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This post shows you 25 thanksgiving gratitude games to play.
Thanksgiving is a time for family, feasting, and reflecting on the many blessings we enjoy throughout the year.
While the turkey and trimmings often take center stage, incorporating fun and meaningful activities can elevate the holiday experience.
One delightful way to bring everyone together and deepen the spirit of gratitude is through creative and engaging games.
These activities not only entertain but also remind us of the true essence of Thanksgiving: appreciating the good in our lives and the people who share it with us.
In this post, we’ll explore some unique Thanksgiving gratitude games that you can easily create and enjoy with your loved ones.
25 THANKSGIVING GRATITUDE GAMES TO PLAY
1. Gratitude Scavenger Hunt
Create a list of items or scenarios related to gratitude.
For example, find something that represents family, a gift received this year, or a photo of a memorable event.
Participants search for these items around the house or yard, and share why they are grateful for each one they find.
2. Thankful Jar
Set up a jar and provide slips of paper and pens. Throughout the day, family members write down things they are thankful for and place them in the jar.
During dinner or at the end of the day, read the notes aloud and discuss them.
3. Gratitude Bingo
Create bingo cards with different prompts related to gratitude (e.g., thankful for a friend, thankful for a pet).
As family members share their thoughts, mark off the corresponding squares. The first person to get a bingo wins a small prize.
4. Thankfulness Pictionary
Write down various things to be thankful for on slips of paper. Players take turns drawing these items on a board while others guess what they are drawing.
It’s a fun way to visualize and recognize gratitude.
5. Gratitude Charades
Similar to Pictionary, but instead of drawing, players act out things they are thankful for without using words.
This game encourages creative thinking and non-verbal expression of gratitude.
6. Thankful Tree
Create a tree using a large piece of paper or branches from outside. Cut out paper leaves, and have everyone write something they are thankful for on each leaf.
Attach the leaves to the tree as a visual representation of family gratitude.
7. Gratitude Relay Race
Divide participants into teams. Set up a whiteboard or large piece of paper.
Teams race to write as many things they are thankful for as possible within a time limit.
The team with the most unique responses wins.
8. Thankful Storytelling
Start a story with an introductory sentence that includes a thankful theme.
Each person adds a sentence that continues the story and includes something they are grateful for.
This activity promotes creativity and collective storytelling.
9. Gratitude Alphabet Game
Go around the table with each person naming something they are thankful for, starting with successive letters of the alphabet.
For example, the first person says something starting with “A” (e.g., “apple pie”), the next with “B” (e.g., “brother”), and so on.
10. Gratitude Ball Toss
Use a soft ball. Participants stand or sit in a circle and toss the ball to each other.
When someone catches the ball, they say something they are thankful for before tossing it to the next person.
11. Gratitude Cards
Provide materials to make homemade cards. Each person creates a card expressing thanks to another family member.
These can be exchanged and read aloud, fostering a sense of appreciation and connection.
12. Thankful Match Game
Create cards with pairs of thankful statements or images. Players take turns flipping over two cards, trying to find matches.
When a match is found, the player explains why they are thankful for that item or concept.
13. Gratitude Jenga
Write things you’re thankful for on Jenga blocks.
As players pull out a block, they read the gratitude statement aloud and discuss it.
This adds a reflective twist to the classic game.
14. Gratitude Memory Game
Create pairs of cards with pictures or words representing things to be thankful for.
Players take turns flipping two cards at a time, trying to find matches.
When a match is made, they share why they are thankful for that item.
15. Gratitude Jar Pass
Pass around a jar and have each person write something they are thankful for on a slip of paper and add it to the jar.
At the end of the game, read the slips aloud and discuss them.
16. Thankful Chain
Provide strips of colored paper and pens. Each person writes something they are thankful for on a strip and then links the strips together to form a chain.
Hang the chain as a decorative reminder of gratitude.
17. Gratitude Spin the Wheel
Create a wheel with different categories (e.g., family, friends, nature, achievements).
Spin the wheel and share something you are thankful for in the selected category.
18. Gratitude Sharing Circle
Sit in a circle and pass around a talking stick or other item.
Each person takes a turn sharing one thing they are grateful for while holding the item, ensuring everyone has a chance to speak.
19. Thankful Collage
Provide magazines, scissors, glue, and paper. Participants cut out pictures and words that represent things they are thankful for and create a collage.
Share and discuss the collages as a group.
20. Gratitude Questions
Prepare a jar filled with questions about gratitude (e.g., “What was the best gift you received this year?” or “Who has been a great friend to you?”).
Take turns drawing and answering the questions.
21. Gratitude Poem
Write a collective poem with each person adding a line about something they are thankful for.
This can be a fun and creative way to express collective gratitude.
22. Gratitude Simon Says
Play a version of Simon Says with actions that express thankfulness (e.g., “Simon says, hug someone you are thankful for” or “Simon says, say thank you to the person next to you”).
23. Gratitude Hot Potato
Play a version of hot potato with a small item. While music plays, pass the item around the circle.
When the music stops, the person holding the item shares something they are thankful for.
24. Gratitude Drawing Game
Provide paper and drawing supplies. Each person draws a picture of something they are thankful for and then shares their drawing with the group.
25. Gratitude Quiz
Create a quiz with questions about gratitude, such as “Name three things you are thankful for this year” or “Who helped you the most recently?”
Take turns answering the questions and see who can come up with the most thoughtful answers.
This post showed you 25 thanksgiving gratitude games to play with you loved ones
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