You have the food and decorations for your Thanksgiving party sorted – now you need some entertainment. With only brown paper, a free printable turkey template, and a handful of feathers, you can create a fun twist on a classic children’s party game. Pin the tail on the turkey will have guests of all ages gobbling with joy!
Thanksgiving is such a lovely time of year; it’s the perfect excuse to bring friends, family, and community together for good food and good fun. But hosting dinners can be stressful! Not only do you have to worry about cooking a huge feast and cleaning your entire house, you’ve also got to make sure that your guests have a great time and there’s plenty of entertainment.
And if you’re planning on having people over for the occasion, I’ve got the perfect after dinner party game for you: pin the tail on the turkey! *Another Thanksgiving game that I highly recommend is Thanksgiving Charades!
As I was tearing up brown shipping paper recently to make a Thankful Tree for kids, my mind wandering as I crunched and scrunched, I had an idea – a turkey-shaped idea! I thought: “Hey, this would be a great way to make a big turkey… What could I do with a big turkey?!” Obviously the answer was to get my friends over and pin a tail on it.
It’s really easy to make – because no-one needs any extra chores at Thanksgiving! – but it’s sure to bring a ton of fun and laughter to your dinner party. It might even keep the kids entertained long enough for you to enjoy a post-turkey nap…
How to Play Pin the Tail on the Turkey
Pin the tail on the turkey is such an easy Thanksgiving game for kids, I’m sure you don’t need any help from me. But, just in case, here’s a quick reminder of how to play:
- Hang your handmade turkey on the wall – Use painter’s tape so you don’t damage your walls.
- Choose the first player – Decide by picking the youngest, the person with the first name alphabetically, or with something silly like loudest turkey gobble!
- Blindfold the player – Look, you can’t blindfold them so tightly that it feels like a kidnapping (!), but you do have to make sure they can’t see! Especially the Dads who, in my experience, have a tendency to cheat…!
- Spin the player – Get them nice and dizzy so they no longer know which way they’re facing.
- Give the player a turkey tail – Make sure you’ve got a piece of painter’s tape on the back side so it sticks.
- Let the player loose – Watch as the player stumbles around the room trying to find the turkey, and stick a tail on it! If you’re playing with younger kids, you can always say ‘getting colder’ or ‘getting warmer,’ as they move around, to help them out.
- Repeat – Take it in turns until every player has had a shot at pinning the tail on the turkey.
- Declare a winner! – The player whose feather is closest to the turkey’s butt wins. You could even place a “X” on the tail end of the turkey to see who can get the closest.
What you need to play
- Blindfold
- Painter’s tape – This protects your wall since you will be taping the turkey body and feathers directly to the wall.
- Giant turkey – I’ll show you how I made my turkey down below!
- Tail feathers – I used multi-color craft feathers that I bought from Hobby Lobby, but you can use the free printable feather template down below instead.
How to Create a Pin the Tail on the Turkey Game
As Thanksgiving games for kids go, pin the tail on the turkey is as easy it comes. It really is just a case of print, hang, play.
What you need to make the turkey:
- Brown shipping paper – Use leftover paper from my Thankful Tree craft, or reuse what comes in packages from Amazon – the perfect way to reuse and recycle!
- Turkey template – It includes the eyes, beak, and wattle so no extra drawing required!
- Feathers – Available at most craft stores, especially at this time of year. Or you can use the free printable feather template that I have included in the turkey template.
- Pipe cleaners – This is what I used to make the turkey’s feet.
- Scissors
- Painter’s tape
Step 1: Make the turkey
Start by wadding up brown shipping paper or butcher paper into a round shape for the turkey head. You will need to curve it around, similar to a cinnamon roll shape, and pull on the paper to cover any gaps. I found it easiest to tape the top of the head shape to the wall, and then work on adjusting the rest of the paper as you tape it in place.
Do the same with a larger oval shape for the turkey body. *Don’t forget to add an ‘X marks the spot’ to the turkey’s butt, so you can figure out the winner!
Then, print off my handy turkey template, cut out the eyes and beak, and tape or glue onto the brown paper.
Click HERE for the Free Printable Turkey Template
Step 2: Add the turkey feet
Use two orange pipe cleaners to make the turkey feet. Just twist and fold the pipe cleaners until they resemble bird feet. Then, use a piece of painter’s tape to tape them up underneath the bottom of the turkey body.
Step 3: Make the tail feathers
If you’re going to use actual craft feathers like I did, then you will need to “crack” the feathers along the center stem first. Simply apply pressure with your thumbs and bend. This helps to straighten the feathers out so that they will lay flat against the wall.
Then, stick a piece of folded over painter’s tape to the back side of the feather so that players can stick the feather to the turkey. This also helps to protect your walls, just in case they completely miss the turkey’s body!
And there you have it! An easy take on a classic party game for the whole family to enjoy.
Alternate Option: Pin the Gobble on the Turkey Game
If you don’t want to use feathers for your game, then you can take the same idea but do a Pin the Gobble on the Turkey game instead! The game is played the exact same way, except instead of trying to get the feather on the turkey’s butt, players will be trying to position the gobble (technically called a wattle) on the turkey’s beak.
The free printable pin the tail on the turkey template that I made for you includes a turkey beak and a page of gobbles that you can cut out to play! If you’re going to play this version of the Thanksgiving game, you can even set up your turkey a bit differently… I made mine more symmetrical and added the feathers myself to make my bird look super cute!
Other Thanksgiving Games for Kids
Roll a Turkey – This fun free printable Roll at Turkey game is similar to the Cootie Bug game. Just roll a set of dice, and draw the corresponding parts on to your turkey! A great game for the kids’ table!
Thanksgiving Charades – This Thanksgiving Charades game is played just like the classic version, and it’s perfect for both kids and adults! Draw a card and try to act out the Thanksgiving-themed word or phrase.
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