60 Thanksgiving Riddles for Kids With Answers

I'm the red, floppy skin hanging under a turkey's beak. What am I?

Then ask: What do you think the wattle is for?

Answer: The wattle.

Why it works: The wattle is the loose red skin under a turkey's chin.

Every year the President saves me from the dinner table. What am I?

Then ask: If you could save one food from being eaten, which would it be?

Answer: The pardoned turkey.

Why it works: Each November the President pardons a turkey at the White House, and it gets to live out its life on a farm.

I spread my tail feathers like a giant fan when I want to show off. Who am I?

Then ask: What do people do when they want to show off?

Answer: A male turkey, called a tom.

Why it works: Male turkeys fan out their tail feathers and puff up to impress the hens.

Two people pull me apart, and the one with the bigger piece makes a wish. What am I?

Then ask: What would you wish for?

Answer: The wishbone.

Why it works: The wishbone is a forked bone from the turkey. By custom, whoever ends up with the bigger piece gets their wish.

People think I can't fly, but in the wild I fly up into trees to sleep. What am I?

Then ask: Why would a farm turkey be too heavy to fly?

Answer: A wild turkey.

Why it works: Wild turkeys can fly short distances and roost in trees at night. Farm turkeys are bred too heavy to fly.

I'm a baby turkey, and my name isn't chick. What am I?

Then ask: What other baby animals have special names?

Answer: A poult.

Why it works: Baby turkeys are called poults.

I go inside the turkey before it goes in the oven. What am I?

Then ask: What would you put in yours?

Answer: Stuffing.

Why it works: Stuffing is a mix of bread, butter and herbs cooked inside the turkey or in a dish next to it.

You make me by tracing around your hand on paper. What am I?

Then ask: What would you write on each feather?

Answer: A hand turkey.

Why it works: When you trace your hand, the thumb becomes the turkey's head and the fingers become its tail feathers.

I'm the sound a turkey makes, and I start with G. What am I?

Then ask: Can you do a turkey call?

Answer: Gobble.

Why it works: Turkeys say "gobble gobble", and it's mostly the males that gobble.

I'm red, I grow in a bog, and I'm cooked into a wobbly sauce. What am I?

Then ask: How do you think farmers pick berries in a bog?

Answer: Cranberries.

Why it works: Cranberries grow in wet fields called bogs, and they're cooked down into cranberry sauce.

I'm white and fluffy, and I started out underground. What am I?

Then ask: What goes best on top of me?

Answer: Mashed potatoes.

Why it works: Potatoes grow underground, and you mash them with butter and milk until they're fluffy.

I'm a sweet orange vegetable, and sometimes I wear marshmallows on top. What am I?

Then ask: Is a sweet potato really a potato? What do you think?

Answer: A sweet potato.

Why it works: Sweet potato casserole is often baked with a layer of marshmallows on top.

I'm brown and warm, and I get poured over the turkey and potatoes. What am I?

Then ask: What else could you pour gravy on?

Answer: Gravy.

Why it works: Gravy is a sauce made from the juices of the roasted turkey.

I'm yellow, I grow in rows on a cob, and I was grown here long before the first Thanksgiving. What am I?

Then ask: How many foods can you name that are made from corn?

Answer: Corn.

Why it works: Native people in America grew corn for thousands of years, and the Wampanoag showed the Pilgrims how to grow it.

I'm soft and round, and a basket of me gets passed around the table. What am I?

Then ask: How many would you take?

Answer: A dinner roll.

Why it works: Dinner rolls are small, round breads served warm at big meals.

I'm what's left after the big dinner, and you keep eating me for days. What am I?

Then ask: What's the best thing to make with them?

Answer: Leftovers.

Why it works: Leftovers are the extra food saved after a meal.

I'm where the kids often sit when the whole family comes for dinner. What am I?

Then ask: Would you rather sit at the kids' table or the grown-ups' table?

Answer: The kids' table.

Why it works: When a family dinner is big, kids often get their own smaller table.

I'm green, and I get baked in a casserole with crispy onions on top. What am I?

