Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers
Here are 26 Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers, grouped into the first Thanksgiving, holiday history, turkeys and food, and traditions. They work for a mixed table of kids and grown-ups. Read them aloud after dinner, or turn them into a buzzer game on the TV for free with Hangtime's Trivia Board.
Dinner's done, the table's full and nobody wants to move. A round of trivia is the easiest game to start, and it gets the cousins and the grandparents playing together. Answers are in bold, so cover them up if you're reading off a phone.
The questions
The first Thanksgiving
- In what year was the harvest feast often called the first Thanksgiving? Answer: 1621
- What was the name of the ship that carried the Pilgrims to America? Answer: The Mayflower
- Which Native American people shared that 1621 harvest feast with the Pilgrims? Answer: The Wampanoag
- Who was the Wampanoag leader at the 1621 feast? Answer: Massasoit (also called Ousamequin)
- Where did the Pilgrims build their colony? Answer: Plymouth, in what is now Massachusetts
Thanksgiving history
- Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863? Answer: Abraham Lincoln
- Which magazine editor spent years campaigning for a national Thanksgiving, and also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb"? Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale
- Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939, a change people nicknamed "Franksgiving"? Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt
- In the United States, Thanksgiving is on which Thursday of November? Answer: The fourth Thursday
- In which month does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving? Answer: October (the second Monday)
Turkeys and the food
- What do you call a male turkey? Answer: A tom (or a gobbler)
- What do you call a baby turkey? Answer: A poult
- What is the fleshy flap that hangs over a turkey's beak called? Answer: The snood
- Can wild turkeys fly? Answer: Yes, in short bursts
- Which tart red berry is cooked into the classic Thanksgiving sauce? Answer: The cranberry
- What is stuffing usually called when it's baked in a dish instead of inside the bird? Answer: Dressing
- What sweet topping often goes on a sweet potato casserole? Answer: Marshmallows
- What crunchy topping goes on a classic green bean casserole? Answer: Crispy fried onions
Traditions
- Which department store runs the famous Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City? Answer: Macy's
- Which special guest arrives at the very end of that parade? Answer: Santa Claus
- Which two NFL teams traditionally host a game every Thanksgiving? Answer: The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys
- What does the President pardon at the White House each Thanksgiving? Answer: A turkey
- What is the shopping day after Thanksgiving called? Answer: Black Friday
- Which turkey bone do two people pull apart to make a wish? Answer: The wishbone
- The song "Over the River and Through the Wood" was first written about which holiday? Answer: Thanksgiving
- In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which character cooks the toast, popcorn and jelly bean feast? Answer: Snoopy
How to play these on the TV
Reading questions off a phone works, but it's more fun with buzzers. On Hangtime you can turn any of these into a trivia category for Trivia Board, our free Jeopardy-style game:
- Go to hangtime.games/make and type in five clues, easiest to hardest. It's free and takes a few minutes.
- Open hangtime.games/trivia-tv on the TV and add your category to the board.
- Everyone joins at hangtime.games/play on their phone and buzzes in. Kids can team up with an adult on one phone.
Tips for a Thanksgiving trivia round
- Play in teams. Kids and grandparents on the same team keeps it fair and starts the best arguments.
- Add a family round. Five questions about your own family (who burned the rolls in 2019?) always get the biggest laughs.
- Keep it short. Twenty questions is plenty before pie.
Make a Thanksgiving category
Type in five clues and play them on the TV with phones as buzzers. Free, no account for players.
Make a Thanksgiving categoryNo group handy? Try Wordy Birdy solo, free, in 10 seconds →Questions
When was the first Thanksgiving?
The harvest feast often called the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag at Plymouth.
Who made Thanksgiving a national holiday?
Abraham Lincoln, in 1863.
What are good Thanksgiving trivia questions for kids?
Turkey questions work well for kids: a male turkey is a tom, a baby is a poult, and the flap over the beak is called a snood.
How can we play Thanksgiving trivia with buzzers?
Make a free trivia category at hangtime.games/make and play it on the TV with Trivia Board. Everyone buzzes in from their phone.