitude-themed picture books.
- Make caramel apples or an apple pie.
- Drink apple cider.
- Enjoy some pumpkin pie (or pumpkin muffins, pumpkin bread, or pumpkin pancakes).
- Make a big batch of soup. Share with a friend or freeze in individual portions to enjoy in the coming weeks/months.
November Bucket List – After Thanksgiving Ideas
- Take down all the fall decor and get out those Christmas bins!
- Put up your Christmas tree.
- Sit down as a family to make your December bucket list.
Happy November, everyone!