Then ask: Which Thanksgiving dish would you skip?

Answer: Green beans.

Why it works: Green bean casserole is baked with crispy fried onions on top.

We had lived on this land for thousands of years, and in 1621 we shared a harvest feast with the Pilgrims. Who are we?

Then ask: What do you think the two groups talked about?

Answer: The Wampanoag people.

Why it works: The Wampanoag had lived in that area for thousands of years, and about 90 of their men joined the Pilgrims' harvest feast in 1621.

I'm the village the Pilgrims built after they landed. What am I?

Then ask: Can you find Massachusetts on a map?

Answer: Plymouth.

Why it works: The Pilgrims built Plymouth Colony in what is now Massachusetts.

I spoke English, and I showed the Pilgrims how to plant corn and catch fish. Who am I?

Then ask: How do you think he learned English?

Answer: Tisquantum, often called Squanto.

Why it works: Tisquantum was a Patuxet man who had learned English and helped the Pilgrims get through their first year.

I lasted three days in 1621, longer than any dinner you've ever had. What am I?

Then ask: What would you do on a three-day holiday?

Answer: The harvest feast we call the first Thanksgiving.

Why it works: The 1621 harvest celebration in Plymouth went on for about three days.

In 1863 I made Thanksgiving a holiday for the whole country. Who am I?

Then ask: Why might a country want a day for giving thanks?

Answer: Abraham Lincoln.

Why it works: In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared a national day of Thanksgiving.

I wrote letters to presidents for 17 years until Thanksgiving became a national holiday. I also wrote "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Who am I?

Then ask: What would you write letters about for 17 years?

Answer: Sarah Josepha Hale.

Why it works: Sarah Josepha Hale wrote to one president after another asking for a national Thanksgiving, and Lincoln said yes in 1863.

I'm the day of the week Thanksgiving always lands on. What am I?

Then ask: What's the earliest date in November it can be?

Answer: Thursday.

Why it works: In the United States, Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November.

I'm a country that has Thanksgiving in October. What am I?

Then ask: Why might a country to the north celebrate earlier?

Answer: Canada.

Why it works: Canada's Thanksgiving is on the second Monday of October.

I'm a horn overflowing with fruits and vegetables. What am I?

Then ask: What would you put in yours?

Answer: A cornucopia.

Why it works: A cornucopia is a horn-shaped basket spilling over with food, a sign of a good harvest.

I'm a crunchy heap in the yard that kids love to jump into. What am I?

Then ask: Who has to rake it up again afterward?

Answer: A pile of leaves.

Why it works: Raking fallen leaves into a pile makes a soft, crunchy place to jump.

I'm a puzzle cut into a field of tall plants. What am I?

Then ask: What's your trick for finding the way out of a maze?

Answer: A corn maze.

Why it works: Farmers cut paths through tall corn to make a maze people can walk through.

You pick me off a tree in the fall, and I can be red, green or yellow. What am I?

Then ask: How many kinds of apples can you name?

Answer: An apple.

Why it works: Apples ripen in late summer and fall, when families go apple picking at orchards.

I'm a cousin of the pumpkin, and I'm grown for my funny shape, not for eating. What am I?

Then ask: What makes something a decoration instead of food?

Answer: A gourd.

Why it works: Decorative gourds are relatives of pumpkins, grown for their bumpy shapes and colors.

I'm the time when farmers bring in their crops. What am I?

Then ask: What would you grow if you had a farm?

Answer: The harvest.

Why it works: The harvest is when crops are ripe and get picked, mostly in late summer and fall.

I'm a bumpy wagon ride where you sit on bales of dried grass. What am I?

Then ask: What would you hope to see from the wagon?

Answer: A hayride.

Why it works: On a hayride, people sit on bales of hay in a wagon pulled around a farm.

I'm another name for fall. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think the season is also called fall?

Answer: Autumn.

Why it works: Fall and autumn are two names for the same season.

Geese fly over in a V every fall. Where are they going?

Then ask: Why do you think they fly in a V?

Answer: South, for the winter.

