Thanksgiving brings family together, but keeping everyone entertained can be tough.
Long gaps between meals often lead to awkward silences or people glued to their phones. Thanksgiving Minute to Win It games offer a simple solution.
These quick, fun activities keep guests laughing and engaged without requiring much prep or fancy equipment.
This blog shares easy game ideas that work for all ages. You’ll find options that need minimal supplies and take just a minute to play.
Get ready to turn your gathering into a memorable celebration everyone will enjoy.
Why Choose Minute to Win it Games for Thanksgiving?
Minute to Win It games fit perfectly into Thanksgiving celebrations. They’re quick, so they don’t take away from cooking or eating time.
Most games use household items you already have, which means no last-minute shopping trips.
These games work for everyone. Kids, teens, and adults can all join in the fun. No special skills are needed, and the short time limit keeps things exciting.
Even shy family members feel comfortable participating since each game lasts just 60 seconds.
They also break the ice between relatives who don’t see each other often.
Laughter comes naturally when someone tries to stack cups or balance cookies on their face. These games create memories that last long after the turkey is gone.
List of Thanksgiving Minute to Win It Games
These games come in all varieties, and Thanksgiving offers the perfect theme.
Below are a few game ideas that use seasonal items and holiday spirit.
Each one is easy to set up and guaranteed to make everyone laugh. Pick a few that match your group’s energy and have fun.
Active and Physical Games
1. Turkey Feather Toss
Supplies Required: Colorful craft feathers, empty coffee cans or buckets, masking tape
How to Play: Mark a throwing line on the floor with tape. Place the bucket about 5 feet away. Players get 60 seconds to toss as many feathers as they can into the bucket. The person who lands the most feathers wins.
Pro Tip: Feathers are lightweight and tricky to aim. Try tossing them upward in an arc rather than straight ahead.
2. Turkey Waddle Race
Supplies Required: Balloons, masking tape
How to Play: Players place a balloon between their knees. They must waddle from start to finish line without dropping it. If the balloon falls, they go back to the start. The most successful trips in 60 seconds win.
3. Cranberry Spoon Balance
Supplies Required: Spoons, fresh cranberries, masking tape
How to Play: Create a start and finish line about 10 feet apart. Players hold a spoon in their mouth with a cranberry balanced on it. They must walk to the finish line and back without dropping it.
The most successful trips in 60 seconds win.
4. Gravy Boat Bowling
Supplies Required: Empty plastic bottles, small pumpkins or gourds
How to Play: Set up 10 plastic bottles like bowling pins. Players roll a small pumpkin to knock down as many bottles as possible. They get three rolls within 60 seconds. Highest score wins.
5. Apple Bobbing Challenge
Supplies Required: Large tub or basin, water, apples, towels
How to Play: Fill the tub with water and add apples. Players have 60 seconds to grab as many apples as they can using only their mouths. Most apples collected wins.
Pro Tip: Use smaller apples for younger kids to make it easier.
6. Roll the Pumpkin
Supplies Required: Small pumpkins, masking tape, yardstick
How to Play: Mark start and finish lines. Players must roll their pumpkin using only a yardstick. No touching the pumpkin with hands. The first to cross the finish line within 60 seconds wins.
7. Pie Tin Shuffle
Supplies Required: Aluminum pie tins, masking tape
How to Play: Place two pie tins on the floor. Players stand on them and shuffle across the room without stepping off. They can only move by sliding the tins. The furthest distance in 60 seconds wins.
8. Cranberry Shake-Off
Supplies Required: Empty tissue boxes, cranberries, ribbon, or string
How to Play: Fill tissue boxes with cranberries and attach them to players’ waists with ribbon. Players must shake and jump to get all the cranberries out. First to empty their box or most cranberries out in 60 seconds wins.
9. Turkey Balloon Pop
Supplies Required: Brown balloons, chairs, timer
How to Play: Blow up brown balloons and scatter them around. Players must sit on balloons to pop them. Most balloons popped in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: The popping noise adds to the excitement and laughter.
10. Leaf Blower Feather Chase
Supplies Required: Leaf blower or handheld fan, feathers, masking tape
How to Play: Create a course with tape. Players must blow a feather along the course using a leaf blower or fan. First to complete the course or get furthest in 60 seconds wins.
11. Feather Fan Race
Supplies Required: Feathers, paper fans or cardboard pieces, tape
How to Play: Place a feather on the floor at the start line. Players must fan it across the finish line without touching it. First to get their feather across or furthest in 60 seconds wins.
12. Corn-on-the-Cob Roll
Supplies Required: Corn on the cob (uncooked), masking tape
How to Play: Mark start and finish lines. Players must roll corn on the cob using only their nose. First to cross the finish line or get furthest in 60 seconds wins.
Food and Eating Games
13. Pumpkin Pie Face Race
Supplies Required: Mini pumpkin pies or whipped cream on paper plates, no hands allowed
How to Play: Place a plate with pie or whipped cream in front of each player. When the timer starts, they must eat everything without using their hands. The first person to finish with a clean plate wins.
Pro Tip: Put old towels or plastic tablecloths underneath to catch the mess.
14. Whipped Cream Pie Toss
Supplies Required: Paper plates, whipped cream, candy corn, or small treats
How to Play: Cover plates with whipped cream and hide candy corn pieces in them. Players must find and collect all the candy using only their faces. No hands allowed. Fastest time wins.
15. Mashed Potato Scoop
Supplies Required: Instant mashed potatoes, bowls, large serving spoons, timer
How to Play: Prepare mashed potatoes and divide into bowls. Players must scoop potatoes from one bowl to another across the table. Most potatoes transferred in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: Make the potatoes extra thick so they don’t slide off the spoon.
