Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving games to play with a group of all ages, from oven time to sunset: press Pick 3 new games.

Thanksgiving Games

Which Dish Am I? A Note on the Forehead1. Write a different dish on a sticky note for each player. 2. Stick one on each forehead without the wearer seeing it. 3. Players walk around asking each other questions that can be answered yes or no: "Am I served hot?" "Am I orange?" 4. A player who names their own dish sits down. The last one standing helps clear the table. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: sticky notes and a pen.
Two-Sofa Thanksgiving Charades1. Split the room by where people are sitting: one sofa against the other. 2. An actor from the first sofa acts out a Thanksgiving thing with no words: basting, a nap after dinner, carrying too many plates. 3. Their own sofa has one minute to guess. 4. Swap sofas after each turn. Play until everyone who wants to has acted. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: a list of things to act.
Stoop Ball Fly Catch1. The thrower stands six steps from the porch steps, and the fielders spread out behind on the lawn. 2. The thrower bounces a rubber ball off the edge of a step, so that it flies back over their own head. 3. A fielder who catches it before it lands becomes the thrower. 4. If it lands, the thrower scores one for each bounce before a fielder stops it. First to ten. Keep clear of windows. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a rubber ball and a set of steps.

How it works

These Thanksgiving games are for a house that holds ages 4 to 80 at once. They follow the day, from the hours while the turkey cooks to the yard before dark, and none is an eating race.

Read the full guide

Games for Thanksgiving Day with the family, hour by hour

The All games menu follows the day: While the turkey cooks, At the table, Funny Thanksgiving games, For a big gathering, Kids' table and cousins and In the yard before dark. A Thanksgiving party with thirty guests starts at the fourth.

Indoors, outdoors, seated

More filters, the last entry of that menu, sorts by head count, minutes, Works indoors or Works outdoors, and energy. Choose Seated when the room is full of people who have just eaten.

Tips

Put a child in charge of one game: The Cousins' Evening News runs without an adult.

Questions and answers

What are fun games to play at Thanksgiving with all ages?

Ones where a small child and a grandparent have the same chance: Guess the Minute the Bird Comes Out, Predict the Order of Arrivals and Rolls Under the Napkin all reward a lucky guess or a sharp eye over speed.

What are good games to play during Thanksgiving dinner?

Games that leave hands free for forks. Thanks From A to Z, a Letter a Seat and Every Sentence Names a Dish are spoken, and Bingo of Things That Happen at Dinner runs quietly beside the meal.

Which family games to play after Thanksgiving dinner get people off the sofa?

Two-Sofa Thanksgiving Charades needs nobody to stand for long. If there is daylight, Longest Shadow Before Sunset and Ten Catches, Every Pair of Hands take the family outside without any running.

Are there Thanksgiving games with no food in them?

Nearly all. Nothing here is an eating race or a blind tasting. The few games that use the meal only ask players to name a dish, count the rolls or vote for a favorite.

All 51 games

While the turkey cooks 9

Find Your Seat by Your Portrait 1. Put every name in a hat, and let each person draw one in secret. 2. On a folded card, draw a portrait of the person whose name you drew. No letters allowed. 3. An adult sets the finished cards around the table. 4. Guests find their seat by their portrait. At dessert, everyone guesses who drew them. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: folded cards, pencils and a hat.
Guess the Minute the Bird Comes Out 1. As guests arrive, each writes a name and a time of day on a slip: the minute they think the turkey will leave the oven. 2. The slips go in a bowl by the kitchen door. 3. The cook calls out the real time as the oven door opens. 4. The closest slip wins first choice of seat. Children may guess too, and an adult writes for the youngest. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: slips of paper, a pen and a bowl.
Job Slips From the Gravy Boat 1. Write every small job before dinner on a slip: fold napkins, fill the water glasses, carry the rolls, light the candles with an adult. 2. Fold the slips into a clean gravy boat. 3. Everyone from age four up draws one. Trades are allowed if both sides agree. 4. A job done before the cook counts to sixty earns a cheer from the kitchen. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: slips of paper and a gravy boat or a bowl.

