Thanksgiving Game Ideas for Young and Old

In most areas of the United States, Thanksgiving falls early enough in the season that, while not necessarily warm, the weather is often mild enough that outdoor activities can be enjoyed after an afternoon feast. Thanksgiving games can be enjoyed by people of any age. Looking back on my own Thanksgiving experiences, after a large meal, most people would be too tired and lackadaisical to do anything except sit on the couch and watch TV, or take a nap. With a little planning you can get the whole group out to a local park, or just in the backyard, for some fun.

One of my favorite Thanksgiving games is to play a game of T-U-R-K-E-Y on a backyard or driveway basketball hoop. It is just like the traditional game of H-O-R-S-E but instead of words you use the word T-U-R-K-E-Y. If you have young ones or older members of the family playing, you may wish to lower the group to make it easier to attempt shots. This Thanksgiving game works by assigning a letter to a person who misses a shot that the previous person had made. After a missed shot the next person whose turn it is gets to decide what shot they want to do. After a person has been assigned six letters they are eliminated from the game.

A fun Thanksgiving game for younger children is to do a turkey hunt. Get an artistic member of your family to draw pictures of turkeys on sturdy paper and then attach them to wooden sticks, a tongue depressor stick will do. Props can also be bought at a local store for a reasonable price. To make the game even more fun, dress the children in Thanksgiving themed costumes. You will want to set a prize for the person who finds the most turkeys hidden throughout your backyard, front yard or living and dining rooms. Consider setting up separate prizes for adults, teenagers and children so that each group has something to look forward to. For additional fun, consider playing this game at a local park so the group has more room to spread out.

Lastly, my favorite Thanksgiving game is the musical pie walk. This game is similar to musical chairs, but the participants do not sit on chairs, rather they walk in a circle while you play music. When the music stops they have to find the nearest place mat that you have arranged on the ground in a circle. The easiest way to make these place mats is to simply use sturdy construction paper, or something similar. To begin with, there should be one less place mat than there players participating. When the music stops, the player who is not able to find a place mat to stop on is eliminated and another place mat is removed. This continues until only one player is left with a place mat to stand on. It is important to keep track of the order in which players are eliminated. At the end of this Thanksgiving game, players pick out a desert of their choice from a table laid out with various deserts including pies, pastries, brownies and cookies. The player who won the game picks the desert that he or she wants first and then this proceeds in reverse order with the player eliminated first choosing last.

I hope these Thanksgiving games have given you ideas for your family's Thanksgiving get together. All you need is a little creativity to come up with variations of these games. Your guests will be sure to appreciate the extra effort you put in to making their holiday memorable.