🧡Quick Look: Over 20 things to do during Thanksgiving break in Greenville, SC, with your family, including special events, holiday markets, light displays, our recommendations, and more!
Are you looking for things to do during Thanksgiving in Greenville, SC? Local mom Kristina Hernandez shares her list of things to do Thanksgiving Greenville SC as a family over Thanksgiving break, including volunteer opportunities, events, and even local hiking spots.
Whether you are on your own or have family visiting for Thanksgiving, this is the list you need for a great holiday weekend.
That week of Thanksgiving is often very busy for families as they get ready for the big day, doing the necessary shopping, and trying to stay sane. Then they have the added pressure/task of finding entertaining things to do with the kids and extended family and friends who may be visiting. We usually have family as well that come here to Greenville for the holidays so it’s necessary to find things to do that appeal to everyone.
Luckily, there is no shortage of things to do during the break! Make sure to call ahead to places to make sure they are open. Places like the Greenville Zoo are closed on Thanksgiving Day.
Celebrate Thanksgiving in Greenville! Find things to do, restaurants, pies, and more in our Greenville Thanksgiving Guide.
Fun ways to spend your Thanksgiving break
Volunteer In The Community
I feel like volunteering during Thanksgiving is a good way to physically show children how to be compassionate, caring, and grateful. There are many people in our area who have no one to celebrate the holidays with or who need a little extra help to get that Thanksgiving meal on the table. I want to be the one to make that happen.
We volunteer through our church on Thanksgiving morning to deliver meals to area residents but there are other opportunities as well:
- Harvest Hope Food Bank regularly accepts donations to provide holiday meals
more info about donating to Harvest Of Hope.
- Greer Soup Kitchen 521 E. Poinsett Street, Greer
Take volunteers all week. Call 864-968-0323 to volunteer and for specific times.
- Check out this list for more Volunteer Opportunities Near Greenville, SC
Go see Disney on Ice
This is easily one of my favorite things to do over Thanksgiving Break. Disney on Ice always comes to Greenville, and my daughters and I have the best date night. Disney on Ice runs November 26, 28-30, 2025 at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Get tickets at the box office to save on all the fees.
Go Hiking
November is a beautiful time to get outside and hike around the area. It’s good for the kids to get out energy and fun to show visitors our beautiful state.
On November 28, 2025 (Black Friday), admission and historic tours to ALL South Carolina State Parks is free. Some of the most popular parks are located right here in the Upstate: Paris Mountain, Devils Fork, Table Rock, and Jones Gap.
Here are just a sample of trails in the Upstate and Western North Carolina to explore, just be sure to check them out so they are appropriate for members of your family who are going hiking: Hiking Guide for Families, Big Kids, & Little Kids
Run a Turkey Day Race
This is a brilliant idea – run a race in the morning of Thanksgiving and eat whatever you want at Thanksgiving dinner. You can choose to run the TreesUpstate Turkey Day 5K in Greenville or the Electric City 5K in Anderson. Both races start on Thanksgiving morning.
Runners can also take to the streets of downtown Spartanburg for the Annual United Community Bank Turkey Day 8K.
Most of these races benefit local charities. Runners and walkers also earn cool swag like race t-shirts, finisher medals, and giveaways. In most cases, strollers are welcome.
Enjoy The Children’s Museum of the Upstate
If you have extended family with kids staying at your place, send them over to The Children’s Museum of the Upstate, a gem in the city with hours’ worth of fun and entertainment for children. They typically have Thanksgiving-themed crafts that week. They are closed on Mondays and on Thanksgiving Day.
Enjoy Night of Lights at Heritage Park
Head to Night of Lights in Simpsonville, the only walk-through light display in the Upstate! They are open daily – even Thanksgiving Day and Christmas – and have lots of daily specials. You can even ride a camel.
Try an Escape Room
Escape Artist Greenville offers a Christmas-themed escape room called “Yuletide Magic.” And it’s for the whole family, which is unusual since most escape rooms are for adults and older kids/teens.
Trapped in the Upstate offers a year-round Christmas-themed escape room called “Saving Santa” at their Greer location. Guests are part of the Elf SEAL team, hired to find Santa before Christmas is ruined. This experience is great for all ages.
Go to a Zoo
The Greenville Zoo is perfect for a trip with family if you want to stay local. And the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia is awesome for a day-long trip.
Do a Jocassee Lake Tour
Jocassee Lake Tours and Eclectic Sun have cooler-weather lake tours in November. Seeing the lake by boat with one of their guides is always such a treat.
Go get your Christmas Tree
Some families get their Christmas tree and start decorating it right after Thanksgiving. It’s a fun thing for kids to do as well to search for the tree and decorate it together. Here are several Christmas tree farms and lots in the area that open before or at Thanksgiving, where you can find your perfect tree.