16. Candy Corn Pick-Up
Supplies Required: Candy corn, chopsticks or tweezers, small bowls
How to Play: Scatter candy corn on a table. Players use chopsticks to pick up pieces one at a time and place them in their bowl. The most candy corn collected in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: This game is harder than it looks. The small size makes gripping tricky.
Skill and Strategy Games
17. Corn Kernel Scoop
Supplies Required: Dried corn kernels, two large bowls per player, plastic spoons
How to Play: Fill one bowl with corn kernels. Place the empty bowl across the room. Players have 60 seconds to scoop kernels from one bowl to the other using only a spoon. Most kernels transferred wins.
18. Stuff the Turkey Relay
Supplies Required: Large brown paper bags, balloons, markers
How to Play: Draw a turkey face on each paper bag. Teams must blow up balloons and stuff them into their “turkey” bag. The team that stuffs the most balloons in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: Have extra balloons ready since some will pop during the game.
19. Pilgrim Hat Stack
Supplies Required: Paper cups, paper plates
How to Play: Players must stack cups and plates alternately to create tall pilgrim hats. They have 60 seconds to build the tallest stable tower. If it falls, they start over.
Pro Tip: Black cups and white plates make the hats look more authentic.
20. Cornucopia Catch
Supplies Required: Cornucopia basket or large cone, small foam balls or bean bags
How to Play: One player holds the cornucopia while standing still. Their partner stands 6 feet away and tosses items toward them. The holder must catch items in the cornucopia. The most catches in 60 seconds wins.
21. Sweet Potato Stack
Supplies Required: Sweet potatoes of similar size
How to Play: Players must stack sweet potatoes on top of each other to build the tallest tower. They have 60 seconds to stack as high as possible without the tower falling.
22. Wishbone Pull Challenge
Supplies Required: Clean, dried turkey wishbones (or pretzel sticks as substitutes)
How to Play: Pair up players. Each pair pulls a wishbone on the count of three. Winner stays in, loser sits out. Continue until one champion remains. Complete all rounds within 60 seconds per round.
23. Turkey Ring Toss
Supplies Required: Empty soda bottles, brown paper, tape, embroidery hoops, or homemade rings
How to Play: Wrap bottles in brown paper to look like turkeys. Set them up at varying distances. Players toss rings trying to land them around the bottle necks. Most rings landed in 60 seconds wins.
24. Thanksgiving Word Scramble
Supplies Required: Printed word scrambles, pencils, timer
How to Play: Give each player a sheet with scrambled Thanksgiving words. They have 60 seconds to unscramble as many words as possible. The most correct answers win.
Pro Tip: Include words like “stuffing,” “harvest,” and “grateful” for variety.
25. Gobble Gobble Shout Game
Supplies Required: Timer only
How to Play: Players stand in a circle. One person is “it” and closes their eyes. Others move around quietly. When the timer starts, “it” points randomly and says “gobble.”
That person must gobble back, and “it” tries to guess who it is. The most correct guesses in 60 seconds wins.
26. Pumpkin Seed Count
Supplies Required: Pumpkin seeds, small bowls, tweezers (optional)
How to Play: Give each player a pile of pumpkin seeds. They must count them accurately while racing against the clock. The closest accurate count in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: Use around 50-75 seeds to make counting challenging but possible.
27. Pilgrim Hat Ring Toss
Supplies Required: Cone-shaped pilgrim hats (paper or cardboard), rings made from rope or plastic
How to Play: Place pilgrim hats at different distances. Players toss rings trying to land them on the hat points. Most rings landed in 60 seconds wins.
28. Marshmallow Turkey Build
Supplies Required: Large marshmallows, toothpicks, candy corn
How to Play: Players must build a turkey using marshmallows as the body and toothpicks to attach candy corn feathers. The most creative or tallest turkey built in 60 seconds wins.
29. Tablecloth Pull Test
Supplies Required: Plastic cups, tablecloth, smooth table
How to Play: Stack plastic cups on a tablecloth on the table. Players must yank the cloth out without knocking over any cups. Whoever wins within 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: Practice with plastic items first. This takes skill and confidence.
30. Pumpkin Stack Tower
Supplies Required: Various-sized pumpkins and gourds
How to Play: Players stack pumpkins and gourds to build the tallest stable tower. They have 60 seconds to create their stack. The tallest standing tower wins.
Pro Tip: Mix different sizes to make balancing more challenging.
31. Gravy Cup Flip
Supplies Required: Plastic cups, table edge
How to Play: Place a cup right side up at the edge of a table. Players must flip it so it lands upside down. The most successful flips in 60 seconds win.
Pro Tip: The cup should flip exactly once in the air for best results.
32. Thanksgiving Charades
Supplies Required: Cards with Thanksgiving activities written on them, a timer
How to Play: Players draw cards and act out Thanksgiving activities without speaking. Others guess what they’re acting out. The most correct guesses in 60 seconds wins.
33. Turkey Hunt Scavenger
Supplies Required: Small paper turkeys, hiding spots around the room
How to Play: Hide paper turkeys around the playing area before guests arrive. When the timer starts, players search for as many turkeys as they can find. Most turkeys found in 60 seconds wins.
Pro Tip: Number the turkeys so you know how many to hide.
Wrapping it Up
These games turn an ordinary Thanksgiving into something special.
You now have options that require minimal setup and keep everyone involved.
And one of the advantages is that each game takes just one minute, so you can fit several into your celebration without disrupting dinner plans.
Thanksgiving minute to win it games create those spontaneous moments that families talk about for years.
So grab some supplies, gather your loved ones, and let the fun begin. Your guests will thank you for it.
