Thanksgiving Trivia: 25 Questions and Answers, Plus a Game to Host
Trivia Anywhere runs Thanksgiving trivia as a live game: the questions go up on a TV or shared screen, and family, friends or coworkers answer on their own phones, with no app download and scoring that runs itself. Below are 25 Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers, easy to hard, to read aloud or host. The free plan covers up to 25 players per game; Starter ($20/month) adds the torn-paper Thanksgiving Dinner scene.
Free for up to 25 players · No app for players · Works in the room or on Zoom and Teams
The Thanksgiving Dinner scene
Every big-screen moment of your Thanksgiving trivia game
Each part of the game gets its own spot in the scene, with your game on its boards and signs.
Lobby
The table is set
Before guests arrive, the big screen shows the set dining room with the join QR code and join code, and each player's name appears as they join. Paper leaves drift down while the room fills.
Question
Up on the menu board
Each question is written on the menu board over the sideboard, and the answer choices sit below it as torn-paper place cards. Players tap the matching themed answer button on their phones.
Reveal
Around the turkey
At the reveal, the turkey centerpiece takes over: a board shows the right answer and how the room answered, and the leaderboard runs down a tall board.
Winners
Trophies at the pie table
The finale moves to the dessert table, where gold, silver and bronze trophies stand with the top three players' avatars and places 4 to 13 fill a board. A themed confetti celebration pops on the big screen.
Matching art on every phone
Players answer at triviaanywhere.com/play on their own phones, with no app and no account. Their screens carry matching Thanksgiving Dinner art and themed answer buttons, and a themed confetti burst pops when they get one right.
Try it
Put your event's name on it
Type a name and flip through the screens. This is the real Thanksgiving Dinner scene, drawn live.
A live preview drawn by the real big-screen scene. Nothing is saved.
How it works
How to host Thanksgiving trivia
- 1
Copy the Thanksgiving game
Start free, open the template library and copy Thanksgiving Trivia or Thanksgiving Trivia 2 in one click. Each has 10 questions; edit them, add the 25 on this page, add images or upload a CSV.
- 2
Try the Thanksgiving Dinner scene
In the Logo & Colors studio, preview the scene on your own game for free. Keeping it takes the Starter plan ($20/month), which also puts your logo and colors on every screen.
- 3
Put it on the big screen
Run the game from your laptop and open the presenter view on a TV, a projector, or a shared Zoom, Teams or Meet screen. Guests scan the QR code or enter the join code at triviaanywhere.com/play, and scoring runs itself.
Who it's for
Thanksgiving trivia for every kind of group
Family Thanksgiving
Grandparents, teenagers and the cousin who knows everything all play from their own phones while the TV keeps score. Team mode lets young kids play on a team with an adult.
Friendsgiving
Run a round between dinner and pie. No pens, no paper answer sheets to grade, and the live leaderboard settles the friendly rivalries before the dishes are done.
Thanksgiving trivia for work
A team lunch or the last meeting before the long weekend. Keep it to food, parades and films, and add your company logo and colors to every screen with Starter.
Virtual Thanksgiving
Family in different cities? Share the presenter screen on Zoom, Microsoft Teams or Google Meet, and everyone answers on their own phone from wherever they are eating.
Classrooms before the break
Students join with a code and no accounts, and the free plan covers up to 25 players per game. Self-paced mode lets everyone work at their own speed while a live leaderboard stays on the big screen.
Pricing
What's free, and what Starter adds
Start free with the Thanksgiving Trivia game. Try the Thanksgiving Dinner scene on your own game before you pay, and keep it with Starter.
Free
$0
- ✓ Up to 25 players per game
- ✓ The ready-made holiday games, yours to edit
- ✓ 3 saved games, play each as often as you like
- ✓ Big-screen view and phones, no app
- ✓ The Game Show Studio scene
- ✓ Try the Thanksgiving Dinner scene on your own game
Starter
$20/month
- ✓ Keep the Thanksgiving Dinner scene, and every seasonal scene
- ✓ Your logo, colors and fonts on every screen
- ✓ Up to 50 players per game
- ✓ Unlimited saved games
- ✓ Lead capture, CSV export and guest list
Bigger room? Pro is $45/month for up to 200 players.
