130 Best Thanksgiving Trivia Questions For The Whole Family

Question: When does Thanksgiving occur?
Answer: Fourth Thursday in November
Question: Why is our Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November?
Answer: This was the date set by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 and approved by Congress in 1941.
Question: Has Thanksgiving always been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November?
Answer: No. In 1939, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the third Thursday in November.
Question: How long was the first Thanksgiving celebration?
Answer: Three days
Question: Which Indian tribes taught the Pilgrims how to cultivate the land and were invited to the feast?
Answer: Wampanoag
Question: What city is home to the oldest Thanksgiving parade?
Answer: Philadelphia—Gimbel Brothers Department Store parade in 1920 with only 50 people, 15 cars, and a fireman dressed as Santa Claus
Question: Where is the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held?
Answer: New York
Question: Which ship brought the colonists to America?
Answer: The Mayflower
Question: What did they eat at the first Thanksgiving?
Answer: Although turkeys were indigenous, there’s no record of a big, roasted bird at the feast. The Wampanoag brought deer. And there would have been lots of local seafood plus the fruits of the first harvest including pumpkin.
Question: Was mashed potatoes served at the first Thanksgiving feast?
Answer: No mashed potatoes—Potatoes had only been recently shipped back to Europe from South America.

Question: What seafood was served at the first Thanksgiving feast?
Answer: Lobster, oysters, fish and possibly eel
Question: What did President Calvin Coolidge famously receive as a Thanksgiving gift?
Answer: A live raccoon—Meant to be eaten was given by a Mississippi man because he called raccoon meat “toothsome”, but the Coolidge family adopted the pet and name it Rebecca and added it the White House Menagerie that included a black bear, a wallaby, and a pygmy hippo name Billy.
Question: Approximately how many turkeys are eaten each year on Thanksgiving in the United States?
Answer: 280 million, 46 million
Question: Who was the first President to pardon a turkey?
Answer: John F. Kennedy
Question: Which president is believed to be the first to pardon a turkey and start this annual tradition?
Answer: President Harry Truman in 1947
Question: What area of Massachusetts still looks just like it did in the 17th century?
Answer: Plymouth, Massachusetts
Question: Which southern state was the first to adopt a Thanksgiving Day in 1855?
Answer: Virginia
Question: Which President made turkey pardoning an annual event?
Answer: George H.W. Bush
Question: What president refused to declare Thanksgiving a holiday?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson because he thought it blurred the distinctive separation of church and state as he considered it a religious holiday.
Question: What is a snood?
Answer: The loose skin under a male turkey’s neck.

Question: How many calories on average are consumed, per person, at Thanksgiving dinner?
Answer: 4,500
Question: What do Thanksgiving and the song “Mary Had A Little Lamb” have in common?
Answer: They were both created by the same woman — sort of. Writer and editor Sarah Josepha Hale convinced President Abraham Lincoln to officially declare Thanksgiving a national holiday after three decades of persistent lobbying.
Question: What utensil was not used by the Pilgrims to eat Thanksgiving dinner?
Answer: Fork
Question: How much did the world’s most expensive Thanksgiving dinner on record cost?
Answer: $150,000 at New York City’s Old Homestead Steakhouse
Question: The best place to put the meat thermometer in the turkey is:
Answer: The thigh
Question: When was the first Thanksgiving football game?
Answer: 1876 college match between Yale and Princeton
Question: The first Thanksgiving NFL game?
Answer: 1920
Question: The Pilgrims came to the New world seeking religious freedom and were also called:
Answer: The Puritans because they wanted to purify the teachings and ceremonies of the Church of England
Question: What wasn’t part of the first Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Answer: Balloons
Question: What was different about the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 1960?
Answer: It began to be broadcast in color in 1960

