55 Best Thanksgiving Youth Games for the Whole Family
Trying to find some fun games for your kids to do as they wait for Thanksgiving Dinner? These Thanksgiving Youth Games are perfect!
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Even as a kid I remember trying to find something to do during the long wait on Thanksgiving Day.
As a mom of four small kids, these Thanksgiving youth games are a great way to occupy my kids and even get in some family bonding time during the holidays.
Get the whole family involved in these fun Thanksgiving activities that are perfect to play before or after Thanksgiving dinner.
Thanksgiving Youth Games to Play This Thanksgiving Holiday
There is such a large variety of Thanksgiving youth games that you can play. For starters, there are quite a few free or printable Thanksgiving games for kids.
Those might be a great option if you are reading this list right around Thanksgiving day, games you can play online, and store-bought games.
Below you will find plenty of game ideas to choose from during your family gathering!
Free Thanksgiving Games for Kids
Free Thanksgiving games are the go-to if you are a little late to the planning process or looking to stay inside of a budget.
The following Thanksgiving games for kids might take a few supplies, but rest assured they are all easy to find and you might even have them in your closet at home already!
- Guess the food: Blindfold the person guessing the food and hand them a piece of paper or some index cards. Have them write down what they think each food is and leave the note next to the food. Once they are un-blindfolded, have them read out what they guessed.
- Pumpkin pie eating contest: Pretty straight forward. Either make or purchase mini/full-sized pumpkin pies and let the kids have at it! Have a time limit to make it even more fun.
- Thanksgiving trivia: Print out pictures of Thanksgiving-related items and play trivia together.
- Turkey hunt: print out or draw pictures of little turkeys and hide them around the house/backyard. Have the kids search for the turkeys and the kid who finds the most wins a prize!
- Guess the Thanksgiving-related word: Put together little pieces of paper with Thanksgiving-related words on them. Have one kid pull a word out and the rest of them try to guess what the word is with yes or no questions. Put the kids into a small group and award a prize to the group that gets the most correct answers.
- Make a turkey: Using a paper plate and colorful craft paper, have the kids make their own Thanksgiving turkeys. Make it even more fun by offering markers to decorate the turkeys faces in the center of a plate!
- Flag football: The Thanksgiving classic that all dads adore. Get everyone outside before or after Thanksgiving dinner to play a friendly flag football game. This outdoor game would be a great way to burn off some of that Thanksgiving energy. This is one of our family favorite things to do each year on Thanksgiving.
- Gratitude game: This one can be played at the Thanksgiving dinner itself. Hand everyone a piece of paper and let them write down a few things that they are grateful for. Once everyone is done, go around the table and have everyone read out what they are grateful for this year.
- Thanksgiving charades: Make this one holiday themed by only allowing the kids to pretend to be Thanksgiving-related items.
- Thanksgiving photo scavenger hunt: Print out pictures of Thanksgiving related items and send the kids on a search around the house and backyard for them. To make it even more fun, write down riddles that the kids need to solve together in order to find the pictures.
- Pumpkin tic-tac-toe: All you need are some slips of paper, a pen, and pumpkin stickers for this Thanksgiving youth game. Keep them stacked on the Thanksgiving dinner table and encourage the kids to go at it!
Free Printable Thanksgiving Youth Games
If you have a printer, you have got to try out these awesome free printable Thanksgiving games.
- Thanksgiving bingo: Thanksgiving bingo can be fun for the whole family!
- Thanksgiving mad libs: You can find plenty of printable options with a quick Google search.
- Thanksgiving word search: This Thanksgiving word search should keep their minds occupied while dinner cooks.
- Thanksgiving scavenger hunt: If you are not a DIY’er, this printable Thanksgiving scavenger hunt is for you.
- Thanksgiving I-Spy: This is a fun game that you could easily also play in school! Here is a fun printable Thanksgiving I-Spy game.
- Thanksgiving scattergories: This printable Thanksgiving scattergories game would be fun to get the whole family involved with!
- Thanksgiving memory game: Get your kids’ minds rolling with this fun printable Thanksgiving memory game.
- Thanksgiving tic-tac-toe: Again, if you are not a DIY’er, this printable Thanksgiving tic-tac-toe game is for you.
- Thanksgiving pictionary: Pictionary is fun for kids of all ages. This printable Thanksgiving pictionary game will be a winner!
- Thanksgiving word scramble: This Thanksgiving word scramble would be another great way to keep the kids’ minds rolling while Thanksgiving dinner is cooking.
