Thanksgiving Gratitude Game

Press Print this list for a color key: draw a color and name what you are thankful for.

Thanksgiving Gratitude Game

  1. Whole family: color keyRed: a person in this family who taught you somethingWhat was it, and how old were you?
  2. Orange: a room in this house you are thankful forWhat happens in that room?
  3. Yellow: a dish someone here makes that nobody else gets rightWhat is the trick to it?
  4. Green: something outdoors near home that you would missWhen were you last out there?
  5. Blue: a family outing from this year worth doing overWhat made it a good one?
  6. Purple: your choice, big or smallSmall ones count double.
All 88

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How it works

In this Thanksgiving gratitude game each player draws a colored stick, bead or candy, and the color says what to be thankful for: red a person, orange a place, yellow a food. The key prints on one sheet.

Read the full guide

Set up the color draw

Fill a cup with craft sticks, beads or wrapped candies in six colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple. Print the key and stand it by the cup. Each player draws without looking, reads the row for that color and answers. The menu changes the table: kids, whole family, classroom or Friendsgiving.

More thankful games for Thanksgiving

The buttons under the menu hold three other games: Roll one die, where a die picks the row; Alphabet round, a round of thanks from A to Z; and Thankful chain, where each answer links to the one before.

Tips
  • No colored sticks in the house? Choose Roll one die and let the die pick the row.
  • Whole family and Friendsgiving each have a deeper key for the grown-up end of the table.

Questions and answers

How do you play the Thanksgiving gratitude game?

Put sticks, beads or candies in six colors in a cup and print the key. Players take turns to draw one without looking and name something they are thankful for of that color's kind. Go around the table until the cup is empty.

What do the colors mean?

On every key here: red is a person, orange a place, yellow a food, green something outdoors, blue something that happened this year, and purple your own choice. The wording of each row changes with the table you choose.

Can you play without candy?

Yes. Craft sticks, beads, buttons or slips of colored paper work the same way, and the dice charts need only one die. No product is named on any key.

Is there a gratitude game for a classroom?

Yes. Choose Classroom for a color key and a dice chart about classmates, the school and things learned this fall. The alphabet round and the thankful chain suit a whole class sitting in a circle.

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All 88 prompts

Kids' table: color key 6

  • Blue: something fun that happened to you this year Who was there with you?
  • Green: an animal or a plant you are glad is in the world Have you ever seen one up close?
  • Orange: a place where you love to play Who goes there with you?
  • Purple: anything at all, your choice Now tell us one more.
  • Red: a person who makes you laugh What do they do that is so funny?
  • Yellow: a food on this table that you like best Would you eat it every single day?

Kids' table: dice chart 6

  • 1: a toy or a game you are thankful for Which friend plays it with you?
  • 2: a grown-up who helps you What did they help with last?
  • 3: a treat you are glad somebody invented Who would you share it with?
  • 4: a pet or an animal that makes you smile What would you name a new one?
  • 5: a place you got to visit this year What did you see there?
  • 6: your pick: say thank you to someone at this table Say what for.
Show all 88 prompts (76 more)

Whole family: color key 6

  • Blue: a family outing from this year worth doing over What made it a good one?
  • Green: something outdoors near home that you would miss When were you last out there?
  • Orange: a room in this house you are thankful for What happens in that room?
  • Purple: your choice, big or small Small ones count double.
  • Red: a person in this family who taught you something What was it, and how old were you?
  • Yellow: a dish someone here makes that nobody else gets right What is the trick to it?

Whole family: dice chart 6

  • 1: a holiday habit that only this family has Who started it?
  • 2: a relative who could not be here today What would they be doing right now?
  • 3: a smell from the kitchen that means a holiday Whose cooking is it?
  • 4: something in your pocket or your bag right now Show the table.
  • 5: a song this whole family knows Sing one line.
  • 6: your pick: tell the person across from you one thing they do well Then they roll.

Whole family, deeper: color key 6

  • Blue: a change this year that turned out better than you expected What were you expecting?
  • Green: a walk, a view or a garden that settled your mind this year How often do you get back to it?
  • Orange: a place that feels like home to you What is the first thing you notice when you walk in?
  • Purple: your choice: something you have never thanked anyone for Who would you thank?
  • Red: a person who showed up for you this year when it mattered Have you told them so?
  • Yellow: a meal you remember for who was at the table Who sat where?

Whole family, deeper: dice chart 6

  • 1: a saying from a grandparent or a teacher that you still repeat When did it turn out to be right?
  • 2: a time somebody at this table forgave you Do they remember it?
  • 3: something ordinary today that once felt out of reach When did you stop noticing it?
  • 4: a skill someone in the family passed down to you Who will you pass it to?
  • 5: a year of your life you are grateful for, looking back What made it that year?
  • 6: your pick: a thank-you you have been meaning to say Say it now, or promise when.

