Best Thanksgiving Games for Adults
Whether you are celebrating Friendsgiving with your pals, having a huge family feast, or just having a small Thanksgiving dinner get-together, you may want to consider having some activities prepared for your guests. Games are a great way to break the ice between disparate groups of friends and family who may not know each other all that well. They also keep the mood and energy up, staving off that notorious Thanksgiving food coma. So, get your home ready with some lively Thanksgiving Decor, get those invites out, and get ready for a fun-filled holiday.
The Great Outdoors
Enjoy the peak of crisp fall weather on Thanksgiving Day by encouraging your guests to spend time outside. Games and sports are fantastic ways to encourage bonding, enjoy good company, and ensure that your guests aren’t becoming bored or sleepy waiting on that turkey!
Horseshoes is a simple but engaging backyard activity. All you need for this game is the horseshoes and targets or stakes in the ground. Cornhole is another adult backyard party classic. For the uninitiated, cornhole is a beanbag toss game similar to horseshoes in that you toss an object toward a target. You can purchase an official cornhole board or simply mark out a target in your yard or driveway. (We love these two backyard games for Thanksgiving because you can play them with a beer or cocktail in hand!)
Flag football is a fantastic way to burn some calories before a big meal while having fun doing it. Are sports and outdoor games just not your thing? No worries there! You can always grab a drink and a comfy throw blanket and show your support by cheering everyone else on from the sidelines!
Game Show Host
If the weather is not cooperating, or you don’t have access to enough outdoor space for the above activities, bring the party inside! Pile up the throw pillows, get cozy by the fire, and play some Thanksgiving versions of your favorite game show games. Family Feud is a popular and hilarious at-home party game. You can create categories for your guests ahead of time or ask them to contribute to the idea and compile suggestions the week before. Then, simply create your own boards out of cardstock, poster board, and some colorful markers, break your guests into groups and let the hilarity ensue.
Thanksgiving Jeopardy is another classic game show game you can play your own version of at home. Since Jeopardy is essentially a trivia game, it’s easy to make Thanksgiving-themed and test your guest’s knowledge of history, food, and tradition.
Good Old-Fashioned Drinking Games
What’s a grown-up party without some grown-up beverages? This is a list of games for adults, after all. Get (or keep) the party going with some classic drinking games, complete with a festive holiday twist. (After these games, you may just want to get everyone in their matching family pajamas and have a grown-up sleepover.
Cider pong is our Thanksgiving version of the classic college drinking game, beer pong. Simply fill your cups with cider, organize them into two triangle shapes on opposite ends of a long table (a ping-pong table is standard, but any table will do), and try to toss a ping-pong ball into one of your opponent’s cups. When you make it into a cup, they drink. Be forewarned that spills happen, and this game can get messy, so we recommend taking it outside and using some designated weather-proof outdoor patio furniture for this activity.
For the pre-dinner day drinkers, we are going to recommend a game we’re calling Macy’s Day Parade: Grown-up Edition. This is essentially a scavenger hunt for objects or themes within the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade that, when spotted, you take a sip of your drink. This is a fun, silly, loosey-goosey kind of holiday drinking, so have fun with it and make up your own rules. Examples of rules may include: taking a sip of your drink every time you see a Disney character float or finishing your drink if you see someone in the crowd dancing, etc.
Classic Card Games
Who doesn’t love a classic card game to pass the time and connect with those around you? You can grab an old-fashioned deck of 52 and play poker or rummy. Alternatively, you could invest in any number of new card games for something slightly different.
Card games specifically meant for adults may include games such as Apples to Apples, Buzzed, and Cards Against Humanity. Please note that these specific card games are, as mentioned, very much for adults only and may make some blush! We don’t recommend playing Cards Against Humanity with the in-laws, for example, but it makes for a hilariously good time with your pals at Friendsgiving.
Whether the kids in your family are all grown up, or just spending part of the holiday elsewhere, take advantage of your grown-up time this Thanksgiving and have some fun! You can even invest in cute festive gifts for the winners of your games.