Free Printable Thanksgiving Conversation Questions

Thanksgiving Conversation Gone Awry!

Worried that Grandpa might tell one of his latest jokes? Do you dread those long tirades from Uncle Bob about his problematic sceptic tank?  Set your worries aside! Here's a free printable Thanksgiving Conversation Questions sheet, sure to spark great Thanksgiving discussions for all ages at your holiday table!

Free Printable Thanksgiving Conversation Questions by B.Nute productions

Instructions to Make your Thanksgiving Conversation Questions
1. Select the above image and print out on card stock.
2. Cut out.
3. Set card on table to get the Thanksgiving table buzzing with conversation!

Printable items are copyright protected, and provided free of charge by B.Nute productions for personal use only. B.Nute's printables can not be sold, altered, or provided for download on any other site. For questions or inquiries, please contact B.Nute productions.

Thanksgiving Games for the Whole Family from Preschoolers, Tweens and Teens, to Grandma!

Thanksgiving is all about family time. Given all the different generations of people, it may seem impossible to try to entertain or ensure that everyone has a good time. Well, it's time to dismiss these thoughts, and prepare for a great get together-- one that will be talked about year after year! Below are some game and activity ideas for all generations. These games may be such a hit, you may want to them to become a Thanksgiving tradition with your family!

Thanksgiving Charades
This timeless game is easy to add a Thanksgiving spin, and is fun for all ages! We even did it at our families Thanksgiving last year. Each person got to draw a slip of paper and act it out. For little ones, you can reserve a simpler list for them to act out! Here are a list of ideas for the slips of paper:
turkey
pilgrim
native american
the Mayflower
Plymouth rock
trading
corn
mashed potatoes
pumpkin

Put on a First Thanksgiving Play or Skit
This could be a serious play or a funny skit-- whatever suits your family spirit better! Depending on the kids and participants ages,you could preassign roles, and give a "script" or story... or you could have this be part of the fun for to come up with a skit to entertain everyone! If you make it humorous, perhaps those teens will want to participate! Here are some suggested titles or themes to a possible skit:

• "What Happened the Day After the First Thanksgiving"
• "Discovering Plymouth - Where on Earth Are We?"
• "The First Thanksgiving - The Story of Who Ate Too Much"
• "The First Thanksgiving- Who Actually Cooked the Whole Meal"

Trading Post - A Thanksgiving Gift Exchange
Before your gathering, tell everyone they need to pick out some type of gift to give someone at Thanksgiving. Preferably, this gift should be something either that they own, and are ready to part with, or is handmade. Make sure to limit the cost if it is store bought, so gifts stay in the same price range. Also, be sure to have everyone wrap the gift before they arrive. Have a little extra wrapping paper on hand in case someone forgets.

Now, once the family has gathered, conduct a good old fashioned White Elephant exchange, or in this case, call it a Pilgrim/Native American Trading Post. Start in a circle and have the first person (could be youngest or oldest or whomever you choose) to select someone's gift, and open it. Now continue with each person selecting someone's gift to open. Instead of selecting a new gift to open, someone can take a already opened gift from someone else, and they choose another gift. At the end, make sure to allow for trading as desired!

Make a Thanksgiving Playlist
A perfect activity for the tween and teen set. Kids (and adults) can work as a team or individually to come up with the perfect Thanksgiving playlist. For instance, the song lyrics may talk about being thankful (something from Kelly Clarkson's Thankful album perhaps), or being American (Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American", or perhaps Native American culture (Indigo Girls song "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee"). Winner of the best playlist can receive an iTunes gift card!

If I Was President - Thanksgiving Speech
How about charge the group with coming up with a speech... Pretend you are president for the day, and you need to address the nation with a Thanksgiving blessing. What would you say? What would be your message?

Family Trivia
Prior to Thanksgiving, have everyone send you one fact about themselves. For little ones, have the mom or dad send the fact. At Thanksgiving, hand out a slip of paper, and gather everyone together. Read each fact (in jumbled order) out loud, and have everyone write down who they think the fact belongs to. This is a great way to share some family stories and get to know one another better!

Pumpkin Hunt
Think of Easter time, and an Easter egg hunt... now just swap the eggs for mini-pumpkins and you have a great game for all ages (especially little ones.) This can be done indoors as well as outdoors depending on the weather. Mini-pumpkins can be found at most grocery stores as this time of year.

Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt
A little more complicated than the pumpkin hunt above, so it is perfect for grade school kids and above... preschoolers, though, will love to follow along with the excitement and the older kids! Gather a bunch of Thanksgiving themed items-- for instance: acorn, Indian corn, gourd, pumpkin, feather (i.e., from a Native American headress), a small toy ship, a rock (i.e., Plymouth rock), etc. Create clues for each of these items and where they can be found around your house, yard, and/or neighborhood. Hide the items before the party.

Once the crowd has gathered, you can have everyone work in a team or separate into groups, and have them head off on their Thanksgiving hunt!

