Do you know the name of the ship that brought the pilgrims to Plymouth Rock? How about the two NFL teams that always play on Thanksgiving Day? Use these Thanksgiving trivia questions to test yourself or for a fun Thanksgiving activity for all ages!
I’ll admit it – I’m not the best when it comes to trivia. I can’t remember what I ate for breakfast so remembering little details about things is tough. I’m pretty good with movie and music trivia (like these Harry Potter trivia questions) but history and fats, nope.
But it’s still fun and my husband and son have an amazing memory so we trivia questions a lot at our house. They have those remember everything they ate and talked about for the past month kind of memory.
And I think trivia is fun, even if I personally don’t ever know the answers to questions. If you want something a little less factual based, you might like these Thanksgiving family feud questions or maybe one of these other Thanksgiving games.
These Thanksgiving trivia questions were designed to work for both kids and adults. There are a bunch of questions including ones that kids can probably answer (hello a boat name The Mayflower) as well as ones they probably won’t be able to answer (Rachel’s trifle from Friends).
So choose the Thanksgiving trivia questions that make the most sense for your group and skip the rest.
How to Play
I’ve created two different versions of the Thanksgiving trivia questions depending on how you want to use them. You can download both at the end of this post or get a copy in my shop here.
One of the versions is cards with the question and card on them. The other is a printable Thanksgiving trivia page with all of the questions (no answers) listed on it
The printable sheet with all of the questions on it is pretty self-explanatory but the basic idea is that you’d give everyone a printed sheet, a time limit, and some basic rules (no help or phones) and see who get the most answers correct.
The Thanksgiving trivia cards are more versatile and can used in a number of ways!
- Asking questions to an entire group and having people write down their answer on a sheet of paper. Go through all the questions and everyone gets one point for each correct answer.
- Asking questions to a large group and whoever can come up with the correct answer wins one point.
- Putting the cards on a table and letting people just ask questions to each other as kind of a conversation starter.
- Playing a team trivia game where you split the group into teams, ask the questions, and teams answer together. One point per answer and the team with the most points wins.
- Asking the entire group and the first person to run up and answer the question gets a small prize/treat (these chocolate turkey treats would be perfect!)
Thanksgiving Trivia Questions
If you don’t want to print out the questions and just want to test yourself, I’ve included the list of trivia questions here as well! Good luck!
- What president signed an order establishing the fourth Thursday of Thanksgiving as the federal Thanksgiving Day holiday? (Franklin Roosevelt)
- Name one of the two NFL teams that always host a Thanksgiving game? (Cowboys and Lions)
- A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving opens with Charlie Brown trying and failing to do what? (kick a football)
- What did the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade introduce in 1928 to replace live animals? (balloons)
- Which Hunger Games sequel is the top grossing Thanksgiving weekend movie of all time? (Catching Fire)
- The tradition of adding oysters to what dish goes all the way back to the British? (stuffing)
- What ship set sail from Plymouth, England on Sept 6, 1620 with 102 passengers onboard? (The Mayflower)
- What part of the turkey, known as the furcula, is used for a friendly two person Thanksgiving tradition competition? (wishbone)
- What Steve Martin and John Candy buddy movie is set during the Thanksgiving holiday? (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)
- What South American country celebrates Thanksgiving the same day as the US? (Brazil)
- Each year the fire department is called over 1000 times due to people cooking turkeys in what manner? (deep frying)
- Who sang a Thanksgiving song during his tenure on Saturday Night Live? (Adam Sandler)
- What president issued a proclamation to celebrate the first “Day of Publick Thanksgivin?” (George Washington)
- Name one of the four states in the US that has a city named turkey. (Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, North Carolina)
- What company, with its headquarters in North Carolina, sells the most turkeys in the US? (Butterball)
- What city has the oldest Thanksgiving Day parade? (Philadelphia)
- What 18-minute Arlo Guthrie song describes an incident that happens on Thanksgiving? (Alice’s Restaurant)
- Do male or female turkeys gobble? (male)
- What shopping term was used in the 1800s to describe stock market crashes? (Black Friday)
- Which traditional Thanksgiving side dish is the official vegetable of the state of North Carolina? (sweet potatoes)
- In what traditional Thanksgiving side dish is the herb sage most commonly used? (stuffing)
- What meat is the most popular alternative to turkey to eat on Thanksgiving Day? (ham)
- How long did the very first Thanksgiving celebration last? (3 days)
- Name one of the two Ivy-league football teams who played in the first Thanksgiving game. (Yale & Princeton)
- What announcer started giving the “turkey leg award” to the MVP of the NFL game that he would broadcast? (John Madden)
- What melodious book in the Bible tells us to “sing unto the Lord with Thanksgiving?” (Psalms)
- Resorts that cater to this type of sport are usually open by Thanksgiving weekend. (ski resorts)
- What recipe does Rachel accidentally combine with an English trifle in a Thanksgiving episode of Friends? (shepherd’s pie)
- Which Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade balloon has made the most total appearances? (Snoopy)
- What classic Christmas song, originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh” was meant to be sung on Thanksgiving? (Jingle Bells)
Trivia Prize Ideas
Depending on how you are using these Thanksgiving trivia questions, it’s always fun to give out prizes to people who answer correctly or the person who gets the most total correct!
Here are a few fun prize ideas to get you started! You can always do a gift card as well, but these are more fun!
Larger Prizes (for one individual winner)
- A trivia board game of some sort (for more trivia at home!)
- Thanksgiving treat basket
- Gold turkey trivia trophy
- Thankful gift box
- Thanksgiving socks
- Thanksgiving trivia medal (customize it!)
Small Prize Ideas (prize per question)
- Mini footballs
- Thanksgiving stickers (these ones are so fun!)
- Thanksgiving buttons
- Bag of Thanksgiving candy
Download the Printable
Enter your first name and email address in the form below to get the printable PDF. You will receive a link to download the PDF to your email within minutes.
If you’d rather not fill out the form, you can buy a copy in my shop here.
If you do not see the form below, click here to get to it.
If you do not see the email immediately after you fill out the form, make sure to check your promotions, spam, and junk folders!
The file will include:
- 30 Thanksgiving trivia cards
- One-page Thanksgiving trivia questions sheet
- One-page answer sheet
- Instructions
Ellen says
Great questions!! Thank you!!
Linda Gravitt says
Very cute
Britni Vigil says
Thank you!
Odata Taylor says
I love all of your great ideas for party games.
I use your site all the time. Great place for
use for Sunday School kids and family holidays.