Need conversation starters for Thanksgiving? We got you!

Thanksgiving can bring on a whole range of emotions: excitement to get everyone together, dread of pending political conversations, anxiety as to what to talk about with family you only see every five years, or boredom hearing the same old stories over and over from Grandpa.

Here’s 20 questions to spark fun and new conversations with your family and friends during your Thanksgiving get togethers and on your fall adventures.

We’ve used these with our families and it’s amazing the new stories you hear, the new things you learn about your family, and new perspectives that come through new conversation. Enjoy!

Continue the fun with our game 501 Questions: A Travel Game! Get 750 entertaining questions and trivia for fun, laughter, and good conversation whether you’re on zoom or in person!

20 Questions & Trivia for Thanksgiving

Would You Rather:

1. Meet one of your ancestors from the past or a descendant in the future?

2. Have your Thanksgiving meal on the beach hearing the waves lapping or cozy inside while it’s snowing outside?

3. Have turkey or ham for Thanksgiving and why?

4. Have canned or fresh cranberry sauce and why?

5. Be a Balloon Pilot for the Macy’s Day Parade (they walk backward the whole parade and guide the balloon handlers) or be a Float Builder for the Rose Bowl Parade?

If You Could:

6. Only have two side dishes for Thanksgiving, which ones would you choose?

7. Invite three people to your party and know they would come, who would you invite?

8. Create a new Thanksgiving tradition, what would it be?

9. Relive a season of your life, what season would it be?

10. Accomplish one thing before New Year’s Day what would it be?

Tell Me About:

11. Your favorite Thanksgiving tradition and why it’s so special to you.

12. Your favorite Thanksgiving memory.

13. Two things you’re thankful for this year.

14. Your favorite way to eat Thanksgiving leftovers.

15. How you would spend each day of your “perfect” Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Travel Trivia:

16. What is the dangly piece of flesh called hanging over a turkey’s beak? Dangles, snoods, or gobblers?

Answer: Snoods. All turkeys have snoods, however, males have longer snoods (around five inches long) and it’s used to attract mates. When a male turkey wants to attract a female, the snood turns bright red and gets even longer. It’s believed longer snoods show females which male has more superior genes.

17. How long in days was the first Thanksgiving celebration?

Answer: The first Thanksgiving celebration lasted three days. It was to celebrate the Pilgrims’ first successful corn harvest.

18. True or False: Only female turkeys go “gobble, gobble.”

Answer: False. Only male turkeys gobble and females cackle. The male turkey is called a tom or gobbler. The female is called a hen and…

19. What are baby turkeys called?

Answer: A poult or chick. A young male is called a jake and a young female is called a jenny. Now we have the whole family: tom, hen, jake, and jenny:)

20. Why do we celebrate Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November?

Answer: On December 26, 1941 Congress passed a law making the fourth Thursday of November the official Thanksgiving holiday. How the holiday’s date got to Congress is a long story: The tradition started in 1789 when President George Washington planned Thursday, November 26 as the "Day of Publick Thanksgivin." Every year after that, the holiday was decided by the president and it was on different days and months. Then, after Lincoln gave his national address in 1863 the last week of November became the practiced holiday. Then, in the 1930’s there was a big debate of when to celebrate Thanksgiving. In 1933, there was a November with five weeks and retailers asked President Roosevelt if the holiday could be moved up a week so there was more time to shop for Christmas. There was a public outrage and the President said no. Then, there was another five week November in 1939. Retailers asked the President again to move the holiday and this time he did. Many states followed the President’s change of holiday to the fourth Thursday, but other states kept the holiday to the last Thursday. This happened two years in a row. To unite the country, on December 26, 1941 Congress passed a law making Thanksgiving the last Thursday of November. Crazy! You can read the story here.

Continue the Fun!

Continue the fun with our game 501 Questions: A Travel Game! Get 750 entertaining questions and trivia for fun, laughter, and good conversation whether you’re on zoom or in person!

“…highly recommend for your next trip (and all trips!). It’s a fantastic way to start conversations while you’re driving, out on a hike, or hanging around the campground!” -CAMPING WORLD

Make It Easy to Find These Later!

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2. And, download these conversation starters so you can easily pull them up later!

Continue the Fun!

Continue the fun with our game 501 Questions: A Travel Game! Get 750 entertaining questions and trivia for fun, laughter, and good conversation whether you’re on zoom or in person!

“…highly recommend for your next trip (and all trips!). It’s a fantastic way to start conversations while you’re driving, out on a hike, or hanging around the campground!” -CAMPING WORLD