Thanksgiving Games for Kids

On this page

1. Games for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2 to 4)
2. Games for kids ages 5 to 7
3. Games for big kids (ages 8 to 12)
4. Outdoor games for after dinner
5. How to plan the kids’ part of the day
6. Questions hosts ask

Kids at Thanksgiving have a lot of waiting to do. They wait for cousins to arrive, wait for the turkey, wait for the grown-ups to stop talking so pie can happen. A game gives that waiting a shape.

The bingo cards above use a 4×4 grid and short words like Pie, Owl, Hat and Acorn, so a new reader can match the letters on the calling slip to the card. Four in a row wins, which means rounds are quick and more kids get a turn at shouting BINGO.

Games for toddlers and preschoolers (ages 2 to 4)

At this age, the game is the doing. Skip winners and losers, keep each game under ten minutes, and let a big kid or grown-up play alongside.

1. Paper feather hunt

Cut 20 or so paper feathers in red, orange, yellow and brown, and hide them in plain sight around one room: on a chair seat, against a table leg, under the edge of a rug. Toddlers collect them in a bag, then tape them onto a paper turkey body. Five minutes of setup, ten minutes of play, and you get a decoration out of it.

2. Turkey Says

It’s Simon Says with a gobble. The leader calls “Turkey says flap your wings” or “Turkey says waddle to the couch,” and kids copy. For this age, drop the “you’re out” rule and let everyone keep playing. It works in a small space and needs nothing at all.

3. Leaf sort

Gather a basket of real fall leaves (or cut paper ones) and set out three bowls. Kids sort the leaves by color, then by size, then into “big pile” and “baby pile.” It’s calm, it’s tactile, and it’s the right game for the fifteen minutes when a two-year-old needs to sit down.

4. Mini pumpkin roll

Set a line of masking tape on the floor as a finish line. Kids kneel and push a small pie pumpkin across the rug with their hands, or older preschoolers can use a wooden spoon. Nobody needs to race; getting the pumpkin over the tape is the win. Keep it on carpet or grass, away from stairs.

5. Feather on the turkey (no blindfold)

Draw a big turkey on poster board and tape it at kid height. Hand each child a paper feather with a loop of tape on the back and let them stick it on the tail. Little ones don’t need the blindfold or the spin to find it funny. Older siblings can play the blindfold version afterward.

Games for kids ages 5 to 7

This is the sweet spot for simple rules and short rounds. Kids this age want to win, so small prizes help, and so does playing several quick rounds instead of one long one.

6. Thanksgiving bingo for kids (free printable)

The cards at the top of this page. Print one per child plus a couple of spares, hand out markers, and call words from the calling sheet or from Play mode on a phone or TV. Hold up each word as you call it so early readers can match the letters. With 36 words in the pool, a quick computer simulation by our editors puts a typical round at 11 to 15 calls, so plan three or four rounds. For older kids and grown-ups, our main Thanksgiving bingo cards use 24 words and a free center square.

7. Find someone who (free printable)

Each kid gets a 4×4 card of squares like “Has seen a wild turkey,” “Traveled more than an hour to get here” and “Can whistle a song.” They walk around asking the grown-ups and other kids, and anyone who matches signs that square. First to four in a row wins. It gets shy kids talking to relatives they see once a year, and it keeps them busy for a good 15 to 25 minutes before dinner.

8. Gobble Gobble Goose

Duck, Duck, Goose with a holiday twist. Kids sit in a circle; the picker walks around tapping heads and saying “gobble, gobble,” then shouts “turkey” and runs. The tapped player chases them around the circle. Play it outside or in a room with the coffee table pushed back.

9. Pass the pumpkin

Sit in a circle and pass a small pumpkin or gourd while music plays. When the music stops, whoever’s holding it names something they’re thankful for. Nobody’s out, so it suits a mix of 4-year-olds and 7-year-olds, and you’ll hear some wonderful answers about dogs and grilled cheese.

10. Turkey freeze dance

Play music and let kids dance. When the music stops, the caller shouts a pose (“turkey,” “scarecrow,” “pie cooling on the windowsill”) and everyone freezes in it. Anyone who wobbles does a gobble and keeps playing. Five to ten minutes burns off a lot of energy before a sit-down meal.

11. Thankful tree

Put a few bare branches in a vase or jar weighted with stones. Kids write or draw something they’re thankful for on paper leaves, punch a hole, and hang them with string or ribbon. It isn’t a game with a winner, but it gives kids a job while the table gets set, and grown-ups can add leaves too.

