Thanksgiving has plenty of moments when everyone is together but nothing official is happening yet. Guests are arriving, dinner is finishing in the kitchen, people are settling around the table, or dessert is still a little while away.
That is a good time for a simple game.
These Thanksgiving Would You Rather questions need almost no setup. Keep the list open on one phone, read each choice aloud, and have everyone pick the option they would rather choose.
You can play all 12 in one round or use a few at a time whenever the gathering needs an easy conversation starter.
12 Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions
Start here if your group is ready to play.
- Cook the whole Thanksgiving dinner OR clean up everything afterward
- Eat only side dishes OR eat only desserts
- Watch the parade OR watch football all day
- Host Thanksgiving OR be a guest
- Eat pumpkin pie for breakfast OR eat leftovers for breakfast
- Have Thanksgiving at noon OR have Thanksgiving at night
- Make the stuffing OR make the mashed potatoes
- Spend the day cooking OR spend the day decorating
- Have extra guests arrive OR run out of dessert
- Eat at a huge family table OR have a small cozy dinner
- Take family photos OR make a family video
- Have one giant pie OR three mini pies
There are no right or wrong answers. The game is simply about choosing between the two options and seeing how everyone else answers.
Place the Questions Around the Thanksgiving Meal
| Moment | Use these questions | Host cue |
|---|---|---|
| Before dinner | 1, 4, 6, 8 | Compare cooking, hosting, timing, and decorating while people are still arriving. |
| At the table | 2, 3, 7, 9 | Keep answers quick so the game does not compete with serving food or conversation. |
| With dessert | 5, 10, 11, 12 | Slow down for stories about leftovers, family tables, photos, and pie. |
This schedule uses all 12 questions without demanding one uninterrupted game. If a natural conversation begins, pause the list and return later. At Friendsgiving, question 10 can be read as “a huge table of friends or a small cozy dinner” so the choice fits the actual group without changing the underlying comparison.
For guests who arrive after the first mini-round, start them with the next scheduled group rather than repeating earlier questions. No score carries over, so joining late does not put anyone behind.
A Simple Way to Play at Thanksgiving
What You Need
- One phone with this game open
- Your family or Thanksgiving group
No scorekeeping is needed because these Thanksgiving decisions have no correct side.
Quick Play
- Open the game on one phone.
- One person reads the first scenario pair aloud.
- Everyone chooses the option they would rather pick.
- Compare answers or invite a few people to explain their choices.
- Continue through the rest of the questions.
You can keep one person as the host or pass the phone around so different players get a turn reading.
Try Everyone Voting at Once
For a bigger Thanksgiving dinner or Friendsgiving group, simultaneous voting can keep the game moving.
Choose a simple signal for each option. For example, players can hold up one finger for the first choice and two fingers for the second.
The host reads the question, counts to three, and everyone reveals an answer at the same time.
This works especially well for questions such as:
- Watch the parade OR watch football all day
- Host Thanksgiving OR be a guest
- Eat at a huge family table OR have a small cozy dinner
The fun is seeing whether the whole table agrees or splits into two very different camps.
Let the Hard Choices Do the Talking
You do not need a discussion after every question.
If everyone answers quickly, move on. If someone hesitates or the room reacts strongly, that is a good moment to ask why.
Questions such as Cook the whole Thanksgiving dinner OR clean up everything afterward can get very different reactions from people who enjoy hosting and people who would rather handle the aftermath.
Other choices, such as Have Thanksgiving at noon OR have Thanksgiving at night, can lead naturally into how different families like to celebrate.
Keep the follow-up conversation optional. Nobody needs to defend an answer.
Play From One Phone
Keep this page open on one shared phone and let one person host.
The host reads each pair aloud, and everyone else only needs to listen and choose. You can also pass the phone around so different people lead different rounds.
One-phone play works well before dinner, around the table, during Friendsgiving, or whenever guests are waiting together.
Print If You Prefer
For a no-screen dinner, make one personal host copy rather than preparing materials for every guest.
The host can reach all 12 Thanksgiving scenarios on this page; printed copies are entirely optional.
More Thanksgiving Games for the Same Group
If your family wants another easy game after this one, you can naturally continue with related Thanksgiving party games.
Try another Thanksgiving game style:
- Thanksgiving This or That questions
- Thanksgiving trivia
- Thanksgiving Most Likely To
- Thanksgiving conversation starters
You can play one game before dinner and save another for later instead of trying to fit everything into the same moment.
Keep It Easy
Read a question, choose a side, enjoy the reactions, and move on whenever the group is ready.
More Thanksgiving Party Games
Keep playing with Thanksgiving Party Games, 12 Thanksgiving Gratitude Questions for Family Game Night, 12 Thanksgiving True or False Questions with Answers and 12 Thanksgiving Scavenger Hunt Items for Family Fun.