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While the turkey cooks, continued

Kitchen Door Smell Test, Eyes Closed 1. Children line up at the kitchen door with their eyes closed. 2. The cook lifts one lid at a time, well away from the line. 3. Each child has one guess at the dish by its smell alone. Nobody tastes anything. 4. A right guess earns a point. The winner announces the menu to the living room. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
One Fold, Taught Down the Line 1. One person who knows a napkin fold teaches it to the person on their left: a fan, a pocket for the fork, a simple triangle. 2. That person teaches the next, with the teacher's hands behind their back. 3. The fold travels all the way around the helpers. 4. Compare the last napkin with the first. Then the table is set with whatever came out. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 10 min. Props: a cloth or paper napkin each.
Predict the Order of Arrivals 1. Before the guests arrive, list everyone who is expected. 2. Each player at home writes the order in which they think people will come through the door. 3. Tick the names off as the bell rings. 4. One point for every guest in the right position. The winner greets the last arrival with the full score. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: paper and a pen each.
Reporter at the Stove 1. Each child chooses one grown-up and three questions, such as "What did this day look like when you were my age?" 2. The child interviews them wherever they are working, and writes or draws the answers. 3. At the table, each reporter gives a news report of two sentences. 4. The grown-up may correct one fact. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 15 min. Props: paper and a pencil each.
Ten Questions for the Hidden Kitchen Tool 1. The cook hides one kitchen tool in an apron pocket: a whisk, a baster, a garlic press. 2. Players take turns asking questions that can be answered yes or no. 3. The cook answers while stirring. 4. Ten questions, then guesses. The player who names the tool hides the next one. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: an apron with a pocket and a few kitchen tools.
Today's Menu, Drawn Not Named 1. Write each dish on today's menu on a slip. 2. One artist draws a slip and sketches the dish on a pad, with no letters and no talking. 3. The room calls out guesses. The first right guess keeps the slip. 4. Pass the pen to the left. The game ends when the whole menu has been drawn. Players: 3 to 15. Time: 12 min. Props: a pad, a marker and menu slips.

At the table 9

A Kind Word With the Bread Basket 1. The bread basket starts at one end of the table. 2. Before passing it, the holder says one true, kind thing about the person they hand it to. 3. That person takes a roll, says thank you and does the same for the next. 4. The basket ends back where it began. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: the bread basket.
Bingo of Things That Happen at Dinner 1. Give each person a bingo card of things that happen at this meal: someone asks for seconds, a spoon is dropped, a story from long ago is told. 2. Mark a square when it happens. 3. The first full row says "bingo" at a normal talking volume. 4. Keep playing through dessert for a second winner. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 30 min. Props: a bingo card and a pencil each.
Every Sentence Names a Dish 1. The host begins a story: "The day the gravy went missing, Grandma called a meeting." 2. Going around the table, each person adds one sentence. 3. Every sentence must mention a dish that is on the table today. 4. No dish may be used twice until all have been used. The youngest gives the story its ending. Players: 3 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Fork Up, Fork Down 1. One person reads a would you rather question with two choices, such as mashed potatoes at every meal or pie at every meal. 2. On three, everyone holds a clean fork up for the first choice or down for the second. 3. The smaller side gets one sentence to explain itself. 4. The reader changes with every question. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a list of would you rather questions.
One Serving Dish Disappears 1. Everyone takes a long look at the table. 2. All eyes close, or the children turn around in their chairs. 3. The host quietly lifts one serving dish away and hides it on the counter. 4. Eyes open. The first to name the missing dish chooses who hides the next one. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Rolls Under the Napkin 1. Before the meal, the host counts the rolls into a basket and covers it with a napkin. 2. The basket goes around the table, and each person may lift it once to feel its weight. 3. Everyone says a number. 4. Lift the napkin and count together. The closest guess passes the basket first. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 4 min. Props: the basket of rolls and a napkin.
The Salt Shaker Travels With the Story 1. One person holds the salt shaker and another reads a left-right story aloud. 2. At every "left" the shaker moves one seat to the left, and at every "right" one seat to the right. 3. The reader speeds up toward the end. 4. Whoever holds the shaker at the last word gets the first slice of pie. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 5 min. Props: a salt shaker and a left-right story.
Secret Vote for the Dish of the Day 1. After the main course, everyone gets a scrap of paper. 2. Each person writes the one dish they would most like to eat again tomorrow. 3. A child collects the ballots in a hat and reads them aloud while an adult keeps a tally. 4. Whoever cooked the winning dish takes a bow. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: scraps of paper, pens and a hat.
Thanks From A to Z, a Letter a Seat 1. The first person names something they are thankful for that begins with A. 2. The next takes B, and so on around the table. 3. A neighbor may whisper one hint to anyone who is stuck. 4. Try to reach Z before the plates are cleared. Small children may use any letter they like. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: none.