Games for big kids (ages 8 to 12)

Older kids want a real challenge, a score, and ideally a chance to beat a grown-up. These games deliver all of that.

12. This or That cards (free printable)

Draw a card and read both choices: “Pie for breakfast or pancakes for dinner?” “Talk like a turkey or walk like a turkey for one minute?” Everyone points left or right at once, and a kid on the smaller side explains their choice. There are 48 kid-friendly cards, eight to a page. It works at the kids’ table with no grown-up needed once someone can read the cards.

13. Kids’ Thanksgiving trivia (free printable)

Fifteen multiple-choice questions for about ages 5 to 10: what a baby turkey is called, the name of the Pilgrims’ ship, which country celebrates Thanksgiving in October. Big kids can read it themselves; younger ones need a reader. Several answers come with a short fun fact on the key.

For a harder round that the grown-ups can join, our Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers cover the 1621 harvest celebration, the parade and football.

14. Cranberry spoon relay

Split into two teams. Each runner carries three fresh cranberries on a spoon to a bowl across the room, dumps them in and runs back to hand off the spoon. Drop one and you pick it up with the spoon, no hands. It takes about five minutes and makes a mess only of cranberries. Keep this one for kids over 4, since loose berries are a choking risk for toddlers.

15. Blind turkey drawing relay

Tape a big sheet of paper to the wall. One kid at a time closes their eyes and draws one part of a turkey: the body, the head, the feathers, the feet, the wattle. Nobody gets to look until the turkey’s done. The result is always strange and usually worth keeping on the fridge.

16. Cup stack turkey

Give each player 10 plastic cups and 60 seconds to build the tallest tower they can, then knock it down and restack it into a pyramid. Add a paper turkey on top for style points. It’s loud, fast and good for the stretch right before dessert.

17. Spice sniff test

Put pumpkin pie spices and other kitchen smells in small cups: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, orange peel, a coffee bean or two. Cover each cup with foil and poke holes in it. Kids sniff (no tasting, no deep inhaling of powder) and write down their guesses. Most correct wins. Grown-ups tend to do worse at this than they expect.

18. Word scramble race

Hand out our free Thanksgiving word scramble, with 22 holiday words like CRANBERRY and WISHBONE, and let kids race to finish it. It’s quiet enough for the kids’ table while the grown-ups linger over coffee. You’ll find it in our Thanksgiving games for the whole family, along with more all-ages ideas.

Outdoor games for after dinner

19. Backyard turkey trot

Plenty of towns hold a turkey trot fun run on Thanksgiving morning. Make your own in the yard: mark a short loop with pumpkins or shoes, and have kids run it in heats by age. Everyone who finishes gets a paper medal. Save it for after the food has settled a bit.

20. Leaf pile scavenger hunt

Rake the leaves into a big pile and bury ten items in it: plastic spoons, pinecones, a small ball, a clothespin. Kids dig for them. When the hunt’s over, everyone jumps in, which is the real point. Check the pile for sticks and rocks first. For an indoor hunt, our scavenger hunt clues for kids work in any house.

How to plan the kids’ part of the day

Say you’re hosting eight kids from age 3 to 11. You don’t need 20 games. Pick three:

• When they arrive: the find-someone-who card, since it runs on its own while the grown-ups say hello.
• Right before dinner: bingo at the kids’ table, which stops cleanly the moment food shows up.
• After dinner: something that moves, like freeze dance or the leaf pile hunt.

Give the youngest kids a buddy for every game. A 10-year-old reading bingo words to a 4-year-old tends to take the job very seriously.

For a classroom party

Bingo and This or That scale well to a class of 25. For This or That, have kids walk to the left or right side of the room instead of pointing; it gets the wiggles out. The find-someone-who card works with classmates too, though you may want to swap a few squares like “Traveled more than an hour to get here.” You can edit any square before you print. For more ideas on running a class party in a 30-minute slot, see our classroom Halloween party games; the timing tips carry over.

If the grown-ups want in

Once the kids are settled, the adults can have their turn with our Thanksgiving games for adults. Every Thanksgiving printable we make lives on the Thanksgiving games page.

Questions hosts ask

By the Party Game Book editors. Every game here is free to print for personal, classroom and non-commercial use. How we make and check our games.