Question: What is a baby turkey called?
Answer: A poult
Question: How many women were at the very first Thanksgiving celebration?
Answer: Five
Question: Which President made Thanksgiving a permanent national holiday?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Question: What is Good Housekeeping’s tie to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Answer: We have a Good Housekeeping illustrator to thank for the parade’s first balloons. German American illustrator Tony Starg, whose illustrations were featured in Good Housekeeping, also had a passion for puppetry. He used that talent to make some amazing floats come to life in 1927.
Question: It has been estimated that how many Americans eat turkey at Thanksgiving.
Answer: 88%
Question: Which President first ordered a national day of Thanksgiving?
Answer: George Washington—called for national day of thanks on the last Thursday of November in 1777 to commemorate the end of the Revolutionary War and the ratification of the Constitution.
Question: True or False? During the Civil War, both the Confederacy and the Union issued Thanksgiving Day proclamations following major victories.
Answer: True
Question: A full grown turkey has about how many feathers?
Answer: 3500
Question: Which President declared two Thanksgivings in one year?
Answer: James Madison
Question: Has Thanksgiving always been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November?
Answer: No. In 1939, Thanksgiving was celebrated on the third Thursday in November. You might think President Franklin D. Roosevelt could predict the future, as he channeled a “Black Friday” mindset when he decided to move Thanksgiving during his presidency. Even though the holiday had been celebrated on the fourth Thursday since Lincoln officially recognized the federal holiday decades before, Roosevelt bumped it up a week effectively adding seven more shopping days to the holiday season to boost the economy. That angered football coaches who had Thanksgiving games already scheduled and calendar printers who now had incorrect dates. Americans, to say the least, didn’t love the change, so it was officially switched back in 1942.

Question: Which Native American friend to the settlers acted as an interpreter?
Answer: Squanto
Question: A Thanksgiving turkey mix-up inspired what popular meal trend?
Answer: Frozen TV dinners. In 1953, a Swanson employee accidentally ordered a colossal shipment of Thanksgiving turkeys (260 tons, to be exact). To deal with the excess, salesman Gerry Thomas took inspiration from the prepared foods served on airplanes. He came up with the idea of filling 5,000 aluminum trays with the turkey – along with cornbread dressing, gravy, peas and sweet potatoes to complete the offering. The 98-cent meals were a hit, especially with kids and increasingly busy households.
Question: What part of the turkey is called a wattle?
Answer: The bit of red flesh right under the beak
Question: In what month did the very first Thanksgiving celebration likely take place?
Answer: September
Question: How many grams of fat does the typical American eat on Thanksgiving?
Answer: 229 grams
Question: Which State raises the highest Number of Turkeys?
Answer: Minnesota
Question: When was the first Turkey Trot?
Answer: 1896 A Turkey Trot is a race held around the time of the Thanksgiving holiday. The first one was in New York in 1896. Some participants dress up as turkeys or in other fun costumes.
Question: How many runners participated in America’s first turkey trot?
Answer: 6
Question: What Meat was brought to the first Thanksgiving by the native Americans?
Answer: Deer
Question: What world record was set at a turkey trot in 2011?
Answer: Amount of people dressed up as turkeys

Question: Where was the first Turkey Trot?
Answer: Buffalo, New York
Question: Which food was ever-present at the first Thanksgiving but is seldom eaten at Thanksgiving now?
Answer: Seafood
Question: What happens to the turkeys that are pardoned by the president each year?
Answer: The turkeys pardoned by the president go on to live fulfilled lives.
Question: In what decade was the Thanksgiving staple, green bean casserole, first created?
Answer: The 1950s (1955 by the Campbell Soup Company)
Question: When is Thanksgiving in Canada?
Answer: The second Monday in October
Question: True or False? The first ever Thanksgiving was held in 1621 at Plymouth by the Pilgrims.
Answer: False–Thanksgiving feasts were part of early religion in England before the Pilgrims ever came to the New World.
Question: Do turkeys actually gobble?
Answer: Only male turkeys — appropriately named gobblers — actually make the sound, “gobble, gobble”. Female turkeys cackle instead. So just wait until they open their beaks and you will figure out whether a turkey’s male or female.
Question: Which culture Birthed the idea of the horn of plenty, the cornucopia?
Answer: Greek culture
Question: About how many pumpkin pies are consumed every Thanksgiving?
Answer: About 50 Million
Question: How many different varieties of pumpkins are there?
Answer: 45 different varieties

