Free Puzzles and Word Games for Thanksgiving

It's that time of year when families celebrate the end of the harvest season with a huge feast. This gathering gives loved ones a chance to express gratitude, while taking a break from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. Sitting down and enjoying a game or puzzle together offers the perfect reprieve. So, for Thanksgiving Day fun that won't pack on the pounds, try these free games and printables for both children and adults, including crossword puzzles, trivia games, and word searches.

Thanksgiving Trivia Crossword Puzzles

Are you proficient when it comes to Thanksgiving trivia? Test your skills by getting the family together to solve American history-style crossword puzzles. These puzzles are suitable for older children and adults, and can be played on the computer together or printed out on paper. Make a game of it and give a prize to the person with the most correct answers.

• Thanksgiving Crossword Trivia Puzzle: This simple downloadable crossword puzzle can be played by older children and adults. Questions include facts like the first president to proclaim Thanksgiving a holiday and the name of the settlers of the Plymouth Colony.
• The New York Times Learning Network Crossword Puzzle: The New York Times Learning Network provides an in-depth puzzle to test the adults in the family. Most questions are Thanksgiving-related, but this puzzle also tests the general knowledge of words and phrases.
• Teachnology's Thanksgiving Crossword Puzzle: This printable worksheet offers easy Thanksgiving trivia questions for older children. Print a few out to keep the kids busy while you're cooking.
• Talking Turkey Crossword Puzzle: This crossword puzzle for children tests their knowledge about all things turkey. Pair older kids with younger ones, and then have them look up the facts on their phones.
• The First Thanksgiving Crossword: This puzzle challenges kids' knowledge of the Native Americans and pilgrims. It's the perfect crossword to tackle after a Thanksgiving lesson at school.

Thanksgiving Memory Games

Daily brain training activities, like playing a memory game, test skills and help improve attentiveness. And, these Thanksgiving memory games can be enjoyed by everyone in the family. Make teams and time yourself to up the competition ante.

• Thanksgiving Memory Game: This Thanksgiving flip-card memory game can be played online by all ages. Click on cards to reveal images, and then remember where they are to match them.
• Thanksgiving Concentration: This simple game of concentration by Homeschooled Kids can be played online by elementary-aged children and adults alike. Get two computers going, and make it a race.

Thanksgiving Word Search Puzzles

Printed-out word search games can be enjoyed by all who are old enough to spell. Make teams of adults and kids, and teach common Thanksgiving words to children. Choose your level from easy to hard and progress as you master the basics.

• Thanksgiving Word Search: These printables by DLTK Sites for Kids start out easy, with words like "corn" and "gravy." The harder-level puzzles include words like "relatives" and "settlers." You can also talk about the meaning of the words as you find them on the page.
• Thanksgiving Word Searches: Big Activities' Thanksgiving word search puzzles have four levels. Younger kids can start at the easy level, and adults can test their skills with the "super hard" level of difficulty.
• Online Thanksgiving Word Search: This online game by ABCYa is suitable for kids and features an animated, talking turkey. Find the correct word and the turkey gobbles and burps.
• Print Activities offers several Thanksgiving word searches, like the Turkey Word Search Puzzle, the American Thanksgiving Word Search, and the Pumpkin Word Search. These printable games contain Thanksgiving-centric words that can be spelled forward, backward, horizontally, or vertically. Team up to tackle these puzzles.
  

Thanksgiving Jigsaw Games

At Jigsaw Planet, you can find several online jigsaw puzzles with a Thanksgiving Day theme. Twenty-piece puzzles can be tackled by kids with a little help from an adult or teen, and the 120-piece puzzles are great for older kids and adults. Here are a few that will make Turkey Day fun.

• Fall Harvest Puzzle: This puzzle features an overflowing cornucopia of fruit and vegetables with a few pumpkins thrown into the mix. Choose one of four difficulty levels: 20 pcs, 40 pcs, 80 pcs, and 120 pcs.
• Apple Farm Puzzle: This 80-piece jigsaw game might seem a bit daunting at first because of the trapezoid-shaped pieces, but it's actually simple to assemble, as the picture has details that easily line up.
• Pumpkin Patch Puzzle: This 150-piece puzzle features hundreds of pumpkins lined up in a row. This project may take you a while, so start it the night before the festivities.
• The Pumpkins Puzzle is the most difficult of the bunch, coming in at a whopping 208 pieces. This one features an autumn scene, complete with pumpkins.