Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions
Table questions for Thanksgiving dinner, family gatherings, and classroom lessons.
Using this list
Thanksgiving is a long meal with a lot of people who see each other once a year, which is a specific problem: the conversation runs out before the food does. These questions are built for the gap between the plates being cleared and someone suggesting a walk. The gratitude section is the one worth keeping until the end, because it is the only part of the list that changes the mood of the table rather than just filling it.
Best for: Thanksgiving dinner, family reunions, classroom November lessons, and the drive home afterwards.
- → One question per course. A whole round at once is too much for a table that is also eating.
- → Go youngest to oldest. It stops the loudest person answering first every time.
- → Keep the gratitude section for the end of the meal, not the beginning.
The food
The plate is the argument. (8 questions)
Would you rather have double the side dishes and no turkey or have all turkey and no sides?
Would you rather eat only the stuffing or eat only the potatoes?
Would you rather have pie for the main course or have the main course for pudding?
Would you rather skip the cranberry sauce forever or skip the gravy forever?
Would you rather eat leftovers for a week or have no leftovers at all?
Would you rather have one enormous plate or have four small ones?
Would you rather cook the entire meal or do all the washing up?
Would you rather sit near the food or sit near the person you actually want to talk to?
The family table
Recognisable to anyone who has sat at one. (8 questions)
Would you rather be asked about your job all evening or be asked about your love life all evening?
Would you rather sit at the children's table or sit next to the person who talks the most?
Would you rather host every year or travel every year?
Would you rather arrive first and help or arrive last and be fed immediately?
Would you rather have twenty people round or have four?
Would you rather be in charge of seating everyone or be in charge of entertaining everyone?
Would you rather watch the game with the family or go for a walk with one person?
Would you rather stay an extra night or leave straight after pudding?
Gratitude and looking back
Keep this section for the end of the meal. (8 questions)
Would you rather thank someone in person or write to them so they can keep it?
Would you rather be told you are appreciated or see that you were?
Would you rather relive your best day this year or skip your worst one?
Would you rather know what you will be grateful for next year or be surprised by it?
Would you rather be remembered for something you made or be remembered for how you treated people?
Would you rather have a year of small good things or have one enormous one?
Would you rather thank a teacher or thank a stranger who helped once?
Would you rather give a toast or listen to one about you?
Silly and for the children
For the part of the table that has finished eating. (8 questions)
Would you rather be a turkey that can fly or be a turkey that can talk?
Would you rather have a parade go past your house or be in the parade?
Would you rather have mashed potato hair or have gravy for a bath?
Would you rather nap immediately after eating or run a mile immediately after eating?
Would you rather eat a whole pie in one go or eat one slice of every pie?
Would you rather be the person who carves or be the person who says grace?
Would you rather have a table that seats a hundred or have a plate that never empties?
Would you rather wear stretchy trousers to dinner or wear something smart and regret it?
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you use these at the dinner table?
Read one question per course rather than a whole round at once, and go round the table youngest to oldest so the same person is not always first. A single good question between courses does more than twenty in a row.
Are these suitable for children?
Yes, all four sections. The last one is written specifically for the children who have finished eating and are waiting for everyone else, and the gratitude section works well as a school activity too.
Which section should I start with?
The food section. Everyone at the table has an opinion about the sides and nobody has to think before answering, which is exactly what you want from the first question.