Thanksgiving word games: a plan from the first guest to the last slice of pie

Before anyone arrives: five minutes of prep

A little planning goes a long way on a busy day. Before the doorbell starts ringing:

• Pick one secret word for after pie. Write it on a card and keep it in your apron pocket. Ideas are further down.
• Put a stack of scrap paper and a few pencils on the side table. That’s all the equipment you’ll need.
• Make sure the family group chat is alive. The relatives who can’t make it this year can still take part, and you’ll see how below.

The rule for the whole day: every game should work for an eight-year-old and an eighty-year-old at the same time. If one of them is bored, change the game.

As guests arrive: the grateful alphabet

All ages · five to ten minutes · needs nothing

This one works in a crowded kitchen with coats still on. The first person names something they’re thankful for that starts with A. The next takes B, and so on. “Aunt Linda’s rolls.” “Being off school.” “Cranberry sauce from a can.” Nobody has to sit down, and the late arrivals can jump in wherever the alphabet has got to.

Kids will race for the funny letters. Grandparents tend to come up with the ones that make everyone go quiet for a second. Both are good.

While the turkey rests: five words for a dish

Ages 8 and up · ten minutes · needs nothing

Everyone who brought a dish describes it in exactly five words, without naming it. “Orange, sweet, marshmallows, crunchy, Grandma’s.” The others guess. It’s a lovely way to make every cook feel appreciated before the meal, and it keeps hungry people out of the kitchen while the bird rests.

At the table: one word for this year

Ages 10 and up · as long as you like · needs nothing

Go around the table. Each person says one single word that sums up their year. Not a sentence, one word: “Moving.” “Grandbaby.” “Knees.” Then the others get to guess why, before the speaker tells the story.

It’s a gentle game that gives the quieter guests a turn to talk, and it works especially well for grandparents, who often have the best one-word stories at the table.

After pie: hot and cold out loud

All ages · as many rounds as you like · needs nothing

Here’s where the card in your apron pocket comes in. Tell everyone you’re thinking of a Thanksgiving word. They call out guesses, and you answer only with temperatures: freezing, cold, cool, warmer, hot, you’re burning up! Whoever finds the word gets to think of the next one.

Good secret words for the day are everyday ones with lots of connections: cranberry, gravy, stuffing, pilgrim, drumstick, napkin, cornbread, leftovers. Avoid the obvious ones, or the game is over in two guesses.

The full rules, and a few tips for finding the word faster, are in the hot and cold word game.

Here’s how the online version reads a Thanksgiving word

The same game exists online. In Warmer Warmer, you type any word and the game tells you how close it is in meaning to the secret word, as a temperature. Here’s a game for the secret word casserole:

1. football48 °FCold: on in the living room, but no
2. pie120 °FLukewarm: food at least, but not dessert
3. oven151 °FHot: it gets baked
4. dish165 °FHot: something served in one
5. potluck181 °FHot: everybody brings one
6. lasagna189 °FScorching: a cousin in a baking pan
7. casseroleFound it!

Football was a reasonable Thanksgiving guess, but cold. Pie said “food,” oven said “baked,” and potluck said “brought from home.” Lasagna, a close cousin, gave it away.

Try it now: what’s your first guess?

Guess

Your word goes straight into today’s game.

For the relatives who couldn’t come

Not everybody makes it home for Thanksgiving. For the cousin in another time zone or the grandparents who can’t travel, there’s a simple way to share the day. Warmer Warmer has one new secret word every day, the same for everyone. On Thanksgiving morning, post in the family group chat: “Today’s word, everyone! Guess counts only, no spoilers.”

Each person guesses on their own, wherever they are. By the time the pie comes out, the chat is full of numbers and outraged messages about the word somebody tried at guess thirty. It’s free, it runs in the browser on any phone or computer, and there’s nothing to sign up for.

Tips for a mixed-age table

• For grandparents: skip anything that needs small print or fast writing. Spoken games like the grateful alphabet and hot and cold suit everyone.
• For kids: let them be the thinker in hot and cold. Being the one who knows the answer is the best part.
• For teens: give them the job of keeping score in the group chat. They’ll be on their phones anyway.
• For the host: sit down. These games work just as well from a chair with your feet up.

If your family is driving in, have a few games ready for the road with word games to play in the car. And for the weekends after the holiday, there are more ideas in word games for family night. Happy Thanksgiving, and here’s today’s word to warm up with.