Thanksgiving Games for Families, Kids & Adults

Thanksgiving table featuring Thanksgiving games for families, kids and adults from Firefly Parade

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite kinds of gatherings.

There’s something about a house full of people, food everywhere, kids running through the rooms, and everyone eventually finding their way to the table. Of course, getting there can be an adventure!

Someone is checking the turkey. Someone else is making gravy. The kids want to know when they can eat. And there is almost always one person casually wandering through the kitchen asking, “Is there anything I can do?” at precisely the moment when there is absolutely nowhere left to stand!

But once everyone settles in, those are the moments I love most.

The conversations. The stories you’ve heard a hundred times but still listen to anyway. The teasing. The laughter. The people you don’t get to see nearly often enough sitting around the same table.

That’s why I love having a few printable Thanksgiving games ready. They give everyone something fun to do together and can turn the time before dinner—or long after the pie is gone—into some of the best moments of the day.

I’ve put together some of my favorite Thanksgiving game ideas for different kinds of gatherings, so you can choose what works for your group.

Which Thanksgiving Game Should I Choose?

Still not sure? Don’t overthink it. Pick something that fits your group—or have a few different games ready and see what everyone feels like playing.

Thanksgiving Games for the Whole Family

Thanksgiving is one of those rare days when you may have several generations gathered in the same room. That makes choosing a game a little more interesting.

I like games that are easy enough for kids to understand but still entertaining for the adults at the table.

Thanksgiving Friendly Feud

This is one of my favorites for a family gathering. Divide everyone into teams and try to guess the most popular answers to Thanksgiving-themed questions.

Before long, people who claimed they weren’t going to play are shouting answers from across the room. Funny how that happens!

Thanksgiving 5 Second Game

Name three things before five seconds run out.

That sounds incredibly easy until someone puts you on the spot.

Suddenly you can’t remember three Thanksgiving foods even though you are literally sitting beside a table covered in them.

The quick rounds make this especially fun when you have different ages playing together.

Thanksgiving Charades

Charades is a classic for a reason.

There isn’t much explaining required, everyone can get involved, and eventually someone will perform a clue so badly that nobody remembers what the actual answer was.

They’ll remember the performance, though. Probably for years!

Thanksgiving Jeoparty

If your family likes trivia, this is a fun way to turn Thanksgiving into a game show. Divide into teams and let everyone contribute. And don’t underestimate Grandma.

She’s been celebrating Thanksgiving longer than the rest of you!

Family playing printable Thanksgiving games together around the table

Thanksgiving Games for Large Groups

Thanksgiving gatherings can get big quickly. Add grandparents, cousins, friends, neighbors and the person someone invited because they didn’t have anywhere else to go, and suddenly you have a house full of people.

I love that.

For bigger gatherings, I like games that let lots of people participate without spending half the evening waiting for a turn.

Thanksgiving Mingle Bingo

Mingle Bingo is perfect when you have people from different parts of your life gathered together. Instead of staying beside the people they already know, guests have a reason to move around, ask questions and learn something about one another.

It’s a game, but it also does something I love even more: It starts conversations.

Thanksgiving Friendly Feud

Friendly Feud is another easy choice for a crowd because everyone can play as part of a team. There will be debating. There will be shouting.

There will almost certainly be someone who says, “THAT was my answer!” after somebody else gets the point.

Thanksgiving Forbidden Words

Describe the Thanksgiving word on your card without using the five words you would most naturally use to explain it.

Simple.

Until you actually try.

This one gets especially funny with teams because the people guessing somehow manage to say every word in the English language except the one you need.

Thanksgiving Jeoparty

For trivia-loving groups, divide everyone into teams and let them work together. Somebody will know the history questions. Somebody will know the food questions.

And somebody will be extremely confident while being completely wrong.

Every team needs one!

Thanksgiving Dinner Table Games

Not every Thanksgiving game needs teams, scorecards, or somebody standing in front of the room explaining rules. Sometimes everyone is already comfortable around the table, and you just want to keep the conversation and laughter going.

That's when I'd pull out games such as Would You Rather, Who Is Most Like a Turkey?, Person Most Likely To, Thanksgiving Mad Libs, or Thanksgiving Emoji Pictionary.

These are especially nice between dinner and dessert—or when everyone is lingering at the table because nobody is quite ready to move yet.

My tip: Don't try to play everything. Pick one or two games that fit your group and keep the others nearby. If everyone is having fun, you can always pull out another.

