When you're gathered around the Thanksgiving table and need an ice breaker, get the laughs going with these Thanksgiving puzzles, riddles and rebuses.
Picture the scene. It's Thanksgiving, you didn't burn the turkey, the cranberries are wiggling in all their gelatinous glory, and the rolls are only slightly burnt on the edges. Everyone sits down, says grace and starts shoveling the food in their mouths. But then, Cousin Eddie and Uncle Gus start arguing about politics. How do you stop them? With a hilarious riddle or brain-busting scrambled word, that's how!
It's so important to be able to have some screen-free Thanksgiving activities that everyone will love, and these puzzles and riddles will make everyone smile and stop talking about politics!
Get the Printable
Our Thanksgiving puzzles printable is four pages. One each of:
- Scrambled Thanksgiving words
- Thanksgiving riddles
- Thanksgiving rebuses. A rebus is a picture-word puzzle.
- Words for a rousing game of Thanksgiving charades
Get the free printable by filling out the form below. The pdf will fly over to your inbox, but don't let it sit there while you burn the turkey and mash the potatoes! Print it out!
MORE: It's almost time to print out these rebus puzzles for your Christmas advent calendar.
Prepare for Fun
After printing, cut out the individual puzzles and words. Seems pretty self-explanatory, yes?
Solve!
Put on your thinking hats to solve the puzzles and play charades! Below, I'm going to give you some tips for extra fun ways to incorporate these Thanksgiving puzzles into your holiday celebration. Answers to puzzles are at the bottom of this post. No peeking.
Tips
Ideas for using the puzzles to enhance your celebration:
Use them as ice-breakers. When guests arrive, kids ask them to "pay the toll" by answering a riddle.
Start dinner conversations. Place a riddle, scrambled word or rebus at each guest's place at the table, along with one of these darling Thanksgiving place cards. After a toast or grace, go around the table asking riddles. Or, have a contest to see who can solve his scrambled word or rebus first. The winner gets an extra piece of pie. Alternatively, place the riddles and puzzles in a jar and pass it around the table.
MORE: Why You Should Ban Dinner Conversations
Keep the kids busy. Tell the kids they have to solve all the scrambled words before they can eat. Just kidding. Maybe. But do use them to keep kids busy instead of listening to them ask when dinner is going to be ready.
Laugh yourselves silly after eating too much. Place the individual charades clues in a hat or bowl and have a rollicking good time. Don't know how to play charades? Find instructions here.
MORE: We've got more printable rebus puzzles sheets in our Lunch Box Wuzzles post.
Answers to scrambled words: stuffing, gravy, pumpkin pie, cranberries, green beans, gathering, cooking, casserole, turkey, thankful, Mayflower, pilgrims, overeat, cornucopia, harvest, families
Answers to rebuses: falling leaves, green beans, talk turkey, count your blessings, mashed potatoes, clean up, thankful, sweet potato
Erin says
I didn't see a spot on this page to fill out for the puzzles. Is it just leaving a comment here? I filled out the above to join your mailing list, but aside from the ten free games, I didn't see a link to the Thanksgiving puzzles.
Erica says
Hi Erin! Right above the second photo and just below the text that reads, "Get the free printable by filling out the form below. The pdf will fly over to your inbox, but don't let it sit there while you burn the turkey and mash the potatoes! Print it out!" is a form box that has large orange text that reads, "WANT THE THANKSGIVING PRINTABLE?" That's the form you use. If you can't see it, you may have some kind of blocker on your browser and can email me directly at erica @ whatdowedoallday.com.