Thanksgiving Bingo

Thanksgiving Bingo with illustrated cards is a perfect pre-meal activity for the mixed ages typically assembled at a Thanksgiving table. Children help create the cards by drawing Thanksgiving images in each square, and the handmade quality of the game gives it an intimacy that purchased bingo sets cannot match. Even very young children can play with a tiny modification: place rather than remove markers.

What You'll Need

• Blank bingo cards — 5x5 grid on cardstock, one per player
• Thanksgiving images for squares: turkey, pie, cornucopia, pilgrim hat, leaf, pumpkin, corn, candle, apple, cranberries, acorn, wagon, drum, popcorn, football
• Calling cards — small cards or slips with matching images
• Bingo markers — dried corn kernels, candy corn, dried beans, or small buttons
• A container — for drawing calling cards from

How to Do It

Step 1: Make the cards. Draw or stamp a different Thanksgiving image in each square of the bingo grid. Make each card have the same images but in a different arrangement. The FREE space in the center gets a turkey.

Step 2: Make the calling cards. Draw matching images on small paper cards — one image per calling card.

Step 3: Play. The caller draws a card from the container and calls what is shown. Players find the matching image on their board and cover it with a kernel.

Step 4: Call bingo. First player to cover a complete row (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) calls "Gobble Gobble!" and wins.

Step 5: Continue playing. Play until everyone has filled their card, using multiple rounds as needed.

Skills Your Child Will Develop

Visual matching — Finding the called image on a card requires rapid visual scanning and matching.

Attention and listening — Following calls requires sustained focused listening.

Number patterns — Recognizing rows and diagonals on the grid introduces simple grid geometry.

Tips & Variations

• For pre-readers, use picture-only cards with no words — entirely visual matching.
• Add a "Thankful Bingo" variation: players call out one thing they are grateful for when they cover any square.
• Use the handmade cards for multiple Thanksgivings — they become a family game with a history.

My Two Cents

Dried corn kernels as the bingo markers are the correct thematic choice and are completely satisfying to handle. They are also easy to sweep back into a bowl for repeat games, unlike stickers or stamps.