Friends playing printable Thanksgiving games together at a holiday gathering

Thanksgiving Games for Friendsgiving

Friendsgiving deserves games too! And depending on your group, you can usually get away with a little more silliness.

I'd look at games like Most Likely To, What's on Your Phone, Selfie Scavenger Hunt, Secret Missions, Left Right Game, or a competitive round of Friendly Feud.

A selfie scavenger hunt can be particularly fun because the game creates pictures from the night—not just a winner. And Most Likely To is practically made for a group of people who know one another well enough to have opinions.

Thanksgiving Games for Kids & Teens

Kids and teens can be a tough combination when you’re choosing activities. The little ones want something fun. The teenagers would generally prefer that nobody describe anything as a “fun activity for the kids.”

I understand!

For mixed ages, Thanksgiving Charades and Thanksgiving 5 Second Game are easy choices because the rules are simple and the pace keeps moving.

For teens, Thanksgiving Selfie Scavenger Hunt and What’s On Your Phone? let them use the phones they probably weren’t planning to put down anyway.

Thanksgiving Emoji Pictionary is easy to play around the table, and What Is Your Thanksgiving Name? makes a silly little icebreaker while everyone is arriving.

And when kids need to burn off a little energy while dinner finishes cooking, a Thanksgiving scavenger hunt can be exactly what you need.

Quiet Thanksgiving Activities

There is usually a point on Thanksgiving when a little quiet sounds wonderful. Maybe the turkey still needs twenty minutes. Maybe the kids need something to do at the table. Maybe everyone has eaten enough food that getting up for Charades feels unnecessarily ambitious.

That’s when I pull out the quieter games.

Word searches, word scrambles, Emoji Pictionary, A–Z Word Race, Categories and other printable activities can be set on the table with pencils so people can choose what they want to do.

These are especially nice for kids, grandparents and anyone who would rather solve a puzzle than perform in front of the entire family.

And I especially love having a Gratitude Activity available on Thanksgiving.

Among all the food and football and laughter, it’s nice to make a little room for the reason behind the day. You don’t have to turn it into a formal moment.

Sometimes a simple question is enough to start a conversation you’re glad you had.

Last-Minute Printable Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving is not usually a day when you find yourself wondering what to do with all your extra free time. There’s food to make. A table to set. People arriving.

And at some point, somebody is going to ask where the serving spoon went.

So if you suddenly realize you’d like something fun for everyone to do, the last thing you need is another errand.

That’s the beauty of printable games.

Choose what you want to play, download the PDF, print the pages you need and you’re ready.

Print a few quieter activities for the kids. Pick a game for everyone to play after dinner. Keep another one nearby in case the evening stretches longer than expected.

No complicated setup. No waiting for a package.

Just print, gather and play.

Printable Thanksgiving games from the Firefly Parade 25 Game Bundle ready to print and play

Want Several Thanksgiving Games Ready to Go?

If you’re hosting a full day of Thanksgiving together, I love having choices.

The Thanksgiving Ultimate Game Collection gives you the larger party games along with the printable Thanksgiving game bundle, so you can move from quick table activities to bigger team games depending on what everyone feels like doing.

Or choose the 25 Printable Thanksgiving Games Bundle when you want a mix of easy activities, word games, icebreakers, conversation games and challenges ready to print.

You definitely don’t have to play them all.

That’s the point.

Put a few activities on the table while dinner cooks. Play something together after everyone eats. Save another game for later when people start wandering back toward the kitchen looking for pie.

Choose what fits your group and your gathering.

The Best Thanksgiving Game Is the One Your Group Will Actually Play

Eventually, the plates will be cleared. The leftovers will be packed into containers. Someone will claim they couldn’t possibly eat another bite...and then somehow find room for pie.

But hopefully, when everyone thinks back on Thanksgiving, the food won’t be the only thing they remember.

They’ll remember Grandpa unexpectedly winning the game. The ridiculous Charades performance. The answer everyone argued about. The stories that came up around the table.

They’ll remember laughing.

And more than anything, they’ll remember being together.

Because Thanksgiving doesn’t have to be perfect to be memorable.

Sometimes all you need is good food, good people, a little laughter...and a reason to gather.

Ready to find your games? Browse all of my printable Thanksgiving games and choose the ones that fit your gathering.

Wishing you laughter, connection & fun,
Laura ❤️
Firefly Parade