Questions to play
25 Thanksgiving trivia questions with answers
Read them out, or start with the ready-made Thanksgiving Trivia game (and Thanksgiving Trivia 2) and add these.
The Feast
Warm-up questions about what is on the table. Everyone, kids included, should get most of these.
1.What tart red berry becomes the sauce served next to the turkey, sometimes still showing the ridges of the can?
AnswerCranberries
2.Which pie gets its filling from the same orange gourd that people carve into jack-o'-lanterns?
AnswerPumpkin pie
3.Sweet potato casserole is often topped with which puffy white treat, toasted in the oven?
AnswerMarshmallows
4.Much of the South calls it "dressing." What do most other Americans call this bread-based side dish?
AnswerStuffing
5.Two people pull on which turkey bone, and whoever ends up with the bigger piece gets a wish?
AnswerThe wishbone
History
From the 1621 harvest at Plymouth to the law that fixed the date.
6.The harvest feast at Plymouth often called "the first Thanksgiving" took place in which year?
Answer1621
7.Which Native nation, led by the sachem Massasoit, joined the Plymouth colonists at that 1621 harvest celebration?
AnswerThe Wampanoag — colonist Edward Winslow wrote that Massasoit came with some ninety men
8.Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863, in the middle of the Civil War?
AnswerAbraham Lincoln
9.Which magazine editor campaigned for years for a national Thanksgiving and wrote to President Lincoln about it in September 1863?
AnswerSarah Josepha Hale — editor of Godey's Lady's Book
10.Which president moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in 1939 to stretch the holiday shopping season, a change critics nicknamed "Franksgiving"?
AnswerFranklin D. Roosevelt — in 1941 Congress fixed it as the fourth Thursday in November
Parades & Football
For the people who have the parade on all morning and the game on all afternoon.
11.Which department store first staged its New York City Thanksgiving Day parade in 1924?
AnswerMacy's
12.Who rides on the final float of the Macy's parade, kicking off the holiday season?
AnswerSanta Claus
13.Which two NFL teams play a home game every Thanksgiving Day?
AnswerThe Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys
14.Which cartoon character has appeared as a Macy's parade balloon more times than any other?
AnswerSnoopy
15.The Detroit Lions played their first Thanksgiving Day game in 1934. Which team were they playing?
AnswerThe Chicago Bears
Thanksgiving on Screen
Films and TV episodes that come back every November.
16.Which 1987 comedy stars Steve Martin and John Candy as two strangers stuck traveling together on the way to Chicago for Thanksgiving?
AnswerPlanes, Trains and Automobiles
17.Which Friends character hosts and cooks the group's Thanksgiving dinner almost every year?
AnswerMonica Geller
18.In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973), who invites herself and her friends over to Charlie Brown's for dinner?
AnswerPeppermint Patty — she brings Marcie and Franklin
19.In the Friends episode "The One Where Ross Got High," what ends up in the middle of Rachel's trifle?
AnswerBeef sautéed with peas and onions — two pages of her cookbook were stuck together
20.Which Oscar-winning actress directed the 1995 Thanksgiving comedy Home for the Holidays, starring Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr.?
AnswerJodie Foster
Hard Round
A mix of everything above, harder. This is where the bragging rights get settled.
21.What is the name of the fleshy red flap that hangs down over a turkey's beak?
AnswerThe snood — the flap under the chin is the wattle
22.According to colonist Edward Winslow's 1621 account, how many deer did Massasoit's men hunt and bring to the colony?
AnswerFive
23.In 1927, which cartoon cat became the Macy's parade's first character balloon?
AnswerFelix the Cat
24.Which sitcom's "Turkeys Away" episode ends with the line "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly"?
AnswerWKRP in Cincinnati
25.Green bean casserole was invented in 1955 in which company's test kitchen?
AnswerCampbell Soup Company — created by home economist Dorcas Reilly
Hosting tips
How to run a great Thanksgiving trivia game
- Play between the main course and pie. Everyone is seated and in no hurry to get up, and the cook finally gets to sit down and play too.