Question: What percentage of a pumpkin is made of water?
Answer: 92%, 6.5% carbohydrate, .1% fat and 1% protein.
Question: What hymn that was originally a Dutch patriotic song is now considered a Thanksgiving song by many?
Answer: “We Gather Together”
Question: How heavy was the heaviest turkey ever recorded?
Answer: 86 pounds
Question: What happens at Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts every Thanksgiving?
Answer: A “National Day of Mourning” for Native Americans who died at the hand or plague of European settlers
Question: What day is honored every last Thursday in November?
Answer: National Day of Mourning
Question: What is the name of an American fiddle song featuring a turkey often played at Thanksgiving parties?
Answer: “Turkey in the Straw”
Question: How much does the average turkey eaten at Thanksgiving weigh?
Answer: 15 pounds
Question: Which popular Thanksgiving song’s actual title is “The New England Boy’s Song About Thanksgiving Day”?
Answer: “Over the River and Through the Woods”
Question: What city had a Thanksgiving Day Parade which ends with Santa Claus getting a key to the city?
Answer: Detroit
Question: Why were there no Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parades in 1942, 1943, and 1944?
Answer: Because of World War II

Question: True or False? All turkeys can fly.
Answer: Wild turkeys can fly, but those domestically grown for eating cannot because they are too heavy.
Question: True or false? More than half of the people in the Plymouth colony died that winter of 1621.
Answer: True
Question: During which Revolutionary War battle did troops have a day of Thanksgiving?
Answer: The Battle of Saratoga
Question: How are cranberries tested to see if they are sweet enough to harvest?
Answer: Cranberries are bounced to see if they are ripe. They should bounce about 4 inches high. Bounceberry is another name for them
Question: How many cranberries does it take to make one can of cranberry sauce?
Answer: Around 200 cranberries
Question: The cranberry is the official fruit of what U.S. state?
Answer: Wisconsin
Question: True or False? Turkeys can see behind themselves
Answer: False—They can see 270 degrees
Question: How many places in the U.S. bear the name turkey?
Answer: Four
Question: Where does the name for the bird turkey came from?
Answer: During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, a bird called the guinea fowl — which bears a striking resemblance to the American turkey — was imported to Europe from its native North Africa. Because the birds came from Turkish lands, Europeans called them the turkey-cock and turkey-hen. When settlers in the Americas began sending similar-looking birds back to Europe, the name had already stuck!
Question: What 18-minute monologue is performed on many rock and classic rock stations every Thanksgiving?
Answer: Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant”

Question: What’s the best part of Thanksgiving?
Answer: The leftovers
Question: True or False? The first Macy’s Thanksgiving parade featured animals that were from the central park zoo as opposed to our usual balloons culture.
Answer: True
Question: What year did Adam Sandler release “The Thanksgiving Song?”
Answer: 1992
Question: What is a male turkey called?
Answer: Tom or gobbler
Question: What is a female turkey called?
Answer: Jenny
Question: How many calls does the Butterball turkey talk line get each year?
Answer: 100,000
Question: Do other countries celebrate the holiday?
Answer: Yes! Canada also celebrates Thanksgiving and 11+ other countries.
Question: What is the busiest day of the year for plumbers?
Answer: Black Friday– thanks to all that food we gobble up on Thanksgiving (see these leftover turkey recipes) and houseguests stressing out the plumbing system, Roto-Rooter reports that kitchen drains, garbage disposals and yes, toilets, require more attention the day after Thanksgiving than any other day. Before you have to join the legions paying a hefty holiday bill, you may want to remind your kitchen clean-up crew to scrape the plates before washing.
Question: What year did the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade first have balloons?
Answer: 1928
Question: How many people go shopping on Black Friday?
Answer: Over 32 million people

Question: What year was the first national Thanksgiving in the United States was proclaimed by the Continental Congress?
Answer: 1777
Question: On average, how many people attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade each year?
Answer: About 3.5 million
Question: What Christmas song was originally a Thanksgiving song that was composed for children to sing in a Boston Sunday School Celebration?
Answer: Jingle Bells
Question: True or False? Thanksgiving Day is the Busiest travel day of the year.
Answer: True
Question: How many days do it take for the Mayflower to across the Atlantic Ocean
Answer: 66 days
Question: How many people where on the Mayflower?
Answer: 102—one passenger, William Butten, died at sea, and one child was born, leaving 102 passengers upon arrival.
Question: What was the name of the only child born during the Mayflower’s voyage to America?
Answer: Oceanus
Question: What Wampanoag village was Plymouth built on?
Answer: Patuxet—The Pilgrims built their town on the site on an abandoned Wampanoag village
Question: Which has the most protein turkey, chicken or beef?
Answer: Turkey
Question: What state consumes the most turkey every Thanksgiving?
Answer: California

