Thanksgiving trivia: 50 questions and answers for your family

Here are 50 Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers, split into five rounds of ten: history, food, the big parade and NFL football, pop culture, and an easy round for kids. Print them, read them out between dinner and pie, or save them for a Friendsgiving. Every answer is checked, and where a popular belief about the holiday turns out to be a myth, we've turned it into a question so you can win the argument at the table.

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away, so there's still time to get a round or two ready.

How to run Thanksgiving trivia at the dinner table

You don't need a projector or a buzzer. A few things make it smoother:

• Pick your moment. The gap between the main course and dessert is ideal. People are full, nobody's cooking, and pie is a good reason to stay in your seat.
• Make teams by table side. One side of the table against the other works well for a family gathering. For a Friendsgiving, let people pair off and give the teams a name (our quiz team names list has plenty of ideas).
• Kids versus adults. Give the kids Round 5 and the adults Rounds 1 to 4, or let the kids answer the easy round first and earn bonus points for their team.
• Keep it short. One round of ten takes about ten minutes. Two rounds is plenty if the football's on.
• Let the host judge. If someone gives a half-right answer, the person reading the questions decides. Arguing over it is half the fun.

If you'd rather not shuffle paper, you can put these into the free quiz maker and show them on the family TV with a big-screen scoreboard.

Round 1: Thanksgiving history trivia

The 1621 harvest feast is one of the most retold stories in American history, and one of the most muddled. For the history behind it, the Smithsonian's account of what happened in 1621 is a good read.

1In 1621, English colonists and Native people shared a harvest feast in which Massachusetts settlement?Use in quizUse

Answer:Plymouth(click to reveal)

2Which Native nation shared the 1621 harvest gathering with the colonists?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Wampanoag(click to reveal)

3Who was the leader who had made an alliance with the Plymouth colonists?Use in quizUse

Answer:Ousamequin (also known as Massasoit; accept either)(click to reveal)

4Edward Winslow, who wrote the main surviving account, said the Wampanoag brought which meat to the feast?Use in quizUse

Answer:Deer (five deer, according to Winslow)(click to reveal)

5True or false: the people at the 1621 feast called it "the first Thanksgiving."Use in quizUse

Answer:False. The label wasn't attached to it until the 1800s. Historians describe it as a harvest celebration and a diplomatic gathering.(click to reveal)

6Which magazine editor, and author of the nursery rhyme "Mary Had a Little Lamb," spent decades campaigning for a national day of thanksgiving?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sarah Josepha Hale(click to reveal)

7Which president, in the middle of the Civil War, proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving in 1863?Use in quizUse

Answer:Abraham Lincoln (the proclamation was written by his Secretary of State, William Seward, which the National Park Service notes)(click to reveal)

8Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939?Use in quizUse

Answer:Franklin D. Roosevelt (accept FDR)(click to reveal)

9Critics nicknamed that move "Franksgiving." What was it meant to help?Use in quizUse

Answer:Retail sales (a longer Christmas shopping season during the Great Depression)(click to reveal)

10Congress settled the argument in 1941 by making Thanksgiving fall on which Thursday of the month?Use in quizUse

Answer:The fourth Thursday(click to reveal)

The full story of Franksgiving is worth a read.

Round 2: Thanksgiving food trivia

Turkey, cranberries and a few things that got onto the table by accident of marketing.

1What's a male turkey called?Use in quizUse

Answer:A tom (accept gobbler)(click to reveal)

2Which sound do only male turkeys make?Use in quizUse

Answer:Gobbling(click to reveal)

3True or false: Benjamin Franklin led a campaign to make the turkey the national bird.Use in quizUse

Answer:False. He wrote that he thought the turkey was a more respectable bird than the eagle, but the bald eagle had already been chosen for the Great Seal before then.(click to reveal)

4Which tart red fruit, native to North America, is harvested by flooding bogs so the berries float to the top?Use in quizUse

Answer:Cranberries(click to reveal)

5Which company's home economics team created green bean casserole in 1955?Use in quizUse

Answer:Campbell's(click to reveal)

Dorcas Reilly created it for the company's test kitchen, according to Wikipedia.

6What do two people pull apart from a cooked turkey to make a wish?Use in quizUse

Answer:The wishbone(click to reveal)

7True or false: the tryptophan in turkey is the main reason people feel sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner.Use in quizUse

Answer:False. It's mostly the size of the meal (and the carbs, and the wine).(click to reveal)

8What's the name for the red flap of skin that hangs from a turkey's neck?Use in quizUse

Answer:The wattle(click to reveal)

9What do many people call stuffing when it's baked in a dish rather than inside the bird?Use in quizUse

Answer:Dressing(click to reveal)

10What's a baby turkey called?Use in quizUse

Answer:A poult (a chick is also fine)(click to reveal)

For more food-themed rounds, try our food and drink quiz questions.

Round 3: Thanksgiving parade and football trivia

Two things happen on Thanksgiving morning and afternoon whether or not anyone's cooked yet.