Go Ice Skating
The ice rink in downtown Greenville is open not only the week of Thanksgiving but also from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm on Thanksgiving Day. This is a fun way to enjoy family time and also a great way to bring visitors to downtown Greenville and show them the sights! Tickets are $10 weekdays, $12 Fri–Sun with hours Mon–Thu 2–9 pm, Fri 2–10 pm, Sat–Sun 11 am–10 pm. Tickets for specific dates & time slots are available for advance purchase online. Walk-up tickets will only be available when space allows. Everything you need to know about Greenville’s Ice On Main.
Kick off the Christmas Season at Christmas on the Farm
Christmas at the Farm is more than just a Christmas tree lot. It is an experience for the whole family full of fun holiday activities, all centered around picking a Christmas tree. Trees are imported from the mountains of North Carolina and are brought to Arran Farm, for a two-weekend-only Christmas tree festival. They will have a hot chocolate bar, food trucks, crafts, trivia, yard games, a bonfire with s’mores, a photo booth, and much more. Additionally, your favorite local vendors will be selling their amazing festive products, perfect for gift-giving and stocking stuffers. Tickets are $20/adults and $10/children.
- November 28 – November 30, 2025: 10 am – 3 pm
- December 6 & 7, 2025: 10 am – 3 pm
Play Inside
It can be chilly that week of Thanksgiving, and there are a ton of things to do indoors: trampoline parks, bounce houses, libraries, museums, arcades, paint-your-own-pottery, roller skating, and ice skating rinks. While many are closed on Thanksgiving Day, they are open the other days of the week (just be sure to call in advance before bundling everyone up and heading out to one of them).
Hop on a Train
The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in Bryson City, NC is running both their super popular Polar Express train and the Winter Nantahala Gorge Excursion all during the week of Thanksgiving (except Thanksgiving Day). This is a great trip to create wonderful memories for your family. See other Christmas trains you can board for holiday fun.
Enjoy the A Festival of Trees
The free Festival of Trees in downtown Greenville at the Courtyard Marriott Downtown and the Hyatt Regency kick off on Friday, November 21st, 2025. You can stroll through the hotels and check out all the different decorated Christmas trees.
Support Small Businesses
Check out the local Holiday Markets and shop local artisans, crafters, food vendors, and more. You can also skip the crowds on Black Friday and head out on Saturday to one of these local businesses that offer unique gifts for your family.
Explore the Greenville Christmas Market
Located at the Grand Bohemian in downtown, this Christmas Market has a HUGE real tree you can literally smell across the Liberty Bridge. Plus, lots of local vendors, and Santa will be there to take pictures (bring your camera) over Thanksgiving weekend and Black Friday.
Check out the Upcounty History Museum
If you have in-laws coming to town, this could be a way to let them explore Greenville’s history at UHM. They also have two Christmas exhibits upstairs for 2025, one featuring beautiful quilts that tell the story of The Night Before Christmas, and another featuring some of Tim Burton’s original concept art and displays from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Shop a Flea Market
Feel like wandering through eBay or Craigslist in real life? Check out the Barnyard Flea Market in Greer, only open on the weekends. It has everything you could possibly need in one place and is just plain fun to walk through. In Anderson, the Jockey Lot, open on Saturdays & Sundays, is a huge flea market as well.
Go Through a Safari
The Lake Hartwell Safari is open Thanksgiving week. $12/adult, $7/kids
Shop the Adidas Store
Shop the employee Adidas store in Greenville from November 24 – January 2 and receive huge discounts. No pass needed.
Enjoy Christmas Lights
The Upstate Holiday Light Show, the Christmas House in Inman, the Anderson Christmas Lights, and several others are all operating Thanksgiving weekend. Check out our list of Places to See Christmas Lights in the Upstate to schedule your trip. Some of these are free while others require an admission fee.
Spend the weekend driving to see all of the best-decorated homes in the Upstate with 2025 Kidding Around Christmas Driving Routes. They will be officially published for 2025 right after Thanksgiving.
Our Driving Routes of Upstate, SC Christmas Light Displays is a great way to finish off the week!
Check Out The Things on The Kidding Around Event Calendar
November
No Events
For more fun things to do the week of Thanksgiving, and every day, head to the Kidding Around Event Calendar!
More Things to Do: Visit Columbia, SC!
Our sister site has a list of things to do over Thanksgiving break in Columbia, SC. Get a change of scenery and check out what Columbia has to offer this Thanksgiving! They have some new events this year like Fireflies Holiday Lights that you won’t want to miss!
Even More! Head to Charlotte, NC
Check out some really fun things to do over Thanksgiving Break in Charlotte, NC. We highly recommend ice skating at the Whitewater Center!
We always want to have a family hiking trip with the kids. It’s gonna be fun and a great experience for them. Thanks for other suggestions.
You’re welcome. Where does your family like to hike?