Why it works: Many geese fly south to warmer places where they can find food during the winter.

I fall from oak trees, and squirrels bury me for later. What am I?

Then ask: What happens to the ones that never get dug up?

Answer: An acorn.

Why it works: Acorns are the nuts of oak trees, and squirrels bury them to eat in winter.

I'm a parade in New York with giant balloons every Thanksgiving morning. What am I?

Then ask: Which character would you turn into a balloon?

Answer: The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Why it works: Macy's has held a Thanksgiving parade in New York City since 1924, with huge character balloons floating down the street.

I'm played on TV every Thanksgiving afternoon, with a ball that isn't round. What am I?

Then ask: Why do you think a football is shaped like that?

Answer: Football.

Why it works: Pro football games are played every Thanksgiving, and a football is oval instead of round.

I come after the big meal, and grown-ups fall into me on the couch. What am I?

Then ask: Who in your family falls asleep first?

Answer: A nap.

Why it works: A big meal makes a lot of people sleepy.

I'm the day after Thanksgiving, when stores have huge sales. What am I?

Then ask: Would you rather go shopping or stay home that day?

Answer: Black Friday.

Why it works: The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday, and stores hold big sales on it.

You make me by hand to tell someone what they did that you're glad about. What am I?

Then ask: Who would you make one for?

Answer: A thank-you card.

Why it works: A handmade thank-you card tells someone exactly what you're grateful for.

I'm a meal where every family brings one dish to share. What am I?

Then ask: What dish would you bring?

Answer: A potluck.

Why it works: At a potluck each guest brings some food, so nobody has to cook everything.

I'm a word that means feeling thankful. What am I?

Then ask: What's one small thing you're grateful for today?

Answer: Grateful.

Why it works: Being grateful means feeling thankful for something someone did or something you have.

All year you drop notes about good days into me, and on Thanksgiving you read them. What am I?

Then ask: Which note would you put in first?

Answer: A gratitude jar.

Why it works: A gratitude jar collects little notes about good moments, to read together later.

Some families say me before the meal, and I'm a short way of saying thanks. What am I?

Then ask: Does your family say anything before you eat?

Answer: Grace.

Why it works: Grace is a short thank-you some families say together before they start eating.

What did the turkey say to the computer?

Then ask: What would a cow say to a computer?

Answer: "Google, google, google."

Why it works: It sounds like a turkey's "gobble, gobble, gobble."

Why did the turkey join the band?

Then ask: What other food could play in a band?

Answer: Because it had drumsticks.

Why it works: Turkey legs are called drumsticks, and drummers play with drumsticks.

What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?

Then ask: What music would a scarecrow like?

Answer: Plymouth Rock.

Why it works: Plymouth Rock is a famous rock in Massachusetts, and rock is also a kind of music.

What's the best thing to put into a pumpkin pie?

Then ask: What would you really put in a pie?

Answer: Your teeth.

Why it works: The joke turns "put into a pie" from a recipe question into taking a bite.

Why did the police arrest the turkey?

Then ask: What other words sound the same but mean different things?

Answer: They suspected fowl play.

Why it works: Fowl means birds, and it sounds like foul play, which means cheating or a crime.

What do you get if you cross a turkey with a ghost?

Then ask: Had you heard the word poltergeist before?

Answer: A poultry-geist.

Why it works: Poultry means farm birds, and it sounds like poltergeist, a noisy ghost.

Why did the cranberries turn red?

Then ask: Is that joke funnier for kids or for grown-ups?

Answer: They saw the turkey dressing.

Why it works: Dressing is another word for stuffing, and it also means putting on clothes, so the cranberries blushed.

What do you call a turkey that's running away?

Then ask: What would you call a sleeping turkey?

Answer: Fast food.

Why it works: Fast food means quick meals, and a running turkey is food that's fast.

What are turkeys most thankful for on Thanksgiving?

Then ask: What would a pumpkin be thankful for?

Answer: Vegetarians.

Why it works: Vegetarians don't eat meat, so they won't be eating any turkey.