Thanksgiving trivia is the rare game that works for the whole table: kids love the easy round, history buffs shine in the hard round, and everyone learns something. For your November 26, 2026 game night, here are 50 questions with answers, sorted from easy to expert so you can run four rounds of escalating difficulty. Split into teams of 3 to 4, give each team a buzzer sound (a spoon on a glass works), and keep score on a chalkboard or paper.

How to Run Trivia Night

Read one question at a time and give teams 30 seconds to agree on an answer; collect written answers to avoid shouting matches. Score 1 point for easy, 2 for medium, 3 for hard, and 5 for expert. Run the rounds in order so confidence builds, and end with the tiebreaker question below if scores are close: the team whose guess is closest without going over wins. Keep a prize ready for the winners: first pick of leftovers, a "get out of dishes" pass, or a small trophy from the dollar store. The whole game runs about 30 to 40 minutes, which fits perfectly between dinner and dessert.

Round 1: Easy (1 Point Each)

Warm-up questions everyone should attempt:

  • 1. What month is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States? November
  • 2. On which weekday does Thanksgiving fall? Thursday
  • 3. What is the main dish traditionally served at Thanksgiving dinner? Turkey
  • 4. What date is Thanksgiving in 2026? November 26
  • 5. What are the two bones of the turkey traditionally pulled apart for luck? The wishbone
  • 6. Which pie is most associated with Thanksgiving? Pumpkin pie
  • 7. What sauce, made from red berries, is served with turkey? Cranberry sauce
  • 8. What do Americans watch in the morning on Thanksgiving, broadcast from New York City? The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
  • 9. Which sport is traditionally played and watched on Thanksgiving Day? American football
  • 10. What shopping day follows Thanksgiving? Black Friday

Round 2: Medium (2 Points Each)

A step up, mixing history and food facts:

  • 11. Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday? Abraham Lincoln
  • 12. In what year did Lincoln proclaim Thanksgiving a national holiday? 1863
  • 13. Which Native American tribe is associated with the first Thanksgiving feast? The Wampanoag
  • 14. What ship brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620? The Mayflower
  • 15. What colony did the Pilgrims establish? Plymouth Colony
  • 16. How many days did the first Thanksgiving celebration reportedly last? Three days
  • 17. Which state produces the most turkeys in the U.S.? Minnesota
  • 18. What is a baby turkey called? A poult
  • 19. About how many turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving in the U.S.? Around 46 million
  • 20. What is the red fleshy skin hanging from a turkey's neck called? A wattle
  • 21. Which U.S. state was the first to adopt Thanksgiving as an annual holiday? New York
  • 22. What popular Thanksgiving side dish is made from cornmeal? Cornbread
  • 23. What are yams often confused with in American grocery stores? Sweet potatoes
  • 24. Which president moved Thanksgiving up a week to boost holiday shopping? Franklin D. Roosevelt
  • 25. What year did Congress fix Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November? 1941

Round 3: Hard (3 Points Each)

For the history buffs and food nerds:

  • 26. Who is credited with campaigning for decades to make Thanksgiving a national holiday? Sarah Josepha Hale
  • 27. Hale also wrote which famous nursery rhyme? "Mary Had a Little Lamb"
  • 28. What was the original name of the Plymouth settlement's harvest celebration? It had no special name; it was simply a harvest feast
  • 29. Which two NFL teams traditionally host Thanksgiving Day games? The Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys
  • 30. Since what year have the Dallas Cowboys played on Thanksgiving? 1966
  • 31. What is the name of the giant balloons' handlers in the Macy's parade? Balloon handlers (or balloon wranglers)
  • 32. In which year did the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade first take place? 1924
  • 33. What did the first Macy's parade feature instead of giant balloons? Live animals from the Central Park Zoo
  • 34. Turkeys can see in color and have what kind of vision range? Nearly 270-degree vision
  • 35. What is the dangling skin over a male turkey's beak called? A snood
  • 36. Which amino acid in turkey is blamed (incorrectly) for post-dinner drowsiness? Tryptophan
  • 37. What actually causes Thanksgiving drowsiness more than turkey? Overeating carbohydrates and alcohol
  • 38. What is the name of the presidential turkey pardoning ceremony's tradition? The National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation
  • 39. Which president was the first to officially pardon a turkey? George H. W. Bush (1989)
  • 40. What is stuffing called when it is cooked outside the turkey? Dressing

Round 4: Expert (5 Points Each)

Only for the truly obsessed:

  • 41. What was the Wampanoag leader's English name at the time of the first Thanksgiving? Massasoit
  • 42. How many Pilgrims survived the first winter to attend the 1621 feast? About 53 of the original 102
  • 43. Which attendee wrote the only firsthand accounts of the 1621 feast? Edward Winslow (and William Bradford in his journal)
  • 44. What two foods were specifically mentioned in Winslow's account of the feast? Venison (deer) and wild fowl
  • 45. In what year did the Detroit Lions first play on Thanksgiving? 1934
  • 46. What is the heaviest turkey ever recorded, and roughly how much did it weigh? About 86 pounds
  • 47. Which country celebrates Thanksgiving on the second Monday of October? Canada
  • 48. What year did Canada officially establish its Thanksgiving? 1957
  • 49. Which president issued the first presidential Thanksgiving proclamation, in 1789? George Washington
  • 50. Which U.S. president received a live turkey annually but never pardoned one, starting the gift tradition? Harry Truman (1947)

Tiebreaker

If two teams finish tied, ask: "How many feathers does an adult turkey have?" The closest guess without going over wins. The answer is roughly 5,000 to 6,000 feathers. It is a great final question because nobody knows it and everyone guesses wildly, which ends the night with laughter either way.