- With mixed ages, build teams of three or four that each include a kid and a grown-up. Kids are quick on the phone, and grandparents often know the history round cold.
- Plan on roughly a minute per question once you count the reveal and the table talk. The 10-question game fits between courses; all 25 make a full after-dinner game.
- If football is on, schedule a round for halftime rather than competing with the game for the TV. You keep the sports fans and the screen.
- At a work lunch, stick to food, parades, football and films. Skip politics, religion and whose-family-does-it-right debates, and the room stays relaxed.
- Small prizes work best: first pick of the leftovers, the last slice of pie, or a pass on dish duty. Announce the prize before round one so people play for it.
When to set it up: Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November (November 26 in 2026), and Friendsgiving often lands the weekend before, so copy the game and try the scene a week or two ahead and test the TV or laptop you will use. For a virtual Thanksgiving, send the video-call link and triviaanywhere.com/play with the invitation.
FAQ
Thanksgiving trivia game questions, answered
Is there a free Thanksgiving trivia game?
Yes. Trivia Anywhere is free for up to 25 players per game, with no credit card needed to start, and players never pay. Copy the ready-made Thanksgiving Trivia game from the template library, then edit it or add the 25 questions on this page; the Thanksgiving Dinner scene is part of the Starter plan, and free hosts can preview it first.
Can people play Thanksgiving trivia on their phones without an app?
Yes. Players go to triviaanywhere.com/play and type the join code, or scan the QR code on the big screen. There is no app to download and no player account to create.
How do I run virtual Thanksgiving trivia on Zoom, Teams or Google Meet?
Share the presenter screen on the call while players answer on their own phones. Scoring and the live leaderboard update automatically, so you can focus on hosting.
How many players can join a Thanksgiving trivia game?
Up to 25 players per game on the free plan. Starter ($20/month) allows up to 50 per game, Pro ($45/month) up to 200 and Business ($89/month) up to 500.
Can I use my own Thanksgiving trivia questions?
Yes. Edit the ready-made game, type in your own questions (family inside jokes welcome), add images, or upload a CSV. You can also add any of the 25 Thanksgiving trivia questions and answers on this page.
Can I add my company logo for Thanksgiving trivia at work?
Yes, on the Starter plan ($20/month). Your logo, colors, backgrounds and fonts appear on every screen, and in the Thanksgiving Dinner scene your logo appears on a sign in the scene.
How long does a Thanksgiving trivia game take?
As long as you want it to. The ready-made game has 10 questions, enough for a short round between dinner and dessert, and adding all 25 from this page makes a full after-dinner game. A rough guide is about a minute per question, counting the reveal and the table talk.
What is the Thanksgiving Dinner scene?
It is a seasonal scene for trivia games: a handmade, torn-paper diorama of a Thanksgiving dining room on the big screen. The lobby is the set dining room, questions appear on the menu board, answers are revealed at the turkey centerpiece, and winners take the podium at the pie table, with paper leaves falling throughout.
Can I try the Thanksgiving Dinner scene before paying?
Yes. Free hosts can preview any seasonal scene on their own game in the Logo & Colors studio. Keeping it needs the Starter plan, $20/month or $200/year.
What are good Thanksgiving trivia questions for adults?
Mix food and pop culture with a few surprises, such as which president caused "Franksgiving" (Franklin D. Roosevelt) or which sitcom thought turkeys could fly (WKRP in Cincinnati). The History and Hard rounds above are written with adults in mind.
Does family Thanksgiving trivia work with kids and grandparents?
Yes. The Feast round is easy enough for kids, the Thanksgiving Dinner scene is family-friendly, and team mode lets young players team up with an adult who handles the history questions.
Ready for Thanksgiving trivia?
Make a free account, open the Thanksgiving Trivia game, and see it in the Thanksgiving Dinner scene. Players join from their phones in seconds.
Host Thanksgiving trivia free →More holiday trivia
🎄 Christmas trivia
The Holiday Village scene
🥂 New Year's trivia
The New Year's Gala scene
🎃 Halloween trivia
The Haunted Manor Party scene
Planning the whole season? See holiday trivia for work and family, or browse all trivia questions and party trivia ideas.