46 trivia questions
The 1621 harvest feast
What the record from 1621 actually tells us.
How many days did the 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth last?
Ages 5+
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Three days.
Which colonist's 1621 letter is our main record of the harvest feast?
Ages 8+
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Edward Winslow's. He wrote that they entertained and feasted for three days.
Source: How the Traditional Thanksgiving Feast Has Evolved Over Centuries, National Geographic
Which meat do we know for sure was on the table in 1621, thanks to that letter?
Ages 5+
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Venison, which is deer meat.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
Was there pumpkin pie at the 1621 feast?
Ages 5+
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Almost certainly not. The colonists had no flour, sugar or molasses for pie, so any pumpkin was likely boiled.
Source: How the Traditional Thanksgiving Feast Has Evolved Over Centuries, National Geographic
Why was there probably no cranberry sauce in 1621?
Ages 8+
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Cranberry sauce needs sugar, which was an expensive treat in the 1600s.
Source: Thanksgiving 2013: What to Know About Turkey Day, National Geographic
Lobster was so common in 1621 New England that people could do what?
Ages 5+
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Pick lobsters right off the beach at low tide.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
Besides eating, what did people do together during the three-day feast?
Ages 5+
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They played ball games, sang and danced.
Name two foods that were eaten at the 1621 feast.
Ages 5+
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Deer, corn, shellfish and roasted meat were all on the menu.
Pilgrims & the Wampanoag
Which Native nation played a key role at the 1621 harvest feast?
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The Wampanoag.
Which Wampanoag leader came to the colonists' settlement with about 90 of his men?
Ages 8+
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Massasoit.
In which colony did the Pilgrims who held the 1621 feast live?
Ages 5+
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Plymouth Colony.
About how many days did the Mayflower spend crossing the ocean?
Ages 5+
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66 days.
Tisquantum, often called Squanto, helped the colonists with which farming trick?
Ages 5+
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Growing corn, using fish to fertilize the fields.
Which two meats did the Wampanoag most likely eat most often?
Ages 8+
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Deer and turkey.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
According to Edward Winslow, how did a Wampanoag man catch eels?
Ages 8+
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He trod them out with his feet.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
Making it a holiday
Which president named Thursday, November 26, 1789, a national day of thanksgiving?
Ages 8+
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George Washington.
Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
Which president's 1863 proclamation made Thanksgiving a regular national holiday?
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Abraham Lincoln, on October 3, 1863.
Under Lincoln's proclamation, which Thursday of November was Thanksgiving?
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The last Thursday.
Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
Why did President Franklin D. Roosevelt move Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939?
Ages 8+
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To give stores a longer Christmas shopping season and help the economy recover.
Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
Since a 1941 law, which Thursday of November is Thanksgiving?
Ages 8+
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The fourth Thursday.
Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
On what date did President Roosevelt sign the law that fixed Thanksgiving's date?
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December 26, 1941.
Source: Congress Establishes Thanksgiving, National Archives
Which magazine editor called for Thanksgiving to become a national holiday?
Ages 8+
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Sarah Josepha Hale.
Source: Thanksgiving 2013: What to Know About Turkey Day, National Geographic
Turkey talk
From about how far away can you hear a wild turkey gobble?
Ages 5+
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About a mile.
Source: Wild Turkey, National Geographic
How many eggs does a wild turkey hen lay?
Ages 5+
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Anywhere from 4 to 17.
Source: Wild Turkey, National Geographic
About how many wild turkeys live in the United States today?
Ages 8+
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About six million, in every state except Alaska.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
By the time of the Civil War, what had happened to New England's wild turkeys?
Ages 8+
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They had been wiped out. Turkeys were brought back later, and their numbers rebounded.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
Which state raises the most turkeys?
Ages 5+
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Minnesota.
The Census Bureau once called the top turkey state by its nickname. What is Minnesota's nickname?
Ages 8+
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The Gopher State.
Source: Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 2012, U.S. Census Bureau
Harvest foods
Which state grows the most cranberries?
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Wisconsin.
Which state grows the most pumpkins?
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Which state grows the most sweet potatoes?
Ages 5+
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North Carolina.
Source: Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 2012, U.S. Census Bureau
Were potatoes or sweet potatoes on the table at the 1621 feast?
Ages 8+
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Probably not. Neither was an everyday food for the English yet.
Source: Thanksgiving 2013: What to Know About Turkey Day, National Geographic
Colonists hunted wild birds, called fowl, for the 1621 feast. What kinds might those have been?