Question: What are “Tofurky Roasts”?
Answer: Plant-based meat or meatless alternative
Question: The Pilgrims were also called?
Answer: Puritan
Question: How long can a turkey live?
Answer: A turkey can live up to 15 years
Question: Is it true that the amino acid tryptophan, which is found in turkey, makes people tired after they eat a Thanksgiving dinner?
Answer: No. Although rats and mice in a lab show sleepiness after consuming this amino acid, there is probably not enough in your serving of turkey to affect you. More than likely, it is the consumption of too much food.
Question: Statistically, what is Americans’ favorite Thanksgiving side dish?
Answer: Stuffing
Question: Who was the first video-game character featured in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade?
Answer: Sonic the Hedgehog
Question: How fast was the Mayflower?
Answer: Only averaged about two miles per hour.
Question: How long has pumpkin pie been a traditional part of Thanksgiving?
Answer: Pumpkin pie was a staple on New England Thanksgiving tables as far back ast the turn of the 18th century.
Question: People once believed that pumpkins could cure?
Answer: Freckles
Question: How much did the world’s largest pumpkin pie weigh?
Answer: 3699 pounds which was made in New Bremen, Ohio

Question: When did we start canning cranberries?
Answer: Cranberries were eaten by native Americans and used as a potent red dye, but not a relish for the first Thanksgiving table. Marcus Urann canned the first jellied craberry sauce in 1912 and eventually founded the cranberry growers cooperative knowas Ocean Spray.
Question: How many ridges are there on a 14-ounce can of Ocean Spray jellied Cranberry Sauce?
Answer: 17 ridges
Question: What color are turkey eggs?
Answer: Tan color with speckled with brown and twice as large as chicken eggs
Question: What is the day after Thanksgiving known as?
Answer: Black Friday
Question: In a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, what does Charlie Brown serve to his friends for Thankgiving dinner?
Answer: Ice Cream Sundae, they also got two slices of buttered toast, a handful of pretzel sticks, popcorn and jelly beans.
Question: What U.S. company sells the most turkeys for Thanksgiving?
Answer: Butterball
Question: What is the name of the book that Governor William Bradford wrote telling of the troubles and experiences of the pilgrims?
Answer: The Of Plymouth Planation is regarded as the most authoritative account of the Pilgrims and the early years of the colony they founded.
Question: Where do wild turkeys like to sleep?
Answer: They sleep in trees at night.
Question: What were the names of the 2 live turkeys President George W. Bush received in 2003, as voted on by the American public?
Answer: Stars & Stripes
Question: In A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, who gets the wishbone?
Answer: Woodstock gets the bigger piece against Snoopy

Question: Who is the Greek goddess of the harvest?
Answer: Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture
Question: According to the Butterball corporation, how long should you thaw a wrapped turkey in the refrigerator per 4 pounds of bird?
Answer: Butterball recommends that you allow at least 1 day of thawing for every 4 lbs.
Question: How fast can a turkey fly?
Answer: 55 miles per hour and run 25 miles per hour.
Question: Who was the first governor of Plymouth Colony?
Answer: John Carver is credited with writing the Mayflower Compact, was its first signer, and was the first governor of New Plymouth Colony
Question: Which founding father thought the turkey should be the national bird of the United States?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin
Question: What percentage of turkey meat is white?
Answer: Typically about 70% is white meat
Question: What is a group of domesticated turkeys called?
Answer: Called a rafter or gang, but a large group of wild turkeys are called a flock.
Question: What U.S. state produces the most sweet potatoes?
Answer: North Carolina
Question: What Sesame Street character is made of turkey feathers?
Answer: Big Bird’s feathers are white turkey feathers, dyed yellow. There are approximately 4,000 feathers on the puppet.
Question: Who was the leader of the Wampanoag at the time of the first Thanksgiving?
Answer: Massasoit