Thanksgiving Would You Rather
Cornbread dressing or sage stuffing, the parade from the curb or the couch: one choice per card, and everyone at the table picks.
- Time
- 10–30 min
- Players
- Two or more players
- Best for
- Thanksgiving dinner, Friendsgiving and the drive to see family
- Deck
- 75 questions in 5 categories
How to use these Thanksgiving would you rather questions
- Pick a category from the menu under the card, or keep “All categories”.
- Read the top card aloud and let everyone answer it, going around the group.
- Swipe the card away, or tap “Next question”, for the next one. Questions do not repeat until you have seen the whole category.
- Tap the heart to save a question on this device, or tap “Make a 10-question list” for a list you can copy.
When to play Thanksgiving would you rather
A would you rather card asks for one quick pick and a reason, so everyone at the table can play, from the host who has done this for twenty years to the guest who just arrived. The answers tend to turn into stories about past Thanksgivings.
The drive to dinner
The passenger reads Hosting and guests aloud, and by the time you pull in, everyone has an opinion about air mattresses and early arrivals.
While the turkey rests
The kitchen is crowded and dinner is twenty minutes away. A few cards from The feast keep hungry guests busy and out of the gravy.
Friendsgiving on Saturday
Traditions and the day gives friends from different families a quick look at how everyone else spends the holiday.
Ways to play Thanksgiving would you rather
Pick a side of the table
Read the card, then everyone points left for the first option or right for the second. Each side sends one person to describe the picture in their head before the phone moves to the next seat.
One card per dish
As each dish starts around the table, whoever is holding it reads the next card and answers first. Draw from The feast for the main course and save Leftovers for when the pie plates come out.
Guess the host
Before the host answers a card from Hosting and guests, everyone else guesses which way they will go. Anyone who guessed right gets to choose the next category.
Tips for a good round at the table
- Start with The feast while everyone is filling their plates. Food picks come quickly, and the reasons usually arrive with a family recipe attached.
- Keep Silly hypotheticals for the slow stretch between dinner and dessert, when everyone is too full to move and happy to argue about gravy rivers.
- Ask the quietest guest to read a card now and then. Reading gives them the floor without putting them on the spot.
All 75 Thanksgiving would you rather questions by category
The complete list, grouped by category. The cards above draw from the same list, so you can read ahead here and play there.
The feast
Turkey or ham, cornbread dressing or sage stuffing, and every side dish fighting for room on the plate.
- Would you rather have turkey as the main dish, or a honey-glazed ham?
- Would you rather eat only white meat, or only dark meat at every Thanksgiving from now on?
- Would you rather give up turkey this year, or give up every kind of pie?
- Would you rather top sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows, or with a brown sugar pecan crumble?
- Would you rather have cornbread dressing, or classic bread stuffing with sage and celery?
- Would you rather eat green bean casserole with crispy onions, or fresh green beans with garlic and almonds?
- Would you rather get the first slice of pie, or the last scoop of stuffing?
- Would you rather have mac and cheese on the table, or a big pot of collard greens?
Show all 15 in The feastShow fewer
- Would you rather have a whole pie to yourself, or a thin sliver of six different pies?
- Would you rather have an oven-roasted turkey, or a smoked turkey straight off the grill?
- Would you rather drown everything on your plate in gravy, or keep every food from touching?
- Would you rather start the meal with a bowl of squash soup, or a tray of deviled eggs?
- Would you rather have mashed potatoes smooth as silk, or lumpy with the skins left in?
- Would you rather eat the classic turkey dinner, or a feast from a cuisine nobody at the table has tried?
- Would you rather have buttery corn pudding, or roasted Brussels sprouts with bacon?
Leftovers
Towering Friday sandwiches, pot pies, packed fridges and the last slice with your name on it.
- Would you rather eat leftovers cold, straight from the fridge, or warmed up properly on a plate?
- Would you rather turn leftover turkey into a pot pie, or into a pan of enchiladas?
- Would you rather take home a plate of everything, or a whole pie of your choice?
- Would you rather open a fridge packed with leftovers, or find one slice of pie with your name on it?
- Would you rather eat leftovers for every meal until Sunday, or cook something brand new on Friday?
- Would you rather mix every leftover together in one bowl, or give each one its own little spot on the plate?
- Would you rather have extra turkey and no pie left, or extra pie and no turkey left?
- Would you rather build a towering sandwich with every leftover, or keep it simple with just turkey on toast?
Show all 15 in LeftoversShow fewer
- Would you rather freeze some leftovers for a cozy night in December, or finish everything by Sunday?
- Would you rather have leftover pie for breakfast, or a leftover turkey omelet?
- Would you rather have a fridge of perfectly labeled containers, or a fun round of guess-what’s-inside?
- Would you rather spread leftover cranberry sauce on toast, or swirl it into yogurt?
- Would you rather have a second, smaller feast on Friday night, or a takeout pizza break from turkey?
- Would you rather reheat stuffing in the oven until it’s crispy, or in the microwave until it’s soft?
