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We host Thanksgiving at our house every year, and my kids look forward to it because all their cousins come over. There’s a lot of noise, chaos, and fun. The adults are catching up, cooking, and eating, and the kids are having their own little party.
Since it’s usually an all-day event, I like to have a handful of Thanksgiving activities ready at home for the kids to do on their own.
Thanksgiving activities at home: At a glance
- Jeopardy!
- Song Quiz
- Wheel of Fortune
- Spot On
- Sketchy AF
- Guess the Emoji
- CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ
- Wit's End
- Thankful tree
- Turkey scavenger hunt
- Pin the feather on the turkey
- Turkey bowling
- Thanksgiving memory chain
I usually talk to the kids about what's coming and what Thanksgiving is about a few days beforehand. Younger kids are still working out what gratitude means, but it helps them prepare for the day. Plus, it's an easy bit of quality time before the chaos and flurry of activity begins.
1. Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! is the best trivia game for the stretch after the meal, when everyone's full and settling into the couch. It uses the show's real clues, categories, and music, so it plays like the version you grew up watching.
Casual mode is what makes it work for family members of all ages. It's slower and easier than the standard game, so the younger kids can answer alongside the adults instead of sitting it out. You answer out loud, and nobody needs to pass a controller around.
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2. Song Quiz
Song Quiz is the one that gets everyone on board, from grandparents to teenagers, since everyone has a music decade they love. A few seconds of a song play, and players shout the artist, the title, or both. Naming both scores the most.
It has tens of thousands of songs across genres and eras. You can just pass the remote around, or let the whole room call out answers at once.
It fits the after-dinner stretch when nobody wants to get up but everyone still wants to do something fun. Rounds are short, so you can fit a few in between the meal and dessert.
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3. Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune works for the same mixed table as Jeopardy!, but it uses luck and word puzzles instead of trivia recall. A kid who can't answer a history clue can still solve the board and beat the adults.
You spin, call out letters, and guess the phrase before anyone else, working through the show's real categories like "Before & After" and "Movie Title." Up to 3 people play at once, and the game includes the real wheel-spin sound and the BANKRUPT tone from the broadcast.
It's a good pick right after everyone sits down full, since it's more watching and shouting than hard thinking. The grandparents get the show they grew up on, and nobody needs a single fact to have a shot at winning.
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4. Spot On
Spot On is a geography guessing game that the kids and adults can play together. The TV gives you a clue, and up to 4 players race to drop a pin on a spinning globe to mark where it belongs. The closest guess takes the round.
It suits a mixed group because a younger kid can help point while an older cousin reads the clue. It's a good one for the lull between dinner and dessert, when the little ones are occupied elsewhere, and the older crowd wants something at the table.
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5. Sketchy AF
Sketchy AF is a fast, loud drawing game, good for the kids who've been sitting too long and need to move.
A picture builds on the TV one line at a time, and everyone races to shout what it is before it's finished. The sooner you guess right, the more you score. It's on our short list of fun things to do at home with family for any free afternoon.
Up to 4 kids play at once from their phones, all calling out answers at the same time. It gets noisy, which is what you want when a houseful of cousins has energy to burn before or after the meal.
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6. Guess the Emoji
Guess the Emoji is a quick guessing game for any family gathering. A row of emojis appears on the screen, and everyone calls out the phrase, movie, or song each one represents; 🎬 + 🐟 is Finding Nemo.
There's no heavy explanation and no need to read beyond the emojis themselves, so the youngest play right alongside the teenagers and adults. Rounds are short, so you can fit a few in while you're waiting on the turkey.
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7. CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ
This one's great if your kids are on the younger side and need to get some energy out before an early lunch. CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ on Weekend is built for ages 2 to 4.
You scan a QR code to use your phone as the microphone, and the kids sing, clap, and move along with JJ. It's on Fire TV, LG, and Samsung smart TVs.
The mini-games are a favorite in our home because the kids pick up easy lessons as they play. My kids call out colors in "Baa Baa Black Sheep," name the bus parts in "Wheels on the Bus," and spell along with "BINGO."
It’s a great way to start out a game session too, since it gets them moving and ready to go.
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8. Wit's End
Wit's End is a fantasy adventure for the older kids, teens, and adults; the game the big cousins and grandparents can play together and disappear into once the youngest have gone to bed.
Everyone describes their own character out loud, and the game master brings it to life, rolls the dice to decide each turn, and narrates the unpredictable quest as it unfolds.
It's different every time you play, so the same group can come back and get a new, chaotically fun quest. It comes with the regular TV subscription on Fire TV, LG, and Samsung.
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9. Thankful tree
If you’ve got a few creative kids that love art, this is always a hit. It's good if you're short on space or in an apartment. It takes only 10 minutes of prep work beforehand.
I tape a bare branch into a vase, or on a big piece of paper that’s stuck to a wall. Then, I cut some leaves out of colored paper, and everyone writes or draws something they're thankful for and sticks it on. It works for any kid old enough to hold a crayon. The adults usually take a turn too.
