Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving games for kids, by age
Thirteen games for the hour before dinner lands, sorted by who's at the table. Most need a potato, a balloon or nothing at all. The rest are the pages we print every year.
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For the littlest ones, 2 to 4
- 1Feather huntCut twenty paper feathers out of a grocery bag, hide them low, and send them off with a basket. Hide the last two somewhere easy so it ends well.Paper and a basket
- 2Turkey waddleBalloon between the knees, waddle from the couch to the kitchen and back. Drop it and you start again. They will ask for this one until dinner.One balloon eachFind one
- 3Pass the potatoHot potato with an actual potato. Music on, pass it round. Music off, whoever's holding it gobbles.A potato and music
- 4Stack the platesPaper plates and cups, one on top of the other, as high as they can before it goes over. Knocking it down is the fun part, so let them.Paper plates and cups
Liked it? The full pack has the second bingo card, the dinner hunt, thankful leaves, table talk questions, place cards, a color-in placemat and the thankful tree — 10 pages, $5. See it on Etsy →
For the middle crowd, 5 to 8
- 1Thanksgiving bingoPictures instead of words, so the four year old plays the same game as the eight year old. Good for the last half hour before the food lands.Printed bingo cardsIt's in our pack
- 2The dinner huntTwelve things to find without leaving the house. It buys you the exact stretch where the kitchen is busiest and the kids are loudest.A printed hunt sheetIt's in our pack
- 3Turkey, turkey, gooseDuck, duck, goose with gobbling. That's the whole change and it's enough. Works in a hallway if the yard's wet.Nothing
- 4Don't drop the rollCarry a bread roll on a spoon from one end of the room to the other. Two teams. Do it before dinner, not after, and use a roll nobody's eating.A spoon and a roll each
- 5Hand turkeysTrace a hand, add eyes and feet, write one thing you're thankful for on each finger. The grown-ups have to do one too.Paper and pensIt's in our pack
For the big kids, 9 and up
- 1Guess the side dishCover five bowls with a tea towel. Smell only, no looking, write your guesses. Cranberry sauce is harder than you'd think.Five bowls and a towel
- 2Table talkGo round the table, one question each, grown-ups answer too. It's the one that turns a loud table into a good one.A list of questionsIt's in our pack
- 3Thankful alphabetRound the table, A to Z, one thing you're thankful for starting with each letter. No repeats. It falls apart around Q, which is the point.Nothing
- 4Thanksgiving charadesWrite ten words on slips: gravy, nap, parade, the wishbone. Act them out, no talking. Nap goes fast.Paper and a bowl
The hour before dinner
- Run them while dinner finishes, not after.The hour before the food lands is the hard one. Once everyone's eaten, the kids will sort themselves out.
- Pick two, not six.One loud one to burn it off, one quiet one at the table. Six games is a schedule, and nobody wants a schedule on Thanksgiving.
- Give the shy cousin a job.Scorekeeper, judge, question-reader. They're in without having to be in, and there's always one.
- Let the little ones win something.Feather hunt and bingo don't reward being older. Save charades for when the big kids are on a team with a small one.
- Print it the night before.Not Thanksgiving morning. The printer will be out of ink on Thanksgiving morning.
A table with a 3 year old and a 12 year old at it
Pick the games where being older doesn't help. The feather hunt, bingo, pass the potato and the thankful alphabet all work that way — the little ones win their share, so nobody quits and wanders off. Save charades and guess the side dish for when the big kids are paired with a small one.
At someone else's house
Four of these fit in a coat pocket: a printed bingo card, the hunt sheet, a bowl of charade slips and the thankful alphabet, which needs nothing at all. That's the whole afternoon covered without carrying a bag of props into someone's dining room.