Thanksgiving is one of the oldest and most beloved holidays in the US, nestled perfectly between Halloween and Christmas. But finding a way to entertain everyone can be tricky, which is where this super-fun Thanksgiving trivia comes in useful!
While today’s festivities focus on family gatherings, food, and fun, Thanksgiving has a dark history involving extreme hardship and our ancestors’ storied experiences.
This Thanksgiving trivia includes a history round to focus on what the annual holiday is truly all about, but all other rounds are less of a brain workout!
From floats and football to the food and festivals, let’s discover how much you and yours know about Thanksgiving!
The first Thanksgiving trivia round includes 25 general knowledge questions about the holiday!
If you’re looking for ideas to create your own Thanksgiving trivia, or if you’re playing solo to gain some new-found knowledge to impress this holiday, ensure you grab a pen to write some down.
It may be that you’re playing this Thanksgiving trivia on Thanksgiving with your loved ones. In which case, thanks to the show the answer button, you can easily form into teams and relax as nobody has to play host and nobody has an advantage.
Ready to learn some new things about Thanksgiving or test yourselves on the things you already think you know?
Let’s go!
1: Who was the first president to declare a Thanksgiving holiday?
President George Washington.
2: And in what year was this?
1789.
3: However, historians consider the first Thanksgiving to have taken place in which year?
1621.
4: What did President Thomas Jefferson do in relation to Thanksgiving?
Refused to celebrate it as a national holiday.
5: Which fruit is mashed and served as a side dish to turkey?
Cranberry.
6: How many pumpkin pies are consumed in the US each Thanksgiving?
50 million.
7: What city has the oldest Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Philadelphia.
8: What percentage of Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving?
88%
9: On what day of the week does Thanksgiving always fall?
Thursday.
10: What type of meat did Native Americans bring to the first Thanksgiving?
Deer.
11: In addition to the US, a proportion of another country also celebrate Thanksgiving. Which country is this?
Australia.
12: In what year was the first-ever Thanksgiving NFL game played?
1920.
13: What was introduced to Thanksgiving dinners in 1955?
Green bean casserole.
14: Which song is today considered a Christmas song but was actually written to be sung on Thanksgiving?
Jingle Bells.
15: What dinnertime tradition is not American, or even British…or Roman, but in fact, from the ancient Etruscan civilization?
Breaking of the wishbone.
16: In 1942, what legendary British institution held a Thanksgiving celebration for American troops?
London's Westminster Abbey.
17: What tradition did President George H.W Bush begin in 1989?
Pardoning of the turkey.
18: Between 2003 and 2007, data reveals that people spent an average of how long in front of the TV on Thanksgiving day?
3.7 hours.
19: What utensil was not used at the first Thanksgiving meal?
Fork.
20: Which department store presents the largest and most famous Thanksgiving parade?
Macy's.
21: Who were Eleanor Billington, Elizabeth Fisher Hopkins, Mary Brewster, and Susanna White Winslow?
The only female surviving pilgrims to celebrate the first Thanksgiving.
22: What Thanksgiving food item is responsible for the birth of TV dinners?
Turkey (look this one up!)
23: In the FRIENDS episode where Chandler Bing insists on helping with the food for Thanksgiving, which dish is he given to make?
Cranberry sauce.
24: What company is the biggest producer of turkeys in the US?
Butterball.
History of Thanksgiving Trivia Questions and Answers
Today, some people, including Native Americans, take issue with how Thanksgiving is presented in schools and to the general public.
So, to avoid controversy, this Thanksgiving trivia round will only include factual questions about the things that are widely accepted to be accurate.
This section is brief but important nonetheless!
How patriotic are you feeling?
Let’s play!
1: What was the name of the ship to bring to US shores the first English pilgrims who helped to form the first Thanksgiving?
The Mayflower.
2: Which famous Native American tribe member helped the first settlers on their arrival?
Squanto.
3: In 1621, a successful harvest of which crop led to a celebratory feast, now known as The First Thanksgiving?
Corn.
4: The feast lasted for three days and brought Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians together. How many from each group were there?
50 pilgrims and 90 Wampanoag Indians.
5: When the English settlers arrived, how long had the Wampanoag people already been living in the same area, known now as Cape Cod, Massachusetts?
12,000 years.
6: What type of food made the main dishes at The First Thanksgiving?
Seafood.
TV Thanksgiving Trivia Questions and Answers
Most families spend some time together watching TV over Thanksgiving, which is where there are so many Thanksgiving TV specials to choose from.
Does this cause arguments in your household?
While we may love one another deeply, deciding what to put on TV on Thanksgiving can be the cause of great contentment!
This Thanksgiving trivia round may just help as we take a look back on some of the best Thanksgiving TV specials that have aired to remind you why you either love or hate that particular show!
Here we go!
1: How many episodes of the TV show ER have included Thanksgiving?
5.
2: Which family drama series had a Thanksgiving-themed episode called 'Six Thanksgivings' in 2018?
This is Us.
3: TV ratings for which Thanksgiving special TV airing hit a 28-year high in 2021?
Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders NFL.
4: Which FRIENDS character put the Thanksgiving turkey on their head in the special episode: The One With All the Thanksgivings?
Monica Bing nee Gellar.
5: In what year did The Waltons: 'The Thanksgiving Story' air?
1973.
6: According to USDish, which FRIENDS episode is the most searched Thanksgiving episode?
'The One with the List.'
7: In what year did PAW Patrol: 'Pups Save Thanksgiving' air?
2018.
8: What was the name of the Thanksgiving special episode from 2 Broke Girls, 2011?
And the Very Christmas Thanksgiving.
9: How many Thanksgiving special episodes have there been of comedy favorite, The Middle?
9.
10: What was the name of the last Modern Family's Thanksgiving episode?
The Last Thanksgiving.
Fun Facts about Thanksgiving Trivia Questions and Answers
Now for the super-fun facts Thanksgiving trivia round!
If you’re looking for some ice-breakers, trivia facts to amaze, or some excellent conversation starters, this is the round for you!
Or, if you’ve been playing as teams and the tallies are close, this could be the round to change all of that.
Plus, it’s an interesting round where you’ll certainly learn some Thanksgiving trivia that you may not have known before.
Let’s do it!
1: How many calories do individual people consume, on average, during the Thanksgiving meal?
Between 3,000 and 4,000.
2: Which Disney movie is the #1 Thanksgiving release of all time?
Frozen.
3: What did the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade exhibit?
Animals from Central Park Zoo.
4: How much did American consumers spend online on Black Friday, 2021?
$8.9 billion.
5: According to market research firm Harris Poll, what do 80% of Americans prefer as the main Thanksgiving meal?
Leftovers!
6: Which American Football team has played every Thanksgiving apart from the years between 1939 and 1945 (WWII)?
The Detroit Lions.
7: Which tradespeople state the 24 hours after Thanksgiving as their busiest of the year?
That’s the end of this Thanksgiving trivia! But the challenges don’t have to end here. Check out the trivia below to see if there’s one to start playing right now:
Thank you for playing this Thanksgiving trivia. I hope you found some new topics for discussion and some new Thanksgiving info, but mostly, I hope you enjoyed playing along!
