Thanksgiving trivia questions

Ten prompts for the table

The food and tradition prompts suit everyone; presidents and Founding Fathers are for the history buffs. Under each are the answers people give first.

1. Name a Thanksgiving food 150 answers

   Said first

   • Turkey
   • Stuffing
   • Mashed potatoes
   • Cranberry sauce

   All answers A–Z

2. Name a Thanksgiving tradition 102 answers

   Said first

   • Eating turkey
   • Watching football
   • Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
   • Saying what you're thankful for

   All answers A–Z

3. Name a type of pie or tart 139 answers

   Said first

   • Apple pie
   • Pumpkin pie
   • Cherry pie
   • Pecan pie

   All answers A–Z

4. Name a squash or gourd 83 answers

   Said first

   • Pumpkin
   • Butternut squash
   • Zucchini
   • Acorn squash

   All answers A–Z

5. Name a root vegetable 62 answers

   Said first

   • Carrot
   • Potato
   • Sweet potato
   • Beetroot

   All answers A–Z

6. Name something you think of in autumn 132 answers

   Said first

   • Leaves
   • Pumpkin
   • Conkers
   • Acorns

   All answers A–Z

7. Name an NFL team 102 answers

   Said first

   • Dallas Cowboys
   • New England Patriots
   • Green Bay Packers
   • Kansas City Chiefs

   All answers A–Z

8. Name a Founding Father of the United States 105 answers

   Said first

   • George Washington
   • Thomas Jefferson
   • Benjamin Franklin
   • John Adams

   All answers A–Z

9. Name a US president 45 answers

   Said first

   • George Washington
   • Abraham Lincoln
   • Donald Trump
   • Barack Obama

   All answers A–Z

10. Name a baking ingredient 210 answers

    Said first

    • Flour
    • Sugar
    • Butter
    • Egg

    All answers A–Z

A trivia game for the whole table

1. Pick a prompt from the list and go round the table, one answer each.
2. No repeats: an answer someone already said does not count.
3. Ten seconds per turn. Out of ideas, you are out of the round.
4. The last player standing picks the next prompt, and does not have to do the dishes.

This is how Seal Circle plays online. For a longer quiz, see how to host a trivia night.

Where Thanksgiving comes from

Americans trace the holiday to the harvest feast the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag shared in the autumn of 1621. Days of thanksgiving were held for many years after, on different dates in different states.

Abraham Lincoln made it a national holiday in 1863, during the Civil War, and since 1941 it falls on the fourth Thursday of November. Canada celebrates its own Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October.

Questions

What are good Thanksgiving trivia questions for families?

Open prompts that every generation can answer: a Thanksgiving food, a kind of pie, a tradition, an NFL team. Grandparents and kids score on the same question, and the rare answers settle it.

How do you play trivia at the Thanksgiving table?

Read a prompt, go round the table and let everyone give one answer. An answer somebody already said is out. The last person with a new answer wins the round.

Can relatives who are not there join in?

Yes. In Seal Circle two to twelve players join a free online room with a code, so cousins on the other side of the country can play along on their phones.