- Would you rather raid the leftovers at midnight on Thursday, or wait for a proper Friday lunch?
Hosting and guests
Carving, seating plans, early arrivals, air mattresses and who brings what.
- Would you rather be the one who carves the turkey, or the one who makes the gravy?
- Would you rather assign every guest a dish to bring, or let everyone bring whatever they like?
- Would you rather have place cards at every seat, or let everyone sit wherever they like?
- Would you rather host guests who show up two hours early, or ones who show up an hour late?
- Would you rather wash every dish after dinner, or dry and put every one away?
- Would you rather have one table so long it fills the room, or two small tables in different rooms?
- Would you rather sleep on a relative’s air mattress, or in a hotel down the street?
- Would you rather be asked to bring the rolls every year, or a different dish every year?
Show all 15 in Hosting and guestsShow fewer
- Would you rather have the TV on during dinner, or a no-screens rule at the table?
- Would you rather have one big conversation across the table, or lots of little ones at each end?
- Would you rather host a calm dinner that runs exactly on time, or a chaotic one full of laughs?
- Would you rather host in a tiny apartment packed with people, or a big house with room to spare?
- Would you rather serve dinner buffet-style, or pass every dish around the table?
- Would you rather use the fancy plates, or paper plates so nobody has to wash up?
- Would you rather have a dog begging under the table, or a cat strolling across it?
Traditions and the day
Parades, touch football, the dog show, long walks and the hours after dinner.
- Would you rather watch the parade from the curb in the cold, or from the couch in pajamas?
- Would you rather run a turkey trot in the morning, or take a long walk after dinner?
- Would you rather play touch football in the yard, or watch the big game on TV?
- Would you rather eat the big meal at lunchtime, or as a late dinner?
- Would you rather say what you’re thankful for out loud, or write it on a card for someone else to read?
- Would you rather nap on the couch after dinner, or start a board game at the table?
- Would you rather go around the table sharing a favorite memory, or a hope for next year?
- Would you rather have Thanksgiving on a warm, sunny day, or on a snowy one?
Show all 15 in Traditions and the dayShow fewer
- Would you rather celebrate on Thursday with family, or on Saturday with friends?
- Would you rather watch the parade all morning, or the dog show all afternoon?
- Would you rather take one big group photo, or lots of candid ones all day?
- Would you rather spend the long weekend resting at home, or on a short trip somewhere new?
- Would you rather have the same menu every year, or a brand-new menu every year?
- Would you rather end the day with a movie, or with a long chat around the table?
- Would you rather serve at a community meal in the morning, or drop off plates for neighbors in the evening?
Silly hypotheticals
Gravy faucets, parade floats in the living room and questions nobody needs to answer seriously.
- Would you rather have a gravy faucet in your kitchen, or a stuffing vending machine in your hallway?
- Would you rather be a giant balloon in the parade, or the loudest tuba in the marching band?
- Would you rather have every dish taste like pumpkin pie, or every dish taste like stuffing?
- Would you rather spend dinner in a feathered turkey hat, or in a costume shaped like a slice of pie?
- Would you rather have pants that stretch after every helping, or a chair that reclines itself after dessert?
- Would you rather ski down a mountain of mashed potatoes, or float down a river of gravy?
- Would you rather have a pie dish that refills whenever it’s empty, or a turkey that never gets smaller?
- Would you rather have the parade march through your living room, or the football game played in your backyard?
Show all 15 in Silly hypotheticalsShow fewer
- Would you rather speak only in gobbles until dessert, or rhyme every sentence until the meal is over?
- Would you rather be small enough to sit inside a pumpkin, or tall enough to look a parade balloon in the eye?
- Would you rather have a can of cranberry sauce that plays music when opened, or a gravy boat that really sails?
- Would you rather share the table with a scarecrow who tells long stories, or a raccoon with perfect manners?
- Would you rather have a slice of pie that tells your fortune, or a dinner roll that tells a joke?
- Would you rather have an after-dinner nap that lasts exactly as long as you want, or always have room for dessert?
- Would you rather have a parade float named after you, or a pie named after you?
Frequently asked questions
How many Thanksgiving would you rather questions are there?
There are 75 questions, 15 in each of five categories: the feast, leftovers, hosting and guests, traditions and the day, and silly hypotheticals. The cards and the list on this page use the same set.
Are these questions OK for a family dinner with relatives?
Yes. Every card is about food, parades, football, naps and the small habits of the holiday, so nobody has to share anything personal. They suit a long table of relatives, a Friendsgiving or a team lunch the week before.
How are these different from the other would you rather questions?
Every card here belongs to the holiday: the turkey, the leftovers, the seating plan and the long weekend. Would you rather food questions cover food all year round, and the general would you rather questions go from superpowers to travel.
What else can we play on Thanksgiving?
For a quiz round between courses, Thanksgiving trivia has questions with answers about the 1621 feast, the meal and the parade. For puns that earn a groan, try Thanksgiving jokes.