Thanksgiving Games for Kids: Easy Ideas for the Kids’ Table and After Dinner

Hosting Thanksgiving this year, with a table full of cousins who will be “starving” two hours before dinner? A few simple Thanksgiving games keep kids happy while the grown-ups baste, mash and catch up. Here is a full list of games for ages 3–8, sorted by when you need them: at the kids’ table, while dinner is cooking and after the pie. Almost all of them need nothing more than paper, a pencil and a bit of space.

Paper-and-pencil games for the kids’ table

Put a cup of crayons and a stack of paper in the middle of the table and these games run themselves.

• Turkey tic-tac-toe. Draw a grid; one player uses little turkeys, the other uses pumpkins. Quick rounds are perfect for the minutes before the food arrives.
• Draw the next feather. One child draws a turkey body, then everyone takes turns adding a feather in a new color. Count the feathers at the end.
• Thanksgiving “I spy” on paper. Draw five things you can see on the table; your neighbor has to find them all.
• Story chain. Write one sentence of a silly turkey story, fold the paper so only your last line shows and pass it on. Read it out loud at dessert.
• Letter hunt. Older kids list as many Thanksgiving words as they can that start with T, P or G (turkey, pie, gravy…). Younger ones simply circle a letter you write for them.

No-prep games while dinner is cooking

• Hide the turkey. Draw or print a small paper turkey and hide it in the living room. Whoever finds it hides it next. Use “warmer, colder” hints for little ones.
• Gobble, gobble, goose. The Thanksgiving twist on Duck, Duck, Goose: walk around the circle tapping heads and saying “gobble,” then shout “turkey!” and run – the tapped player chases you back to the empty spot.
• Thankful alphabet. Go around the room and name something you are thankful for from A to Z. Help the youngest ones with hints.
• Turkey says. Simon Says with a costume voice: “Turkey says flap your wings,” “Turkey says waddle to the door.”
• Freeze like a scarecrow. Play music; when it stops, everyone freezes in a scarecrow pose. Anyone who wobbles becomes the next DJ.

Active games for after dinner

After a big meal, kids often need to move before they can sit for pie. Push back the chairs or head outside if the weather allows.

• Pumpkin roll relay. Two teams roll a small pumpkin (or an orange) across the room with their hands or a wooden spoon.
• Leaf pile jump. Outside, rake a small pile and take turns jumping in. Indoors, scrunch up paper “leaves” and toss them into a laundry basket.
• Turkey trot. A short family race around the yard or down the hallway, with the grown-ups waddling like turkeys.
• Pin the feather on the turkey. Draw a big turkey on a sheet of paper, tape it to the wall and give each child a paper feather with tape on the back. With eyes closed, each player tries to stick the feather in the right spot.

Kids’ table placemats to print: a maze and a word search

If you want something to print and put straight on the table, the kids’ table placemats in our Thanksgiving pack are made for exactly this moment. They combine a maze and a word search, so a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old can sit side by side and each find something to do. Print them in landscape so they fill the page, and lay one at every seat with a few crayons before guests arrive. They come in US Letter and A4.

Thanksgiving games for kids of mixed ages (3–8)

• Pair big with little. An older cousin reads the clues or keeps score; a younger one finds, draws or runs.
• Change the rules, not the game. In the letter hunt, preschoolers find one letter while older kids write whole words.
• Keep rounds short. Five to ten minutes per game is plenty for 3- and 4-year-olds.
• Everyone wins something. A sticker or the job of hiding the turkey next keeps tears away.
• Safety first. Keep small game pieces away from toddlers under 3, and save running games for a space away from the hot oven.

Try the free sample

Want to see the style before you print the placemats? The free sample has a turkey coloring page and a big Disguise a Turkey template – perfect for the hide-the-turkey game above. The full Thanksgiving Kids Activity Pack has 19 pages for kids ages 3–8, including coloring pages, the kids’ table placemats and thankful cards. For a full plan for the day, read our guide to Thanksgiving activities for kids. Looking for printable games the whole family can play, from picture bingo to a card game? See our printable Thanksgiving games for the whole family.

Download the free sample See the full pack Thanksgiving activities for kids