Funny Thanksgiving games 8

Best Turkey Call, the Children Judge 1. Every grown-up who is willing stands up in turn. 2. Each gives their best turkey call, with wing flaps if they like. 3. The children confer in a huddle. 4. They award three titles of their own invention, such as loudest, most real and most surprising. Players: 4 to 30. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Cushion Waddle to the Sofa 1. Each player holds a small cushion between their knees. 2. On go, players waddle from the hallway to the sofa without dropping it and without using their hands. 3. A dropped cushion goes back between the knees where it fell. 4. Run it as a relay with two teams. Walking only, and clear the floor first. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 6 min. Props: a small cushion for each team.
Elbow-Pen Turkey 1. Each artist tucks a marker into the crook of one elbow. 2. In one minute, draw a turkey on a sheet taped to the table. Hands stay behind your back. 3. Sign it the same way. 4. Hang the turkeys on the refrigerator, and let the children choose a winner. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 5 min. Props: paper, tape and a marker each.
Foil Hat Fashion Show 1. Give each pair one sheet of kitchen foil as long as an arm. 2. In four minutes, one partner shapes a hat on the other's head. 3. Models walk the length of the room while a child announces each hat. 4. The room votes by applause. The foil goes to the recycling afterward. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: a sheet of kitchen foil for each pair.
Gobble Like It Means Something 1. Write styles on slips: as an opera singer, as a robot, as someone telling a secret, as a sports announcer. 2. A player draws a slip and says only the word "gobble" in that style, for ten seconds. 3. The room guesses the style. 4. The first right guess draws the next slip. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: slips of paper and a bowl.
Ten-Second Speech to a Kitchen Tool 1. Put a few kitchen tools in a bag: a potato masher, a ladle, a timer. 2. A player draws one without looking. 3. They give a heartfelt speech of thanks to that tool, exactly ten seconds long. 4. The table holds up fingers from one to five. The highest total keeps the ladle as a trophy until dessert. Players: 3 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a bag of kitchen tools and a timer.
Two-Sofa Thanksgiving Charades 1. Split the room by where people are sitting: one sofa against the other. 2. An actor from the first sofa acts out a Thanksgiving thing with no words: basting, a nap after dinner, carrying too many plates. 3. Their own sofa has one minute to guess. 4. Swap sofas after each turn. Play until everyone who wants to has acted. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 15 min. Props: a list of things to act.
Which Dish Am I? A Note on the Forehead 1. Write a different dish on a sticky note for each player. 2. Stick one on each forehead without the wearer seeing it. 3. Players walk around asking each other questions that can be answered yes or no: "Am I served hot?" "Am I orange?" 4. A player who names their own dish sits down. The last one standing helps clear the table. Players: 4 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: sticky notes and a pen.

