Trivia brings out the competitive side of every family. After the turkey, before the pie, a quick quiz gets everyone talking, laughing, and arguing about the Macy’s parade. This Thanksgiving Trivia Quiz has ten multiple-choice questions about the holiday’s history, traditions, and food, on a printable sheet with a score box, plus a second page with every answer and a short fact to read aloud.
The Ten Questions
- In what year did the harvest feast often called the first Thanksgiving take place?
- Which Native American people shared the 1621 feast with the Plymouth colonists?
- Which president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving in 1863?
- Which writer campaigned for years to make Thanksgiving a national holiday?
- In what year did the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade begin?
- When does Canada celebrate Thanksgiving?
- On which day does US Thanksgiving fall?
- Which NFL team has played on Thanksgiving almost every year since 1934?
- Where do cranberries grow?
- What is a male turkey called?
Each question has four answers, A to D. The questions mix history, sport, food, and nature, so different people at the table get a chance to shine.
Answers and Fun Facts
The answer key on page two shades the correct answer for each question and adds a short fact underneath. In brief:
| Question | Answer | Quick fact |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1621 | A harvest feast was shared at Plymouth in autumn 1621 |
| 2 | Wampanoag | About ninety Wampanoag men joined the celebration |
| 3 | Abraham Lincoln | Lincoln chose the last Thursday of November |
| 4 | Sarah Josepha Hale | Hale wrote to presidents about it for decades |
| 5 | 1924 | The first parade in New York City was held in 1924 |
| 6 | Second Monday of October | Canada celebrates on the second Monday of October |
| 7 | Fourth Thursday of November | Congress fixed it as the fourth Thursday in 1941 |
| 8 | Detroit Lions | The Lions game is a decades-old holiday tradition |
| 9 | In bogs and marshes | Cranberry vines grow in sandy, wet bogs |
| 10 | A tom | Males are toms or gobblers; females are hens |
What the Quiz Sheet Looks Like
The quiz is US Letter, 8.5 x 11 inches, portrait, and comes as two pages. The top of each page is a rust and brown buffalo-check plaid band with a cream rounded label holding the title in Lobster, a bold retro script: Thanksgiving Trivia on page one and Trivia Answer Key on page two.
On page one, a Name line sits at the top left and a SCORE box with /10 at the top right. The ten questions are arranged in two columns of five. Each question has an olive number circle, the question in bold, and four answers with small rust A to D bubbles to fill in. On page two, the layout is identical, but the correct answer in each question is shaded in pale gold with a filled rust bubble, and a short italic fact sits under each question. The brand mark is at the bottom of both pages.
Ways to Play Thanksgiving Trivia
Solo quiz
Print a copy for each person. Everyone answers quietly, then swap sheets and mark each other’s using the key.
Team game
Split the table into teams, such as kids versus adults or each household. Each team gets one sheet and five minutes.
Read aloud
One person reads the questions and answers aloud; players shout or write their choice. Read the fact after each answer.
Classroom quiz
Teachers can use it as a warm-up before the Thanksgiving break, followed by a short discussion of the history questions.
A Note About Thanksgiving History
Several questions touch on the history of the holiday, which is more complex than the familiar story. The 1621 harvest feast involved the Plymouth colonists and the Wampanoag people, whose perspective is often left out of popular retellings. Teachers and families may want to use the quiz as a starting point for learning more, including from Wampanoag and other Native American sources, especially about the history that followed.
Editing the Questions
All the questions, answers, and facts are editable text boxes. Replace questions with family trivia (Who burned the rolls in 2019?), local history, or harder questions for adults. If you change a question, remember to update the answer key on page two: move the gold shading to the correct answer and change the fact.
Printing the Quiz
Download the PDF, which contains both pages. Print page one for each player and keep page two for the quiz master. The design works in colour and in black and white; in greyscale, the shaded answers on the key are still visible. Ordinary copy paper is fine for a one-off game.
Prizes for the Trivia Champion
- first slice of pie;
- the wishbone;
- control of the TV remote for the evening;
- a paper crown made from the quiz sheet;
- being excused from washing up.
Making a Harder Round
For trivia lovers, add a bonus round on page two’s blank space: no multiple choice, just open questions such as Name three foods likely served at the 1621 feast or What year did the Detroit Lions first play on Thanksgiving? Award two points per bonus answer.
Hosting a Thanksgiving Trivia Night
The quiz can also anchor a whole evening. Print several copies, set up tables for teams of four, and give each team a fun name, such as the Gravy Boats or the Cranberry Crew. Run the printed quiz as round one, then add rounds of your own: a picture round with close-up photos of holiday foods, a music round with songs about food and family, and a final round of family trivia. Keep scores on a whiteboard so everyone can follow along. A trivia night works well for Friendsgiving, a school fundraiser, or an office party the week before the holiday.
Trivia Quiz Questions
What age is the quiz for?
About ten and up can play alone; younger children enjoy playing on a team with adults.
How long does it take?
Most groups finish in five to ten minutes, plus time for arguments about question five.
Can I use it for Canadian Thanksgiving?
Yes. Question six is about Canada, and you can swap a few US-specific questions for Canadian ones.
Ten questions, a pencil each, and a pie as the prize: Thanksgiving trivia is a simple way to keep the conversation lively after dinner. Print the quiz and let the friendly competition begin.