Funny Thanksgiving Youth Games
These Thanksgiving games will surely make everyone double over in laughter. Check out #14 for a really good time!
- Turkey bowling: Make some turkey bowling pins using plastic cups and colorful cardstock for feathers. Find a ball to roll down the line and try to hit as many turkeys as you can! This ought to make the kids laugh.
- Turkey trot relay race: Create a relay race where kids waddle like turkeys from one end of the yard to another while holding a balloon between their knees.
- Pin the feather on the turkey: Similar to “Pin the Tail on the Donkey,” blindfold the kids and have them try to pin feathers onto a large paper turkey poster.
- Apple bobbing with a twist: Instead of traditional apple bobbing, hang donuts from strings and challenge the kids to eat the donuts without using their hands.
- Turkey feather toss: Create a hoop or target on the ground and have kids toss paper turkey feathers (cutouts) into the target. Assign point values for different rings to make it more competitive.
- Gobble gobble freeze dance: Play some Thanksgiving-themed music and have the kids dance like turkeys. When the music stops, they must freeze in their best turkey pose.
- Pilgrim hat ring toss: Create Pilgrim hat props from paper or cardboard and place them at varying distances. Have the kids toss rings onto the hat brims for points.
- Leaf pile hide-and-seek: Rake a big pile of leaves in the yard and play a Thanksgiving-themed game of hide-and-seek within the leaf pile. Kids can take turns hiding and seeking in the crunchy leaves.
- Corn on the cob relay: Create a relay race where kids balance a plastic corn on the cob on a spoon and race to the finish line without dropping it.
- Turkey feather hunt: Hide colorful turkey feathers around the house or yard and have kids search for them. Provide small prizes for those who collect the most feathers.
- Pumpkin seed spitting contest: Give each child a pumpkin seed and see who can spit it the farthest. Mark the spots where the seeds land and award prizes for the longest spits.
- Thankful toss: Have kids take turns tossing bean bags or small balls into buckets labeled with things they are thankful for. This game can also be a great way to express gratitude.
- Pilgrim’s hat decorating: Provide plain paper Pilgrim hats and various craft supplies, such as markers, stickers, and feathers. Let the kids decorate their own Pilgrim hats.
- Pumpkin decorating contest: Provide mini pumpkins and a variety of art supplies (paints, markers, glitter, and stickers) for the kids to decorate their own pumpkins. Have a contest for the most creative design.
- Cornucopia ring toss: Create a cornucopia-shaped target and have kids toss rings onto the cornucopia’s horn. Assign different point values for successful throws.
- Thanksgiving storytime: Sit the kids in a circle and start a Thanksgiving story. Each child adds a sentence or two to the story, taking it in fun and unexpected directions.
- Potato sack races: Organize potato sack races with burlap sacks or pillowcases. Kids hop or jump in the sacks from the starting line to the finish line.
Thanksgiving Games for Kids Online
Another free option for Thanksgiving games for kids would be to find some online games. Below you will find a few apps to play this Thanksgiving.
- Thanksgiving Games for Kids – available on Apple
- More Holiday Dinner – available on Apple.
- Hand Turkey Thanksgiving – available on Apple.
- Thanksgiving Coloring Book – available on Apple.
- Thanksgiving Puzzles – available on Apple
- Thanksgiving Games for Kids – available on Google Play Store.
- Thanksgiving Turkey Pop – available on Google Play Store.
Thanksgiving Card Game Ideas for the Family
Have a deck or two of cards? That is all you will need to play these Thanksgiving card games with the kids!
- Go fish – Thanksgiving edition: Play a classic game of Go Fish using cards with Thanksgiving-themed images or words, such as turkeys, pumpkins, and pilgrims.
- Old maid – turkey hunt: Modify the traditional Old Maid card game by replacing the Old Maid card with a Turkey card. The goal is to collect pairs of Thanksgiving-themed cards while avoiding the turkey.
- Memory match – harvest edition: Create a memory matching game with cards featuring pairs of Thanksgiving-related images, like cornucopias, leaves, or pies. Lay the cards face down, and players take turns flipping two cards to find a match.
- Crazy eights – gobble gobble: Play a game of Crazy Eights with a twist by assigning special rules to the number cards (e.g., a “6” card means you gobble like a turkey). The first player to get rid of all their cards wins.
- Turkey rummy: Introduce kids to a simplified version of Rummy using a Thanksgiving-themed deck. Create sets of matching cards, such as four pumpkin cards or four turkey cards, to score points.