Classroom: color key 6

  • Blue: something new you learned this fall Who could you teach it to?
  • Green: something you can see from the classroom window Would you rather draw it or write about it?
  • Orange: a spot in our school you are glad we have What do you do there?
  • Purple: your choice: anything in this room Point to it.
  • Red: a classmate who helped you this week What did they help you with?
  • Yellow: a lunch or a snack you look forward to Who do you eat it with?

Classroom: dice chart 6

  • 1: a book you are glad you read Who should read it next?
  • 2: a grown-up at school who helps everyone What would school be like without them?
  • 3: a game we play at recess Who taught you the rules?
  • 4: something in your desk or your backpack Hold it up.
  • 5: a class job you like doing Which job would you like next?
  • 6: your pick: thank the person beside you for one thing Then pass the die.

Friendsgiving: color key 6

  • Blue: one good surprise the past twelve months brought you Who did you tell first?
  • Green: a park, a trail or a bench you keep going back to What time of day is best there?
  • Orange: a place in this town you are glad exists Who took you there first?
  • Purple: your choice: something small that got you through a long week Would you recommend it?
  • Red: a friend at this table, and the day you met Who remembers that day differently?
  • Yellow: the dish you would drive across town for Who else here has tried it?

Friendsgiving: dice chart 6

  • 1: a text or a call that made your week Who sent it?
  • 2: something you borrowed and are glad you did Did you give it back?
  • 3: a show, a book or a podcast a friend put you on to Who gets the credit?
  • 4: the best thing you ever ate at a friend's place Whose place?
  • 5: a favor someone here did for you Have you returned it yet?
  • 6: your pick: thank the host for one thing Everyone claps.

Friendsgiving, deeper: color key 6

  • Blue: one door that closed this year, and the one that opened Which mattered more in the end?
  • Green: time outdoors this year that cleared your head Where were you?
  • Orange: a place you moved to, or away from, and what it gave you Would you go back?
  • Purple: your choice: something in your life now that a younger you would not believe What would the younger you say?
  • Red: a friend who told you the truth when you needed to hear it Did you thank them at the time?
  • Yellow: a meal somebody cooked for you when you really needed one What was on the plate?

Friendsgiving, deeper: dice chart 6

  • 1: a friend who stayed in touch across a distance How do the two of you keep it going?
  • 2: a chance somebody took on you What did they see in you?
  • 3: a habit you built this year What does a day without it feel like?
  • 4: a hard conversation you are glad you had What changed afterward?
  • 5: something you gave up that you do not miss What filled the gap?
  • 6: your pick: a thank-you for someone who is not in the room Will you tell them this week?

Alphabet round of thanks 8

  • 1: A to Z around the table: the first player is thankful for something that starts with A, the next with B, and on to Z. A table of eight goes around a little more than three times.
  • 2: Stuck on a letter: the table may help, and the player says the answer again as their own. Nobody is out in this game.
  • 3: Food letters: every answer has to be something to eat or drink. Apple pie, biscuits, cranberry sauce.
  • 4: People letters: every answer is a person, by first name or by what they are to you. Aunt, bus driver, coach.
  • 5: Memory version: before your own letter, repeat the answer of the player before you. For a harder game, repeat the last three.
  • 6: The hard letters: for Q, X and Z the letter may sit anywhere in the word. Quilt, box, pizza.
  • 7: Short version for a big table: spell THANKS, one letter a person, then start the word again. Six letters, so every seventh player gets a T.
  • 8: Two sides of the table: the sides take turns, and a side that stalls for a slow count of five gives the letter away. The side that finishes Z takes a bow.

Thankful chain 8

  • 1: Start the chain: the first player says, I am thankful for, and names one thing. Anything at all starts a chain.
  • 2: Link to it: the next player names something connected to the answer before. Grandma, then her kitchen, then the yellow mixing bowl.
  • 3: A link can be a person, a place, a thing or a memory. The connection only has to make sense to the player who says it.
  • 4: Say the link out loud: thankful for this, because of that. Hearing the because is the best part.
  • 5: No repeats: a link already in the chain cannot be used again. The table keeps watch.
  • 6: If the chain breaks, the player says pass and the next player picks it up. A pass is not a miss.
  • 7: Paper chain: write each answer on a strip of paper and loop it through the strip before. One strip for each answer.
  • 8: Go twice around the table, then read the whole chain back from the start. The paper chain can hang over the table until the pie is gone.

How this list was compiled: Written by the Game Night Generator editors for this page on 2026-10-02: twelve pick-and-answer charts of six rows (a color key and a dice chart for each of six tables: the kids' table, the whole family in a lighter and a deeper wording, a classroom, and a Friendsgiving in a lighter and a deeper wording), an alphabet round of thanks and a thankful chain. On every color key red is a person, orange a place, yellow a food, green something outdoors, blue something that happened this year and purple the player's choice. The games are folk table games with no fixed rules, so each chart is one way to play. There are no facts to check and nothing here states anything about the history of the holiday. No candy, stick or bead product is named. Every prompt was checked by script against the site's Thanksgiving conversation starters and gratitude bingo lists so that no line is shared. Licence: own work