Thanksgiving Riddles and Jokes
Serve these thanksgiving riddles with answers alongside the pie: turkeys, wishbones, gravy rivers, and one very famous boat. The second helping is pure thanksgiving jokes and riddles, perfect for making the kids table snort. A few trivia questions about the first feast round out the meal.
Thanksgiving riddles for kids
Turkeys that gobble, cranberry sauce from the bog, and pumpkin pie in a crust. The first course is easy enough for the youngest cousin to answer.
Turkey jokes and Thanksgiving puns
Later in the list the riddles turn into jokes, like why the Thanksgiving soup was so expensive. Fair warning: the puns are baked all the way through.
Thanksgiving trivia and quiz cards
Twelve interactive cards mix multiple choice trivia about the Mayflower and the 1863 proclamation with true or false calls, emoji riddles, and two type-in finishers.
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1. I strut around the farm saying gobble, gobble, and in November everyone talks about me. What am I?
Need a hint?
I am the guest of honor at the feast, whether I like it or not.
Show answer
A turkey.
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2. I am a sweet red sauce made from berries that grow in a bog. What am I?
Show answer
Cranberry sauce.
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3. I am orange, smooth, and spiced, and I show up for dessert in a crust. What am I?
Need a hint?
My main ingredient also gets carved in October.
Show answer
Pumpkin pie.
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4. Two people grab my ends, pull, and make a wish. Snap! What am I?
Need a hint?
The bigger half wins.
Show answer
The wishbone.
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5. I am bread that hides inside the bird, and some families call me dressing. What am I?
Show answer
Stuffing.
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6. I am a warm brown river poured over mountains of mashed potatoes. What am I?
Need a hint?
You pour me from a little boat.
Show answer
Gravy.
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7. I am a curved horn overflowing with fruit and vegetables, and I decorate the table. What am I?
Show answer
A cornucopia, the horn of plenty.
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8. I am Thursday's feast, but you will meet me again in sandwiches on Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. What am I?
Need a hint?
The fridge is full of me.
Show answer
Leftovers.
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9. I am giant and full of air, and I float over the city while crowds cheer on Thanksgiving morning. What am I?
Need a hint?
Watch the famous parade in New York.
Show answer
A parade balloon.
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10. I started out as a hard lump from the ground. Now I am a fluffy white cloud on your plate. What am I?
Show answer
Mashed potatoes.
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11. We sailed across the ocean for 66 days and shared a harvest feast in 1621. Who are we?
Need a hint?
Our ship had a flowery name.
Show answer
The Pilgrims.
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12. After the feast, families flop on the couch to watch me get thrown, kicked, and carried. What am I?
Show answer
A football.
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13. I am a race people run on Thanksgiving morning to earn their dinner. What am I?
Need a hint?
Lace up your sneakers before the feast.
Show answer
A turkey trot.
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14. I come in pumpkin, pecan, and apple, and there is never enough of me. What am I?
Show answer
Pie.
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15. I sit quietly on your lap during dinner and catch everything you drop. What am I?
Show answer
A napkin.
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16. I am the season's big gather-up of corn, squash, and beans, and I am the whole reason for the first feast. What am I?
Show answer
The harvest.
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17. The Wampanoag taught the Pilgrims to grow me. I am tall, golden, and my kernels line up in rows. What am I?
Need a hint?
You might eat me right off the cob.
Show answer
Corn, also called maize.
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18. I am hot and patient, and I hold the turkey for hours until it turns golden brown. What am I?
Show answer
The oven.
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19. I turn red, orange, and gold, then I let go and drift onto the lawn. What am I?
Show answer
An autumn leaf.
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20. Everyone gathers around me on Thanksgiving. I hold the whole feast on my back and never complain. What am I?
Show answer
The dinner table.
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21. Joke time! Why did the turkey cross the road?
Show answer
To prove he wasn't chicken.
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22. What key has legs and cannot open a single door?
Need a hint?
Say the bird's name slowly.
Show answer
A tur-key.
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23. What smells the best at Thanksgiving dinner?
Show answer
Your nose.
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24. Why did the cranberries turn red?
Need a hint?
Dressing means two different things here.
Show answer
Because they saw the turkey dressing.
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25. What do you call the weather when it rains turkeys?
Show answer
Fowl weather.
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26. What sound does a turkey's phone make?
Need a hint?
How would a bird say "ring"?
Show answer
Wing, wing, wing.
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27. If April showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring?
Show answer
Pilgrims.
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28. What is a turkey's favorite dessert?
Need a hint?
It sounds a lot like a real dessert with a crumbly top.
Show answer
Peach gobbler.
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29. Why was the Thanksgiving soup so expensive?
Need a hint?
It sounds like the purest gold.
Show answer
It was made with 24 carrots.
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30. What instrument does a turkey play in the band?
Show answer
The drumsticks.
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31. Which ship carried the Pilgrims to America in 1620?
The Mayflower landed at Plymouth after about 66 days at sea.
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32. When is Thanksgiving celebrated in the United States?
US Thanksgiving lands on the fourth Thursday of November, so the date moves each year.
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33. Which president made Thanksgiving a national holiday in 1863?
Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving during the Civil War.
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34. What is the red, dangly skin under a turkey's chin called?
That is the wattle. The flap over the beak is called a snood.
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35. Wild turkeys can fly.
Wild turkeys manage short bursts up to about 55 miles per hour. Farm turkeys are usually too heavy.
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36. The first Thanksgiving feast in 1621 lasted three days.
The Pilgrims and the Wampanoag shared games, food, and celebration for three whole days.
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37. Thanksgiving falls on November 25 every single year.
It is the fourth Thursday of November, so the date changes from year to year.
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38. 🌽 + 🍞
Show answer
Cornbread (corn + bread).
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39. 🌾 + 🌕
Need a hint?
It glows big and orange over the fields in fall.
Show answer
Harvest moon (harvest + moon).
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40. 🍬 + 🍠
Need a hint?
A sweet side dish, often topped with marshmallows.
Show answer
Candied yams (candy + yams).
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41. I am the big bird at the center of the Thanksgiving feast. Type my name.
Show answer
Turkey
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42. I am the tart red side dish made from berries that grow in bogs. What am I?
Show answer
Cranberry sauce
Your score
FAQ about Thanksgiving Riddles and Jokes
Are these Thanksgiving riddles good for the kids table?
That is their natural habitat. The questions stay on food, turkeys, and family, and every answer reveals on a tap so kids can quiz each other without help.
Is there anything here for the adults?
The trivia cards about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and the president who made the holiday official give grown-ups something to argue about. The puns work on anyone who claims to hate puns.
Do the riddles come with answers?
All 42 cards include the answer behind a tap, and the quiz cards score your guess instantly. There is no answer key to scroll for while the gravy gets cold.
When the leftovers are packed and the table still wants one more round, drift into our fall riddles for more autumn stumpers, or stretch the season with our holiday riddles.