Thanksgiving Games for Adults

Thanksgiving began as a practice to celebrate the harvest of the year and thank the higher forces for the bounty bestowed on them. In today's times, the festival is celebrated mainly as a secular holiday in the United States of America and Canada, but many countries all over the world are now taking part in the celebrations as well.

A warm dinner sits on the elaborately laid out dinner table. The soft aroma of pumpkin pie wafts through the air. Children run about even as the football match airs on the living room television. The kitchen area bears witness to last minute touches to dessert dishes.

And since the family has gathered around and there are hardly any occasions in a year when that happens, why don't you make it an evening of even more fun with some Thanksgiving games for adults? The following is a collection of some of the games that you could play.

Divide the members into two teams. Then from within each team, tag each member against another member from the other team. These two have to compete against each other. Have the first two contestants stand on one side of the room and place 2 empty containers on the opposite end.

Place two containers which are full of confetti behind each contestant. The objective of this game is that they have to transfer the confetti from the bowl to the empty containers. The game might seem easy, but you forget that confetti is very light and can fly off easily, so the challenge is to transfer as much as possible into the empty container.

You could time each round. Make sure that you mark the container level to see who has won. Play the game till all the members are exhausted, then have the winners of each game play against the other and the final two play the last game for the final winner.

Love charades and Pictionary? Then you'll love this one as well. Buy or borrow the game. Divide the group into two teams with equal members. Then have them sit in a circle with teammates sitting alternately from each other. The game is played like so - there are a stack of cards with different terms on them.

The person who is tagged has to explain the word to his teammates, but while doing that he cannot use the taboo words that have been listed on the card. If he does use them, a negative mark will be added.

He has to explain as many words as possible in 60 seconds. The stack of cards are then passed onto the next person. This game can be played as long as you want. Once you decide to stop, calculate the score card and announce the winner.

Here's one that's always a favorite among the Thanksgiving activities - the scavenger hunt game. Instead of playing it like a normal scavenger hunt game, give it a Thanksgiving twist. Have pictures of turkeys hidden all around the house and that is what the teams have to search for.

Provide a list of clues for the location of the hidden turkey pictures. You can make it all the more interesting by asking them to do tasks before providing them with the clues. The team with the maximum number of turkey cards wins.

This is a take on the '20 Questions' game. A member stands and says 'Guess who'. Then each family member gets to ask one question till 20 questions (or as many as you want) are up and they have to guess the person.

This one's played like the normal Bingo game, but with a Thanksgiving twist. Instead of using the traditional numbers, prepare a number of statements that are Thanksgiving related, like 'always watches the football game on Thanksgiving', 'loves turkey'. Then print out a sheet that has all these phrases on them.

Call out these statements like you would the numbers. Have the participants mark them out. The rules of both games are the same. If you're finding it too difficult to come up with those statements or it's getting too confusing, you could stick to the good-old Bingo game itself. That's just as much fun.

At the blow of the whistle, the participants have to place the balloons between their thighs and waddle across the room to the finish line. The person who finishes first, wins. If while walking, the balloon bursts, then the person is disqualified. If there are many members, have them play in groups and then hold a final waddle to determine the winner.

So while making the list, make sure to include only those things that they can find in the house. Divide the members into two teams and give them each a list of the things that they have to find.

Make sure that you give them a calculated time in which they have to complete the task. The team that finishes first, or the one that has the maximum items when the time is out (whichever one is first), wins.

Print out large pictures of things that are thanksgiving-related like turkeys, cranberries etc. Cut these pictures into square parts in either 4,6 or 8 parts (depending on the number of people that there are). Mix all the pictures.

On a flat surface (or even the floor), keep a chart paper and some glue ready. Distribute the pictures amongst all the participants, but make sure that they can't see them until the buzzer rings.

At the go of the buzzer, the participants have to turn their picture over and then scramble to find the people who have the rest of the picture. They then get to the chart paper and proceed to stick the parts together to make the full picture. The team that finishes first, wins.

This one is real simple and a lot of fun. Give the guests a long word that is thanksgiving-related, like Thanksgiving or Cranberry. Provide them with a pen and pad and ask them to list out all the words that they can think of that can be formed from the word given. Give them a stipulated time for completing the task.

The person who manages to form the maximum words in the given time is the winner. Of course you can also play the more traditional games like card games, charades or other board games as well. That is always a choice. But this Thanksgiving day, try to play some of these and just see the fun that you have.