1Which department store organizes the famous Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City?Use in quizUse

Answer:Macy's(click to reveal)

2In which year did the first parade take place (hint: the 1920s)?Use in quizUse

Answer:1924 (source)(click to reveal)

3What was the parade originally called?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Macy's Christmas Parade(click to reveal)

4Before giant balloons, the early parades featured live animals borrowed from which New York attraction?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Central Park Zoo(click to reveal)

5Which cartoon cat was one of the first giant character balloons, in 1927?Use in quizUse

Answer:Felix the Cat(click to reveal)

6Which gas lets the parade balloons float?Use in quizUse

Answer:Helium(click to reveal)

7Who traditionally rides the very last float of the parade?Use in quizUse

Answer:Santa Claus(click to reveal)

8Which NFL team has hosted a Thanksgiving Day game almost every year since 1934?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Detroit Lions (see NFL on Thanksgiving Day)(click to reveal)

9Which Texas team started hosting a Thanksgiving game in 1966?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Dallas Cowboys(click to reveal)

10What's the name of the shopping day that follows Thanksgiving, famous for bargain hunting?Use in quizUse

Answer:Black Friday(click to reveal)

Round 4: Thanksgiving pop culture trivia

Thanksgiving on screen, from a cartoon feast of popcorn to a very bad trip home.

1In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, the menu is toast, pretzel sticks, jelly beans and which snack?Use in quizUse

Answer:Popcorn(click to reveal)

2Which character invites herself to Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving dinner?Use in quizUse

Answer:Peppermint Patty(click to reveal)

3Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) stars Steve Martin and which comedian?Use in quizUse

Answer:John Candy(click to reveal)

4In that film, which city is Steve Martin's character desperately trying to reach for Thanksgiving?Use in quizUse

Answer:Chicago(click to reveal)

5In the Friends episode "The One with the Football," what trophy are the Gellers playing for?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Geller Cup(click to reveal)

6In Friends, Rachel makes a Thanksgiving dessert that accidentally includes beef. What dessert is it?Use in quizUse

Answer:A trifle(click to reveal)

7Why does Chandler hate Thanksgiving?Use in quizUse

Answer:His parents told him they were getting divorced on Thanksgiving(click to reveal)

8Which actor played Chandler Bing in Friends?Use in quizUse

Answer:Matthew Perry(click to reveal)

9Which 1947 Christmas classic features the real Macy's parade at its start?Use in quizUse

Answer:Miracle on 34th Street(click to reveal)

10In the 2013 animated film Free Birds, two turkeys travel back in time to take their species off the menu of which famous meal?Use in quizUse

Answer:The first Thanksgiving (accept 1621 or Plymouth)(click to reveal)

Round 5: Easy Thanksgiving trivia for kids

A gentle round for younger players, or for anyone who's two helpings in.

1Which season of the year is Thanksgiving in?Use in quizUse

Answer:Fall (accept autumn)(click to reveal)

2In which month is Thanksgiving celebrated in the US?Use in quizUse

Answer:November(click to reveal)

3What was the name of the ship the Pilgrims sailed on?Use in quizUse

Answer:The Mayflower(click to reveal)

4Which gooey orange side dish is often topped with marshmallows?Use in quizUse

Answer:Sweet potatoes (accept yams)(click to reveal)

5Which orange pie is served for dessert at most Thanksgiving dinners?Use in quizUse

Answer:Pumpkin pie(click to reveal)

6Besides pumpkin, which nutty Southern pie is a Thanksgiving favorite?Use in quizUse

Answer:Pecan pie(click to reveal)

7Which country, besides the US, celebrates Thanksgiving, in October?Use in quizUse

Answer:Canada(click to reveal)

8True or false: the Pilgrims wore pointy black hats with buckles on them.Use in quizUse

Answer:False. That look came from later illustrations.(click to reveal)

9What do many people like to say around the table before they eat?Use in quizUse

Answer:What they're thankful for(click to reveal)

10What's the name of the warm, spiced drink made from pressed apples?Use in quizUse

Answer:Apple cider (accept mulled cider)(click to reveal)

Tiebreaker question

If two teams finish level, ask for a closest guess: how many years is it from Lincoln's Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863 to this year? Whoever gets closest wins. (It's 163 in 2026.)

Using these Thanksgiving trivia questions

A few notes if you're hosting for a mixed crowd or doing a funny Thanksgiving trivia round for a Friendsgiving:

• Add a game show element. Offer double points on the pop culture round or a prize for the "myth" questions (Round 1 Q5, Round 2 Q3 and Q7, Round 5 Q8).
• Let people argue. The most memorable moment is often the dispute over a myth. Let them have it.
• Mix in other rounds. Our funny quiz questions work well after a big meal, and when you're done with Thanksgiving, you can move on to Christmas quiz questions.

Making it funny for a Friendsgiving

A Friendsgiving crowd usually wants silly more than scholarly. Ask each team to write a made-up "fun fact" about the holiday and have the others vote on which one sounds most believable. It takes five minutes and nobody needs to know anything about 1621. You can also award points for the best team name or the most dramatic answer, and add a forfeit for whoever gets the first question wrong (loading the dishwasher works).

Printing and prep

If you're doing this on paper, copy the questions for each round onto separate sheets and keep the answers in your own pocket. Read each question twice, give people about thirty seconds, then reveal the answers together at the end of the round so nobody's flipping ahead. For a bigger group, number the rounds on index cards and pull them out of a bowl so the order stays a surprise.

Keeping it fair across ages

If your table spans eight to eighty, let the youngest team answer first on each question, then pass it on. Give everyone a pen and paper for written answers so the loudest person doesn't win by shouting. And if a grandparent was around for a famous Thanksgiving football game or a parade from decades ago, ask them to tell the story after the round. It's usually better than the answer.

Happy Thanksgiving, and may the best table win. When the leftovers run out, the quiz calendar has every themed quiz date for the year ahead.