Thanksgiving Games for a Women's Group
- Create a fun competition game about pie. Have every woman bring an undecorated Thanksgiving Day pie to the meeting. The pies should be fruit or pumpkin. Provide whipped topping, frostings, an assortment of chocolate or other candy embellishments, fruit, nuts, marshmallows and spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg. Number each pie and place the numbers in a bowl. Each woman chooses a number and claims a pie. On the count of three, the women have 10 minutes to decorate their pies. The time limit is up to you. Display the pies and by secret ballot have the women of the group vote for the one they like the best, the most colorful or the most symmetrical. You can choose the categories. Give pie servers with large bows to the winners.
- Start a Thanksgiving story about trying to get to grandmother's house for Thanksgiving Day dinner. At the end of each segment, say, "Still trying to get to grandmother's house." Each person takes a turn adding to the story. There may be sleigh breakdowns, horses going lame, food forgotten requiring a detour to buy more or a return home to retrieve food, getting lost and other story trails. The next to the last person, starts winding up the story, and the last person gets everyone to grandmother's house, finishing with, "And finally we sat down to Thanksgiving Day dinner to give thanks for our safe trip to grandmother's house." You can modernize the story using a car, gas and cell phones.
- Make a list of Thanksgiving things and symbols and place them in a hat. Include a Pilgrim man and woman, Governor Bradford who proclaimed the first harvest celebration, Squanto who helped the Pilgrims survive and Chief Massasoit who attended the celebration with 90 braves. Include deer and birds, such as the wild turkey, that fed the people that first celebration. Symbols include the turkey, pumpkin pie, Pilgrim hat and a very full stomach. Have the women draw a person or thing listed on a piece of paper from the hat. In turn, have them act out whatever is on their paper, while the other women guess what is being acted out. Give a prize for the person with the most correct answers.
- Beforehand, write down 10 or more questions about the Thanksgiving story you plan to read or tell. Questions might include why did the Pilgrims come to America, why were they called Pilgrims, what was the name of their ship, what happened that first winter, who helped them survive, when was the thanksgiving celebrated, who attended that first celebration, how long did it last, what did the Native Americans bring to the feast and what foods did everyone eat? After reading or telling the story, ask the questions. Give a prize for the most correct answers.