Ages 8+
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Ducks, geese, quail or wild turkeys.
Source: How Wild Animals Eaten at the First Thanksgiving Are Faring Today, National Geographic
Are mashed potatoes an old Thanksgiving tradition or a newer one?
Ages 8+
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A newer one. It wasn't part of the 1621 feast.
Source: How the Traditional Thanksgiving Feast Has Evolved Over Centuries, National Geographic
Parades & traditions
In what year did the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade begin?
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What marched in the very first Macy's parade?
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Animals borrowed from the Central Park Zoo.
Source: Thanksgiving 2013: What to Know About Turkey Day, National Geographic
In what year did giant helium balloons first float in the parade?
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In what year did NBC Radio broadcast the first national Thanksgiving Day football game?
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Each year at least two turkeys skip the dinner table thanks to what tradition?
Ages 5+
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A presidential pardon.
Source: Thanksgiving 2013: What to Know About Turkey Day, National Geographic
In what year did Plymouth hold its first recorded religious day of thanksgiving?
Ages 8+
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1623, two years after the harvest feast.
Thanksgiving on the map
About how many U.S. counties, towns and townships are named Plymouth?
Ages 8+
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Which state has the most populous U.S. town named Plymouth?
Ages 8+
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Minnesota.
Source: Facts for Features: Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 22, 2012, U.S. Census Bureau
Which Pennsylvania township shares its name with a tart red Thanksgiving berry?
Ages 8+
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Cranberry Township.
How many U.S. townships have Turkey in their name?
Ages 8+
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In which state is the city of Mayflower?
Ages 8+
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Arkansas.
How many places in the United States are named Pilgrim?
Ages 8+
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Two: one township and one census-designated place.
Play it at a party
Feathers for the Turkey
4–10
Ages
4–16, in teams
Players
15–20 min
How long
- Draw a featherless turkey for each team on a big sheet of paper and cut out a pile of paper feathers.
- Read a question to each team in turn.
- A right answer earns a feather, which a player tapes onto the team's turkey, blindfolded if they're old enough.
- After ten questions, the team with the fullest turkey wins.
Borrowed from pin the feather on the turkey, where the full rules live.
Waddle and Answer
5–12
Ages
8–20, two teams
Players
10–15 min
How long
- Set up the turkey waddle relay: each runner waddles to the far end with a balloon between their knees.
- At the far end, a grown-up reads them a question.
- A right answer lets them waddle back and tag the next runner; a wrong one gets another question.
- The first team to get every runner home wins.
Borrowed from turkey waddle relay, where the full rules live.
Kids' Table Quiz
5–12
Ages
Any size, seated
Players
10–30 min
How long
- Put a stack of question cards in the middle of the kids' table.
- Between courses, the youngest child draws a card and an older child reads it.
- The table answers together; each right answer earns a paper feather for a table turkey.
- Keep going through dessert, then count the feathers.
When to run it
- At the kids' table between courses.
- While the turkey rests and the grown-ups finish cooking.
- At a Friendsgiving or classroom harvest party.
More games for the same party: Thanksgiving Games for Kids and Fall Festival Games for Kids.
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Pumpkin patch party
A pumpkin patch party built around the one call every family actually has to make — a real farm trip or a backyard afternoon — plus the games, the food, the decor and a printable invitation either way.
Pumpkin patch party ideas
Farm party
A farm party built on animals kids already know — duck-duck-goose, a potato-sack race, a farm-stand snack table, and a printable barnyard invitation.
Farm party ideasFrequently asked questions
- What are good Thanksgiving trivia questions for kids?
- Short ones with a surprise in the answer, like a wild turkey's gobble carrying about a mile. Mix turkey and food questions for younger kids with holiday history for older ones, so every age gets a win.
- How do you play Thanksgiving trivia at the kids' table?
- Read one question between courses and let the kids answer as a team. Each right answer earns a paper feather for a turkey drawn on the tablecloth or a sheet of paper. It keeps the table busy while the grown-ups finish eating.
- Was the 1621 harvest feast the first Thanksgiving?
- It's the feast most people mean, but Plymouth's first recorded religious day of thanksgiving came in 1623. Thanksgiving became a regular national holiday after Abraham Lincoln's proclamation in 1863.
- How many Thanksgiving trivia questions do I need?
- About 10 to 15 for a meal, or 20 for a game on its own. Each question takes about a minute with the guessing and the reveal, and a few spares help when a round goes fast.
