Thanksgiving is a time for gathering with those you love! It’s also quite the eating event. Although the feast is something most look forward to every year, the preparation time is no small undertaking!
To save you anxiety from all the multi-tasting, we’ve put together 10 activities that will keep your guests entertained while you’re scrambling to finish final meal preparations.
1). “Pin Them” Charades
Wanna keep the party going all day? For this game, you’re going to need some clothes pins and a bucket filled with words or phrases. We recommend filling the bucket up before the guests arrive so that they can dive right into the fun!
Split your guests into two teams. You’ll need to pin different colored ribbon on everyone so that others know which team they’re on. If you want to get really creative, you can print out two Thanksgiving themed items and pin them to each guest. For example, one team could be the turkey team and the other could be the ham team. Regardless, make sure everyone is wearing something that lets others know which team they are on!
The goal is for the opposing team to inconspicuously clip a clothes pin onto their opponents garment so that they don’t notice. Have the pinner walk up to a designated area and blow into a turkey call. That will signal everyone to search for a clothes pin on themselves. Whoever finds a clothes pin on themselves needs to act out a charade. They have 1 minute for their team to get it. If they succeed, their team gets a point. If they fail, the opposing team gets a point. Whoever gets the most points by the end of the party has bragging rights for the rest of the year!
2). Meal Time Melody
Once dinner is served, keep things interesting by playing this game! The host needs to tape a lyric to a song to the bottom of each plate. Tell the guests to take a glance but don’t let anyone else see their plate.
The idea is that you need to work the lyric into casual conversation without anyone noticing.
For example, when someone serves your plate with a scoop of mashed potatoes your response could be “we’re half way there” (Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer).
Or if someone asks if you want a second helping you could respond with “hit me baby one more time” (Britney Spears – Baby One More Time).
3). What A Year!
Once the feasting is done, many families like to stay gathered around the table for coffee or wine and catch up on the events in each other’s lives. This is a great game, especially for family that doesn’t see each other too often.
Have each guests anonymously write down 3-5 eventful things that have happened to them in the last year. Take turns reading them out loud have players guess which cards belongs to who. It’s a great conversation starter!
4). Thanksgiving Telephone
Players gather around the table. Someone starts off by saying “At Thanksgiving dinner, I like to eat turkey.” Moving clockwise, the next player then repeats, “At Thanksgiving dinner, I like to eat turkey and … ” they choose another food. The person next to them has to repeat the last two plus add their own favorite food, and so on. If a player makes a mistake, they’re out of the game.
The winner is the person who can remember the entire menu from the beginning of the game!
5). Turkey Tag
Now you have another reason to bust out those stretchy pants!
Stuffing your face can be hard work! A game of turkey tag can burn off some of those calories. Hot glue some colorful feathers onto clothes pins and let the good times roll!
6). Pie Word Search
It’s funny to watch people get messy, right?! Take three disposable pie tins and put a P, I and E in either of the tins. Cover them in whip cream and have the players dive for the letter using only their mouths! The first person to pull out the letters wins!
7). Pin The Tail On The Turkey
This is an adorable game for people of all ages! Need I say more?
8). Shake Yo Tail Feather
This one is hilarious! Take an empty tissue box, attach some panty hose and add feathers into the box. Players have to shake their bums to get the feathers out. The first players to have an empty tissue box wins!
9). Don’t Let The Feather Drop!
This game is pretty self explanatory. Simply start blowing a feather in the air and don’t let it touch the ground. The last player standing wins!
10). Light Up The Pit!
You wanna know our favorite way to entertain? Gather your guests around a warm fire! The whole family will enjoy gathering around the fire-pit with a warm hot chocolate! If you have an ounce of room left after the feast, consider roasting some s’mores!
