Thanksgiving Bingo for Kids (Free Easy Printable Cards)

The word list

Thirty-six words you could point to across a Thanksgiving table or living room. Most are one syllable, none need explaining, and grandma and grandpa are there because the little ones will shout them.

Bingo before dinner with the little cousins

The hour before Thanksgiving dinner is long for a five year old. The kitchen is off limits, the grown-ups are busy and the food smells ready. Bingo at the kids' table fills exactly that hour, and these cards are built so the youngest can play: sixteen big squares, words they already know, one card each.

1. Give every child a card and a bowl of markers: dry pasta, big buttons or torn-up paper. Cranberries roll, so skip them.
2. An older cousin or a grandparent reads from the caller sheet. Say the word, then point at the real thing if it is in the room: the corn, a chair, the dog.
3. Children find the word and cover it. Four and five year olds will need a finger to guide them along the rows; let a seven year old do the guiding.
4. Four in a row wins and gets a round of applause from the kitchen. It usually happens within ten calls.
5. Trade cards and play again. The caller sheet is in random order, so every game feels new.

Each card holds 16 of the 36 words, which means most calls will miss most children. Teach them to shout "nope" and listen for the next one.

Easier, bigger, or thankful

• Picture squares. Before the day, draw a quick sketch in each square or stick on a tiny picture from a grocery flyer. Pre-readers play by matching.
• Three by three. For a two or three year old, set the grid to 3 by 3 and keep the plainest words: pie, corn, cup, dog, hug, leaf.
• Thankful bingo. When a word is called, the child covering it says one thing they are thankful for about it. Pie is easy, chair takes thought.
• Table spotting. Skip the caller. Children mark squares when they see the real thing during dinner, and the first full card gets to pick dessert first.

Tips for the host

Print the cards a day ahead and set the kids' table with them, one at each seat, markers in a bowl in the middle. It becomes the table decoration and the activity at once.

Give the job of caller to a teenager or a grandparent who would like an excuse to sit down. The caller sheet has a checklist, so they can tick as they go and nobody argues about whether yam was called.

A child who does not have Thanksgiving at home, or who is new to the family, still knows every word here. There is nothing to explain, which is the point.

Printing for the kids' table

Large print is on, so each card uses a full page with letters a four year old can see from across the table. Eight cards and a caller sheet print by default; change Cards to match the number of children, and the caller sheet prints last so it is easy to pull out.

Ink saver mode keeps the cost down, and brown or orange paper from the craft box makes the cards look like part of the table. If you want them to last until Christmas, laminate and use dry-erase markers.