Thanksgiving bingo swaps numbers for words like Turkey, Gravy and Pumpkin pie: someone reads them out in random order, guests mark the ones on their card, and five in a row wins. The next Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 26, 2026. The cards above are orange 5×5 grids drawn from 32 words; further down is a second list for grown-ups that plays out over the whole day, no caller required.
Fitting it around the meal
The trick is timing. Two natural gaps open up on the day: while the bird rests before carving (the turkey calculator suggests 20 to 30 minutes), and the slump between the main course and dessert. Print everything the night before, since the kitchen printer is never free on the day. Dried corn kernels or cranberries from the bag make markers that suit the table.
- Kids’ table: hand them cards and the caller sheet, appoint an older cousin as caller, and the adults get a quiet quarter of an hour. The cards open with a drawing above 24 of the 32 words (a turkey, a slice of pie, an ear of corn), so pre-readers can play too; Stuffing, Cranberry sauce, Mashed potatoes, Apple pie, Pecan pie, Parade, Napkins and Centerpiece print as words. For the youngest, the 3×3 size leaves just a handful of words to hunt for.
- Whole family: put the Call the game tab on the TV during the football break. Each word stays on screen with a board of the earlier calls, so Grandpa can catch up.
- Settling a claim: the number at the bottom of each card can be typed into Check a winning card, which highlights the words already read out.
Dinner-table bingo for adults
Swap the word list for things that happen during the day, and skip the caller: players mark a square when they see it happen. These moments have no pictures, so untick Pictures above the words. Paste these into the word box, one per line, to replace the 32 words (24 or more fill a 5×5 card):
- Someone falls asleep on the couch
- Seconds on pie
- Someone says “I’m so full”
- The turkey takes longer than planned
- Someone asks for the Wi-Fi password
- A dog gets fed under the table
- Football on TV
- A dish arrives late
- Someone brings store-bought and calls it homemade
- The gravy runs out
- A baby photo comes out
- Someone talks about the weather
- A spill on the tablecloth
- Someone takes a photo of the food
- Leftovers in to-go containers
- Someone goes around the table saying what they’re thankful for
- The parade is on
- A kid escapes the kids’ table
- Someone mentions Black Friday deals
- A story starts with “Remember when…”
- More chairs needed
- Someone loosens their belt
- A board game comes out
- The oven timer goes off
- Somebody FaceTimes a relative
Keep it friendly: leave out anything that pokes fun at a particular guest.
The date
Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday in November under US federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103), so it moves between November 22 and 28. The date at the top of this page is the coming Thanksgiving and moves on by itself each year.
Cooking too? That same calculator works out the bird’s size and the thawing time. Looking ahead to December, there are Christmas bingo cards too.
The 32 words on these cards
- Turkey
- Pumpkin pie
- Stuffing
- Cranberry sauce
- Mashed potatoes
- Gravy
- Corn
- Pilgrim
- Parade
- Football
- Fall leaves
- Cornucopia
- Family
- Thankful
- Harvest
- Sweet potatoes
- Dinner rolls
- Green beans
- Apple pie
- Wishbone
- Scarecrow
- Acorn
- Hay bale
- Mayflower
- Feast
- Autumn
- Gratitude
- Leftovers
- Napkins
- Centerpiece
- Pecan pie
- Nap time
When you reload, this page goes back to the set-up described here, with the same card set code, so printing again gives the same cards. The number of cards, the paper size and, where this page doesn’t set them, cards per page and color are remembered from the generator. To keep an edited list, use Share result, or start from the bingo card generator, which remembers everything.