It's no secret that a day of big eating and big excitement brings along even bigger exhaustion and a desire to forego the after-dinner cleanup in favor of naptime (or, you know, winter-long hibernation). Since quality family time is something that's hard to come by in the hustle and bustle of daily life, fight the urge to hit the hay this year and opt for an interactive game night instead, keeping the mental juices and laughter flowing throughout the day. To inspire you, we've gathered some of our favorite family-style games and activities perfect for members of all ages.
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Thanksgiving Bingo
You can introduce this laugh-inducing idea before everyone clears his or her spot at the table. Make your own Thanksgiving Bingo board personalized to your family specifically, or use a template to get started. Winner gets first dibs on dessert!
Having a family-wide scavenger hunt is the perfect way to get everyone energized and moving again. Involve everyone from young children to grandma and grandpa, and introduce a little healthy competition! Dig into your own creativity to come up with items, or implement the theme of the day with this Gratitude Photo Scavenger Hunt idea.
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Mr./Ms. Freeze
For a game you can begin at dinnertime and continue throughout the night, try this "follow the leader"-style party game. Have the group elect one person as Mr. Freeze-it's this person's job to completely freeze at random points throughout the night, even if it's mid-sentence. Everyone else should follow suit as they notice, until there's one person left moving who loses that round and becomes the new Mr. Freeze.
Thanksgiving is a holiday geared toward family bonding, so why not take it to the next level with a little family history? Have each family member bring a couple old family photos to dinner, and then collect them and mix them all together. One by one, have each person pick one at random without looking, identify who's in the picture, what's happening, and the estimated time frame (year). Each subsequent player must do the same, except everyone has to put their picture in the order it happened compared to the others, creating a timeline.
The concept of this versatile game is to do short, 60-second mini competitions, split between individuals or teams throughout a series, tallying up points to crown an ultimate winner. The best part about this game? The competition can revolve around virtually anything you want, as long as it's within 60 seconds.
There's nothing like a good partner obstacle course, and this is exactly what the Football Turkey Trot calls for. Dress a football up like a turkey (or skip this step and just use the ball) and have each pair link elbows with their backs together, carrying the football between their backs throughout the obstacle course. Make the obstacles as easy or complex as you want, depending on your players!
Depending on how many players you have, you can either play this game in small teams, or have everyone do it individually. One person acts as the host, and announces a category (i.e. "The Best," "The Tallest," "The Fastest," etc.). After the category is announced, each player picks someone else they think could win that category. After everyone's picked their choice candidate, the host announces the competition within the category (i.e. The Tallestu2026Thumb, The Bestu2026Jump-Roper, The Fastestu2026Crabwalker). Everyone competes and one winner is chosen each round.