- War – Pilgrim’s standoff: Give a historical spin to the card game War by using a Thanksgiving deck. When two players have cards of equal value, they engage in a “Pilgrim’s Standoff” by drawing additional cards until a player wins all the cards.
- Uno – fall frenzy: Play a customized Uno game with cards featuring fall and Thanksgiving symbols. Special action cards can have holiday-themed effects, like “Skip, Turkey Time!” or “Reverse, Pumpkin Patch!
- Snap – autumn snap: In this fast-paced card game, players try to snap when two cards of the same rank appear in succession. Use cards with Thanksgiving symbols to add a seasonal twist.
- Crazy 8’s – harvest havoc: Play Crazy 8’s with a Thanksgiving twist, where the “8” card can be a wild card representing different Thanksgiving items, allowing players to change the current suit.
- Solitaire – Pilgrim’s puzzle: Teach kids how to play a simplified version of Solitaire using a Thanksgiving-themed deck. The goal is to match and stack cards in descending order, and then build four foundation piles for each suit, like in traditional Solitaire.
Growing up my family would play a big game of Bunco. Ever heard of it? You just need lots of dice. It is the perfect Thanksgiving game when you have lots of family members varying in ages, younger to older.
Store-Bought Thanksgiving Games for Kids
Finally, if you are not into DIY Thanksgiving games like the ones above, store-bought can be just as fun. Here are some fun board games you can buy from Amazon that would be fun to play after Thanksgiving dinner!
I come from a family who loves board games. We have all of these games and play them regularly. A big family board game is perfect for Thanksgiving Day.
- Classic game of Twister: Twister always seems to bring out the giggles. Have some fun this Thanksgiving and bring it out!
- Apples to Apples: This game is great for all ages. Players match noun cards to an adjective card, leading to hilarious and unexpected comparisons.
- Cranium: Cranium is a multi-activity game that challenges players with trivia, wordplay, and creative activities. It’s perfect for a family game night.
- Ticket to Ride: First Journey: This kid-friendly version of Ticket to Ride is suitable for ages 6 and up. It’s a simple but strategic game where players collect train cards and build railways.
- Catan Junior: A simplified version of the popular Settlers of Catan board game, Catan Junior is great for introducing kids to strategy and resource management.
- The Game of Life: This classic board game allows kids to experience the journey of life, making choices about education, career, and family, and can be a great way to spark conversation about future dreams.
- Sorry!: A fun and competitive game of strategy and luck, where players race their pawns around the board while trying to send opponents’ pawns back to the start.
- Candy Land: A classic and simple board game for younger kids, where they move their game piece through a colorful candy-themed world.
- Uno Stacko: While not exactly a board game, Uno Stacko is a fun and challenging game where players take turns removing and stacking Uno cards with special commands and colors. It’s a great option for all ages.
- Sequence for Kids: This kid-friendly version of the classic game Sequence is easy to learn and suitable for younger players. The goal is to get four of your chips in a row while blocking opponents. It combines strategy and a bit of luck, making it an enjoyable game for family gatherings.
- Pictionary: Pictionary is a fun drawing and guessing game that can bring lots of laughter to your Thanksgiving gathering. You can find a special edition with Thanksgiving-related words and phrases, or create your own list of holiday-themed words to draw and guess. It’s a great game for creative kids and adults alike!
Not a board game, but Jenga is a classic game and so fun to play. We bought the large outside Jenga set and it has been hours of fun for our four kids.
When to Play Thanksgiving Youth Games
Thanksgiving youth games can be played both before and after dinner. Opt for games before dinner to keep their minds busy while the last of the food cooks to keep the whines and “MOOOOM’S” to a minimum. Then, opt for some after dinner games to bond as a family.
How to Get Kids to Play Games Thanksgiving Day
It might be easier to get the kids to play games together on Thanksgiving day as opposed to any other day. Odds are they are going to be bored while dinner is cooking and then need something to occupy their minds after dinner. If you are trying to keep electronics to a minimum, plan out a few of these games to keep everyone busy!
How to Involve the Whole Family in Thanksgiving Games
Easily get the whole family involved in Thanksgiving youth games by making up a good competition. Everything is more fun with a little friendly competition, right?
For additional ideas for kids, check out:
I hope you found some creative and fun Thanksgiving games to play from this list! They are all bound to make for a good time. What Thanksgiving youth game are you going to add to your Thanksgiving day menu?
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