Thanksgiving Games

Thanksgiving is a great time to have a party. Children really enjoy getting dressed up so this is a great time to have guests come dressed as Puritans. You can have a wonderful Thanksgiving party this year. All you need is a few tips on how to do it.

A great way to start your party off is with a game. You can play "Laughing Handkerchief." What you need to do is have everyone sit in a circle. A person is then selected to hold the handkerchief up in the air while everyone laughs. Without warning the person then drops the handkerchief. When it drops onto the floor everyone is suppose to stop laughing and put a serious look on his or her face. The last person to do this will be the next person to have a turn with the handkerchief.

Another great game to play while everyone is seated in a circle is "Count Your Blessings." In this game, you go around the circle saying what you are thankful for. The "trick" is that you have to use the alphabet as your guide. For instance, the first person says that they are thankful for something that starts with the letter "A." Then the next person would say that they are thankful for something that starts with the letter "B." If you cannot think of something that starts with that letter of the alphabet, then you must drop out of the circle. This continues until you go through the entire alphabet or only one person is left seated in the circle.

If you are looking for a more active game, then give "Indian Trader" a try. In this game guests divide into two groups that are located on opposite ends of the room. One group is named the "Indians" and the other group is named the "Traders." It is the trader's job to decide upon some vegetable that they want to sell to the Indians. Once they have decided what they are going to sell, the traders march across the room and while standing in front of the Indians they say, "We have a vegetable to sell. Guess what it is." Once one of the Indians is finally able to name the correct vegetable all of the traders try to get back to their own side of the room with the Indians trying to catch them. If one of the Indians catches one of the traders then that trader must join the Indians.

A nice quiet game that you could play after the exciting game of "Indian Trader" is "Questions and Answers." You can either play this game orally or in written form. Of course, if you choose to play this game in written form then you will need to give each person a pencil and paper. In this game you basically ask the participants questions about the first Thanksgiving. For instance who were the guests at the first Thanksgiving; who were the hosts; what was one of the grains that the Pilgrims found in the new world; and in what season was the first Thanksgiving held.

All of these are great games, especially when you offer small prizes and nice refreshments. A great suggestion would be orange drink poured over crushed ice with gingerbread turkeys. If you are looking for something that is just a little bit more filling then you could offer cold turkey sandwiches with condiments. Ice cream sundaes in turkey molds and pumpkin shaped cookies also work well.

Children will especially enjoy having a Thanksgiving party. Playing these games at their party will help them to think about what they are really thankful for. It will also let them enjoy having fun with their friends while everyone is on a long break from school.