25 Thanksgiving Games for Family: Kids, Teens and Adults
By the Wheel Spin Hub team · ·
25 fun Thanksgiving games for family: easy games for kids, teens and adults, indoors and outdoors, plus a free spin wheel that picks the next game.
Looking for Thanksgiving games for the whole family? The best ones are short, need almost no setup and work for every age at the table. Below are 25 Thanksgiving family games, split into games for kids, fun Thanksgiving games for teens and adults, and outdoor games, plus a simple trick to end the 'what should we play?' debate: put the games on a wheel and let it choose.
How do you choose a Thanksgiving game? Spin a wheel
Open the Thanksgiving games wheel, remove anything you can't play at your house, and spin after dinner. If the group is big, use the random team generator to split everyone into two fair teams first. Keep the wheel on a TV or tablet so the kids can press spin.
Thanksgiving games for kids
- Pin the feather on the turkey: draw a turkey on paper and add paper feathers with tape while blindfolded.
- Turkey scavenger hunt: hide paper turkeys around the house and give a small prize for the most found.
- Pass the pumpkin: pass a small pumpkin while music plays; whoever holds it when the music stops says one thing they're thankful for.
- Thanksgiving bingo: make cards with pie, turkey, leaves and corn and call them out.
- Turkey bowling: line up plastic bottles as pins and roll a small ball to knock them down.
- Leaf pile jump: rake leaves into a pile and take turns jumping in.
- Napkin folding contest: who can fold the fanciest napkin in two minutes?
- Cranberry spoon race: carry a cranberry on a spoon across the room without dropping it.
Fun Thanksgiving games for teens and adults
- Turkey trivia: questions about the holiday, food and your own family history.
- Thankful charades: act out things you're grateful for while others guess.
- Family Pictionary: draw holiday words; the Pictionary word wheel picks them for you.
- Two truths and a lie: great for mixing relatives who don't see each other often.
- Guess the baby photo: everyone brings a baby photo and the table guesses who's who.
- Gratitude ABCs: go around the table naming something you're thankful for, A to Z.
- Stack the cups in a minute: a quick Minute to Win It challenge with plastic cups.
- Mashed potato sculpture: one spoonful each, two minutes, best sculpture wins.
- Board game tournament: if nobody can agree, the board game picker wheel decides.
Outdoor Thanksgiving games
- Backyard touch football: a family classic before or after dinner.
- Cornhole tournament: play in pairs and keep a simple bracket.
- Pie-eating contest: hands behind your back, small slices only.
- Thankful hot potato: toss a ball; whoever catches it shares a thankful thought.
- Turkey trot walk: a short walk around the block with a prize for the best leaf found.
- Sack race: use pillowcases if you don't have sacks.
- Tug of war: kids against adults is always popular.
- Nature color hunt: find something red, orange, yellow and brown.
Thanksgiving table questions
Between games, the Thanksgiving questions wheel gives everyone something easy to talk about, like 'what made you proud this year?' or 'pie or cake?'. It's a gentle way to get quieter relatives and kids involved.
Frequently asked questions
What are good Thanksgiving games for all ages?
Pass the pumpkin, Thanksgiving bingo, family Pictionary and gratitude ABCs work for kids and grandparents alike, because they're simple and need almost no equipment.
How do we choose which game to play?
Put your shortlist on a spin wheel and spin. It's quick, fair and the kids love pressing the button.
What games need no supplies?
Charades, two truths and a lie, gratitude ABCs and Thanksgiving questions need nothing but the people at the table. If a board game is missing its dice, the online dice roller works on any phone.
What are fun Thanksgiving games for adults?
Turkey trivia, guess the baby photo, two truths and a lie and a mashed potato sculpture contest are favorites with adults. For a competitive group, run a board game tournament or the Minute to Win It cup stack.
Pick five games you like, add them to the wheel, and let the spin run the evening. Happy Thanksgiving!
About the author
Written by the people who build and run Wheel Spin Hub, the free spin-the-wheel picker. We use the wheels and tools we write about, and we update guides when the site changes. Spotted a mistake? Let us know.