Let’s Make a Thanksgiving Morning Basket

How to make a Thanksgiving morning basket – perfect for your preschool Thanksgiving unit. 

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We love a themed morning basket around here and I find that holidays and seasons make it so much more fun and simple to put one together. 

In general, most of us have a good amount of holiday books, and themed activities are easy to come by (especially at Dollar, Tree, Michael’s, and Hobby Lobby!).

If you’ve ever wanted to try making a morning basket, but were unsure how to do it, this Thanksgiving-themed one really is the perfect place to start!

If you’re just joining the morning basket group chat, here are some posts to help get you started

• How to Make a Toddler Morning Basket
• Themed Morning Baskets for Preschoolers
• What to Include (Supply List)
• Screen-Free Morning Routine

Preschool Morning Basket

While we’re not making traditional Charlotte Mason morning baskets, we are creating a calming morning routine that you and your child will look forward to, whether you’re homeschooling or just home with your preschool-aged child. 

While my basket ideas do include some components of the more traditional morning baskets, overall, this is just a practical, screen-free way to start the morning, establish a routine (with independent play), while incorporating learning as well! 

Morning baskets are really great starting at around age 3.

You could of course make a toddler morning basket that’s more play-based, but if you’re looking to include skill-building and learning activities, you’ll find around age 3-3.5 it starts to click! 

Morning Basket Printables

Just in time for Thanksgiving, our newest printable activities are available for download!

This bundle includes:

• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas

More Morning Routine Inspiration: 

• My Stay at Home Mom Morning Routine
• 3 Year Old Morning Routine Makeover
• Make-Ahead Breakfasts for Easy Weekday Mornings
• Toddler Morning Activities (Screen-Free)

Thanksgiving Morning Basket Ideas

If you’re looking for what to include in a morning basket, and if you’re wondering how to store all of your activity supplies, here’s how I do it: How to Organize & Store Activity Supplies

This is just to give you some ideas of what you can include!

I encourage you to “shop” around your house and raid your holiday bins for any supplies you can use!

And if you need an excuse for a daily outing, head to Michael’s with a coupon! 

They typically have a small Thanksgiving craft section with stickers, coloring pages, and other supplies that would be perfect to add to your morning basket. 

Here’s what I used to make this Thanksgiving Morning Basket:

What You’ll Need:

1. A basket
2. Thanksgiving books
3. ABC printable template
4. Lowercase ABC letter pieces
5. Coloring pages & markers
6. Paint by Sticker book
7. Audio player (optional but recommended!) 

My best tip for getting started: don’t overthink it!

• Put the basket together the night before, or in the morning before your child is awake (if you’re awake before them)
• Set the basket on their toddler table, the kitchen table, couch ottoman, or wherever they like to sit
• Let them play, explore, “read” (flip through the books), work on the activities, etc.
• You can join in and read to them, get them started or provide prompts to help, depending on their age
• If you find they get engaged in the basket on their own, disappear nearby with your coffee!
• Some kids need help the first few times you try a morning basket, after that, they get used to the routine! 

Helpful Morning Basket Tips:

• Pick up the basket and put it out of sight until the next day: I find that otherwise things get strewn around and it becomes less interesting
• New routines take time: some kids will sit and be engaged, some will want to move around and do something else and that’s totally fine
• The goal is not a “sit still and be quiet” routine: the goal is structure, establishing independent play routines, and allowing you a minute to get things together in the morning
• It’s okay if they don’t play for a long time at first: any amount of independent playtime at first is great, this skill will grow over time

Our Morning Basket Start-Up Guide will walk you through all of this and more when it comes to your morning routine and creating morning baskets. 

What to Read Next:

• How to Make a Thanksgiving Sensory Bin
• Free Printable Thanksgiving Activities & Crafts
• Fall Preschool Activities at Home
• Themed Morning Baskets for Preschoolers

Follow Marla on Instagram for more practical ideas for everyday #momlife