Thanksgiving Games: 10 Games for Family, Kids and Friendsgiving

November 2, 2026

Thanksgiving games printable kit with trivia cards and bingo boards

The best Thanksgiving games are the ones everyone can play at once: grandparents, teenagers and the four-year-old at the kids' table. Below are the games that work in real living rooms, sorted by when to play them, plus three ready-made plans so you can run the whole day without thinking about it.

Skip the prep: Thanksgiving Game Night Kit is an instant download for $3.99.

Family laughing around the Thanksgiving table during a game of Thanksgiving trivia

What makes a great Thanksgiving game

Kids and grown-ups play together. Pick games with a kids version and a grown-ups version, so nobody is bored and nobody is lost.
Short rounds. Dinner timing is unpredictable. Games you can stop after 10 minutes are the ones that actually get played.
No special supplies. Cups, paper plates and a timer beat anything you have to order.
Something for every moment. Quiet games for the table, active games for after pie, and something to keep the kids busy while the turkey rests.

Games for the dinner table

1. Thanksgiving trivia

Trivia is the easiest way to get the whole table talking. Mix kids questions ("What is a baby turkey called?" A poult) with harder grown-ups questions ("Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939?" Franklin D. Roosevelt). We have 60 Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers you can use tonight.

2. Table talk cards

Put a bowl of question cards on the table and pass it around. Use "I'm thankful for" prompts ("Who taught you something important?") and silly would-you-rather questions ("Would you rather eat pumpkin pie for breakfast or turkey for dessert?"). They break the ice without anyone having to stand up.

3. The thankful alphabet

Go around the table naming something you're thankful for, A to Z. Get stuck and you're out. Kids love it, and it doubles as the "what are you thankful for" moment.

Games for the kids' table

4. Thanksgiving picture bingo

Picture bingo is the one game a 3-year-old and a 10-year-old can play together. Use candy corn or dried beans as markers and a grown-up as the caller. Here's how to run Thanksgiving bingo, including four ways to win.

5. Word search and drawing

A word search with Thanksgiving words (turkey, pilgrim, harvest, gravy) plus a "draw something you're thankful for" box keeps little hands busy while the grown-ups finish dessert.

Kids playing Thanksgiving picture bingo at the kids' table with candy corn markers

Active games for after pie

These are Minute to Win It games: each one lasts 60 seconds and uses things already in your kitchen.

6. Cornucopia Cup Stack

Build a 5-4-3-2-1 pyramid of 15 plastic cups, then nest it back into one stack, all within 60 seconds. Kids build a 3-2-1 pyramid with 6 cups.

7. Candy Corn Straw Sort

Use a straw to suck up candy corn and drop it into a second bowl. Most pieces moved in a minute wins. Quiet enough to play at the table.

8. Pie Plate Parade

Stack 5 paper plates on your head and walk a 10-foot line and back. If they fall, restack and restart. Grown-ups add a plastic cup on top.

9. Napkin Dash

Pull every tissue out of a full box, one at a time, with one hand, in 60 seconds. Harder than it sounds.

10. Shake Your Tail Feathers

Tie an empty tissue box filled with ping-pong balls to a player's lower back, then wiggle until every ball falls out. Gobbling optional but encouraged.

Friends playing a Minute to Win It cup stacking game at a Thanksgiving party

Games for Friendsgiving and grown-ups

Friendsgiving crowds want a little competition: team trivia with steals, a bingo blackout round for a whole pie, and Minute to Win It heats. See our full list of Friendsgiving games for adults with a 60-minute plan.

Three ready-made Thanksgiving game plans

Family Thanksgiving (45 minutes)

At dinner: table talk cards in a bowl
0:00 Split into teams
0:05 Trivia round: 10 cards, kids and grown-ups take turns
0:15 Cornucopia Cup Stack and Napkin Dash
0:25 One round of picture bingo
0:38 Trivia final: 5 grown-ups cards for double points
0:43 Crown the Top Turkey

Friendsgiving (60 minutes)

Two trivia rounds by category, two Minute to Win It games, and a bingo blackout round with a pie for the winner.

Classroom party (40 minutes, food-free)

Kids trivia cards, three active games (Feather Float, Touchdown Toss, Static Leaves) and bingo with paper markers. No food, so no allergy worries.

How to keep score

Give 1 point for a kids trivia card and 2 for a grown-ups card, 5 points for a bingo win, and 3, 2 and 1 points for Minute to Win It places. Break ties with a 60-second cup stack showdown. A printed certificate for the winner turns it into a family tradition.

A printable kit with all of it

Our Thanksgiving Game Night Kit puts everything on this page into 53 printable pages: 100 fact-checked trivia cards (50 kids, 50 grown-ups), 20 picture bingo boards with call cards, 18 Minute to Win It challenge cards, 50 table talk cards, all three party plans, score sheets, winner certificates and a kids' table activity page. It comes in US Letter and A4, each in full color and ink-saver, for $3.99.