Who Am I? Guess the Famous Thanksgiving Person or Thanksgiving Item
A fun game for all ages-- write on a small piece of paper names of famous people surrounding the first Thanksgiving and/or the Thanksgiving holiday. Tape one name to each person's back. Now everyone needs to ask yes or no questions to find out who or what is taped to their back! Here's a list of possible people/or Thanksgiving related items: Squanto, Pocahontas, Pilgrim, Native American, Mayflower ship, turkey, corn, pumpkin, pumpkin pie, Pilgrim clergy man, Christopher Columbus, President of the United States, etc.

A Traditional Thanksgiving Feast: Decoration Ideas with a Twist

A Vintage Thanksgiving Celebration by B.Nute productions on Etsy

For this year's Thanksgiving gathering, how about throw a traditional celebration, filled with nostalgic charm of when you were young. Here are some decoration ideas that may remind you of Thanksgiving at grandma's house... or at your own home! And for a little spice, I've added a few twists along the way. Perhaps your gathering can be a mix of yesteryear and today.

Inspiration Board

• Fall Leaves - Fall leaves scattered abound always look good-- across the table, at each person's place, nestled in a hurricane lamp (be careful that the candle is does not come near the leaf), in a large vase, still attached to the branch... Leaves are one of the most versatile and colorful decorations for Thanksgiving.
• Indian Corn - I used to be so fascinated when my mother would pull out the Indian Corn around Thanksgiving time... it sure didn't look like the summer corn that we had been enjoying a few months earlier! Indian Corn is again a Thanksgiving decoration standby. So easy to arrange on the center of the table, or use one at each person's place to hold up his/her place card. 
• Pumpkins and Gourds - Pumpkins on a cakestand, gourds scattered on the table or in a wooden bowl... pumpkins and gourds come in so many different shapes and colors they are a great decoration item! You can also find all sorts of variants on a pumpkin and gourd at craft stores and gift shops: from glittered pumpkins, to ceramic, wood, and more!
• Fruit - Apples, pomegranates, persimmons, clementine oranges, grapes, and more... Fruit looks great in a large bowl or basket, and is great to eat as well!
• Wheat - A bushel in a vase or just scattered around the table, another staple, earthy decorating item.
• Nuts and Spices - Small wooden bowls of walnuts, acorns, and a cinnamon stick or two is a great, natural look.
• Burlap - Burlap is a hearty fabric that is perfect to use as a table runner to place all the above items on! It's sturdy, natural and best it can easily be cut and not need to be sewn! A tattered or rough edging adds to the look.
• Baskets/Old Wood - Many of the above natural items will look great in a twig or hand woven basket or an old wooden bowl or serving platter.

A Few Twists to the Traditional Thanksgiving Look

Try a Different Palette of Colors for Thanksgiving This Year

A Different Palette
Surprise your guests this year and veer away from the traditional Thanksgiving palette of reds, oranges, yellows and brown. Why not greens and creams like the image above. Sophisticated, fall like, and surprisingly elegant and Thanksgiving feeling!

A Modern Approach to Thanksgiving Decorating

Modern, White and Clean
Thanksgiving is all about the bounty of goodies from the earth! The beauty of this idea is that you can pack your table will all sorts of Thanksgiving decoration goodies (from the list above, say) and it will look great. In fact, the more the better! Why not throw a twist to that bounty and try a modern, clean look for your Thanksgiving party. The above picture illustrates this very well. A white background, and few cleverly placed fall decoration items has as much impact as a bountiful table.

Foreign Influence
A little foreign influence in your Thanksgiving decorations can add a great look to your party as well as possibly add a touch of your own families heritage. After all, America is a great melting pot, why not honor this at your Thanksgiving table. Perhaps you have some French in your family... why not add a touch of Provence with sunflowers or a fall colored provencal fabric (these fabrics are the perfect color palette of rusts, and sage greens.) If Italian is in your heritage, how about some Italian pottery pieces or a pitcher with traditional Italian decorations. If you have some German, how about a stein or two? These little accents will add to your overall look and can make for a great discussion about your families history.

Vintage Props: Nostalgic Serving Wear, Cornicopias and Trinkets

The First Thanksgiving Candles by Wisteria

Pilgrim and Native American Candles

The candles above are very reminiscent for me of Thanksgiving at my house when I was growing up! A company named Gurley made these candles, and can be found all over the internet on sites like eBay and the likes. A company named Wisteria have just re-introduced very similar candles. They would be great on the Thanksgiving table, or one in front of each guests place!

Papier Mache Turkeys from Blumchen.com

Old Fashioned Turkeys

A ceramic or paper mache turkey are very nostalgic decorations! They can be very large or small at each guests place, and can be found as vintage items, or remakes.

Example Turkey Platter from Williams-Sonoma

Turkey Platter and Thanksgiving Dinnerware

I clearly remember my grandmother's Thanksgiving dinnerware that she used at our family gathering. Although, in this day and age who has room to store a whole set of dishes and bowls, one or 2 serving dishes are a great keepsake to pull out every year and well worth the memories. It's amazing what kids may remember!