For a big gathering 8

Dessert Order Drawn From a Deck 1. Hand every guest a playing card as the plates are cleared. 2. The host turns over cards from a second deck, one at a time. 3. A guest whose card is turned joins the pie line. 4. The order is pure luck, so nobody has to rush and the last guests are served with a round of applause. Players: 10 to 50. Time: 10 min. Props: two decks of playing cards.
Gravy, Wishbone, Oven Mitt: Sketch Relay 1. Two teams line up facing two pads of paper. 2. The host whispers the same word to the first artist of each team: gravy, wishbone, oven mitt. 3. Each artist draws until their own team shouts the word, then the next artist comes for a new word. 4. The first team through eight words wins. Walk to the pad. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 12 min. Props: two pads, two markers and a word list.
One Tune in a Round, Started Table After Table 1. Choose a tune that everyone knows and that can be sung as a round. 2. The first table starts humming it. The second table starts from the beginning when the first reaches the second line, and so on. 3. Keep it going for three times through. 4. The host conducts with a wooden spoon and brings every table to a stop on the same note, or tries to. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: none.
Pick a Dish, Stand in Its Corner 1. Name the four corners of the room after four dishes: stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce and pie. 2. On go, everyone walks to the corner of the dish they would keep if they could keep only one. 3. Each corner gets twenty seconds to say why. 4. Nobody is out. Count heads, announce the family favorite, and play again with four desserts. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 6 min. Props: none.
Send the Gobble Around the Room 1. Everyone stands in one big loop through the rooms. 2. The starter turns to the left and says "gobble". Each person passes it on as fast as they can. 3. Time one full lap. 4. Then send a gobble to the left and a clap to the right at the same moment, and see what happens where they cross. Players: 10 to 60. Time: 5 min. Props: a timer.
Sofa Cushion Parade Float 1. Split the children and any willing adults into teams by household. 2. Each team gets five minutes and a pile of cushions, scarves and hats to build a parade float that can be carried or worn. 3. Floats parade once through the living room, one team at a time. 4. The oldest guests judge. Everything goes back where it came from. Players: 8 to 30. Time: 15 min. Props: cushions, scarves and hats from the house.
Stand If You Have Ever Dropped a Dish 1. Everyone sits. 2. The host reads statements about the holiday kitchen: "has dropped a dish", "has forgotten the rolls in the oven", "has peeled more than twenty potatoes in one day". 3. Anyone it is true of stands, and one of them tells the story in a sentence. 4. Ten statements. Nothing about anyone's age, money or beliefs. Players: 8 to 60. Time: 8 min. Props: a list of statements.
Where Did Everyone Sit Last Year? 1. Give each table a sheet with an outline of last year's table. 2. Teams have three minutes to fill in who sat where. 3. Check against a photo from last year, if one exists, or let the host rule. 4. One point a seat. The winning table chooses its seats first next year. Players: 8 to 40. Time: 8 min. Props: paper and a pen for each table.

Kids' table and cousins 8

The Children Quiz the Adult Table 1. The children at the kids' table each write one question about themselves: "What is my favorite subject?" "What is my dog called?" 2. One child reads the questions to the grown-ups' table. 3. Grown-ups write an answer to each. 4. The children mark the papers and announce the top score. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 10 min. Props: paper and pencils.
The Cousins' Evening News 1. The children choose a news desk behind the sofa and a wooden spoon for a microphone. 2. Each cousin prepares one story from their own year: a lost tooth, a new bike, a goal scored. 3. They present the news to the room, with a weather report for dessert. 4. The grown-ups may ask one question each. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 12 min. Props: a wooden spoon.
The Cousins' Handshake Grows by a Move 1. Two cousins invent the first move of a handshake. 2. Each cousin who joins adds one move to the end. 3. Run the whole handshake from the start every time someone new adds to it. 4. Perform the finished handshake for the grown-ups before dessert. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Hand Turkey Portraits of the Grown-Ups 1. Each child traces a hand on paper to make a turkey. 2. Then they turn the turkey into one grown-up in the house: glasses, a mustache, a favorite sweater. 3. No names on the front. 4. The grown-ups walk past the gallery and try to find themselves. Players: 2 to 12. Time: 12 min. Props: paper and crayons.
Napkin Ring Toss Over a Wooden Spoon 1. An adult stands a wooden spoon upright in a jar of dry rice. 2. Children stand three steps back. 3. Each tosses three napkin rings, or rings cut from a paper plate, at the spoon. 4. One point for each ring that lands over it. Take a step back after every round. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 8 min. Props: a wooden spoon in a jar of rice and three rings.
The Paper Turkey Is Hiding Again 1. Cut a turkey the size of a playing card from paper. 2. One child hides it somewhere in the living room where a corner still shows. 3. The others search without touching anything but the turkey. 4. Whoever finds it hides it next. The game runs all afternoon between other things. Players: 2 to 10. Time: 5 min. Props: one small paper turkey.
Teach a Grown-Up Your Dance Move 1. Each child picks one grown-up as a pupil. 2. They have three minutes to teach one dance move in the hallway. 3. Pairs perform together for the room, child and pupil side by side. 4. The room cheers for the grown-up who learned the most. Players: 2 to 16. Time: 10 min. Props: music.
Whose Shoes Are Under the Table? 1. One child is the reporter and crawls to the end of the table, with the grown-ups' permission. 2. From there they describe one pair of shoes they can see: the color, the laces, any wiggling. 3. The other children guess whose feet they are. 4. The owner taps the table to confirm, and the guesser reports next. Players: 3 to 12. Time: 6 min. Props: none.