It goes well with the theme of gratitude, and it keeps the younger ones busy at the table while dinner comes together. We leave ours up through the weekend. It's one of our go-to family bonding activities at home.
10. Turkey scavenger hunt
When the kids need to run around and I need a few minutes, this is the one. I write a list of things to find around the house, a toy turkey, something orange, a leaf, and send them off. If you don't have a yard or the weather's bad, keep it indoors. It's best for kids around 4 to 10.
Put one of the fun aunts or uncles in charge of collecting the items, or being the “hunt master.” They can hide the items or give out hot-or-cold hints, and improvise however they see fit.
Here’s a quick list of items, in case it helps make planning easier:
- Something orange, like a carrot or a mini pumpkin
- An oven mitt
- A pinecone or acorn (check the yard or a fall decoration)
- A specific toy or action figure
- An apple juice carton
11. Pin the feather on the turkey
All you need is one wall, so it works in a tight space. Draw a big turkey with no tail on a sheet of paper, cut out paper feathers with tape on the back, and blindfold each kid for a turn. It's best for the 3- to 8-year-old crowd.
It won’t cause any hurt feelings because nobody really loses. Missing by a mile is the fun of it. If your kids are old enough to argue over who got closest, keep a marker handy and label each feather as it lands.
12. Turkey bowling
A ball and 9 plastic cups are all you need, and it works in a hallway. Sometimes while I’m doing some cooking prep a few days before Thanksgiving, I have my kids paint the cups as an activity so they can feel like they’re helping too.
On the day of the game, we then set up a makeshift bowling alley and pick either a tennis ball or something smaller to roll. And each person takes turns trying to knock as many cups over as they can.
Set the cups a little closer for the younger kids and further back for the older ones, and everyone gets a fair go without you having to referee.
13. Thanksgiving memory chain
This is the one I pull out when everyone's at the table, and the food isn't quite ready, since it needs no setup and keeps the kids in their seats.
The first person says a word, or one thing they're thankful for. The next player repeats it and adds their own, and it goes around the table getting longer each time until someone loses track.
It works for any age that can talk, and it's a good mix of little kids and grandparents. Younger ones can team up with one of the older kids. It also covers the gratitude part of the meal without anyone having to make a speech.
One app for the whole crowd
The best Thanksgiving activities at home are easy to set up, and, like Weekend, keep a mixed-age room busy in one spot while the food's cooking. Grab the remote or pair your phone as the controller, then open the full lineup on your smart TV:
- Jeopardy!, the official quiz show where you answer in the form of a question, with difficulty levels so a 10-year-old and Grandpa can both keep up.
- Song Quiz, music trivia across the decades and genres, where a clip plays, and you shout out the song and the artist.
- Wheel of Fortune, where you spin, buy vowels, and solve the puzzle before the rest of the table does.
- Guess the Emoji, read a string of emojis and name the movie, food, or phrase, with an easy and a hard mode in every category.
- Wit's End, a chaotic, open-ended fantasy adventure with a game-master twist, where you build a character and steer the story with your choices.
- Meme Supreme, where someone writes an absurd scenario and everyone answers with a recognizable meme, and the room votes for the funniest one.
- Sketchy AF, where you call out what each drawing is before the drawing's finished.
- Spot On, a race to pin cities and landmarks on a spinning globe against the clock.
- Karaoke (on Roku), where you take the mic and get scored on lyrics and pitch.
- CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ (on Fire TV, Samsung, and LG), sing-along mini-games where the youngest pick up colors, shapes, and letters with JJ.
You'll find the Weekend app on Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, and LG, so it works on the TV you already have.
Once the plates are cleared, the same app is just as good for a random Tuesday game night as it is for the Christmas season, a birthday, or any excuse to gather the family. When the holidays roll around, our family holiday activities list has more ideas.
Start a 7-day free trial to open up the full library.
FAQs
What are the best Thanksgiving activities at home for kids?
The best Thanksgiving activities at home for kids mix high-energy games with one calm option so the day stays fun. We rely on a turkey scavenger hunt, pin the feather on the turkey, and a thankful tree, plus the Weekend app, with CoComelon: Sing & Play with JJ for the youngest and Jeopardy! for the older cousins.
How do you keep kids busy on Thanksgiving without hovering over them?
You keep kids busy on Thanksgiving by picking low-supervision games and handing the oldest cousin the rules. A scavenger hunt, turkey bowling, and a few rounds of Jeopardy! or Sketchy AF on the Weekend Games app all hold up with barely any input from the adults.
What's a good indoor Thanksgiving activity when the weather's bad?
A good indoor Thanksgiving activity when the weather's bad can be pin the feather on the turkey, a tabletop thankful tree, hallway turkey bowling, or the Weekend Games app on your TV. Each needs only one wall or a short strip of floor, and games like Guess the Emoji and Spot On keep a mixed-age room busy in one spot.
How do I get the Weekend Games app on my smart TV?
You get the Weekend Games app by opening your TV's app store, searching "Weekend Games," and selecting Add app. Once it's on your Roku, Fire TV, Samsung, or LG, every game opens from one place, and a 7-day free trial lets you try the full library first.
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