In the yard before dark 9

Before-Dark Walk With a Hunt List 1. Give each group of walkers a list of ten things to spot on a walk around the neighborhood. 2. Groups set off together with at least one adult in each. 3. Tick a thing only when the whole group has seen it. 4. Back at the door, compare lists. The group with the most ticks picks the first board game. Players: 3 to 30. Time: 25 min. Props: a hunt list and a pencil for each group.
Call Your Own Lap Time Around the House 1. Agree on a walking lap: around the house, or to the mailbox and back. 2. Before setting off, each walker says how many seconds their own lap will take, and a timekeeper writes it down. 3. Walk the lap one at a time, with no watch and no counting aloud. Running is not allowed. 4. The walker who finishes closest to their own call wins, so a small child and a grandparent have the same chance. Players: 3 to 20. Time: 12 min. Props: a watch or a phone timer, paper and a pen.
Chalk Grid of the Year on the Driveway 1. An adult draws a big grid on the driveway, with a square for every person present. 2. Each person fills one square with something from their year. 3. Nobody signs their square. 4. When the quilt is full, walk it together and guess who drew what. The rain will clear it. Players: 4 to 40. Time: 20 min. Props: sidewalk chalk.
Longest Shadow Before Sunset 1. In the last hour of daylight, everyone stands in a line with their back to the sun. 2. One person measures each shadow in heel-to-toe steps. 3. Now make it longer without leaving the ground: arms up, a hat, a rake held high. 4. The longest shadow wins. Measure again ten minutes later: every shadow has grown. Players: 2 to 20. Time: 8 min. Props: none.
Stoop Ball Fly Catch 1. The thrower stands six steps from the porch steps, and the fielders spread out behind on the lawn. 2. The thrower bounces a rubber ball off the edge of a step, so that it flies back over their own head. 3. A fielder who catches it before it lands becomes the thrower. 4. If it lands, the thrower scores one for each bounce before a fielder stops it. First to ten. Keep clear of windows. Players: 3 to 10. Time: 10 min. Props: a rubber ball and a set of steps.
Ten Catches, Every Pair of Hands 1. Everyone stands in a loose circle on the lawn. 2. Throw a soft ball across the circle, gently and underarm, counting the catches aloud. 3. The count only stands if every player has caught the ball before anyone catches it twice. 4. A drop sends the count back to zero. Reach ten, then try with two balls. Players: 4 to 16. Time: 8 min. Props: a soft ball.
Ten Seconds to Line Up by Height 1. Everyone gathers on the steps or the lawn for the family photo. 2. The photographer counts down from ten while the family sorts itself by height, shortest in front, without anyone giving orders. 3. Take the picture at zero, however the line looks. 4. Second round: line up by first name, A to Z, in ten seconds. Keep both photos. Players: 5 to 40. Time: 5 min. Props: a camera or a phone.
Touch Football, Everyone Catches Once 1. Mark two end zones with jackets and split into two teams that mix the ages. 2. A tag with two hands stops the play. No tackling and no blocking. 3. A team may not score until every one of its players has caught a pass on that drive. 4. Play to three touchdowns, or until the porch light comes on. Players: 6 to 20. Time: 20 min. Props: a football and four jackets.
Wooden Spoon Baton Relay, Elders Call the Style 1. Make two teams that mix the ages, and give each a wooden spoon as a baton. 2. Mark a turning point ten steps away. 3. Before each leg, the oldest guests call the style: backward, sideways, giant steps, on tiptoe. 4. Each player goes out and back in that style and hands over the spoon. The first team to finish wins. Players: 6 to 24. Time: 10 min. Props: two wooden spoons.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors on 2026-10-03 for a house that holds every age on Thanksgiving Day, in our own words. Player ranges and times are our estimates. No game is an eating race, none involves alcohol, and nothing is said about the history of the holiday. No facts are stated, so nothing was checked against an outside source. Licence: own work