Best Thanksgiving Mad Libs Free Printable (Use It This Year!)

Are you looking for a light-hearted activity to incorporate into your Thanksgiving celebration?

Thanksgiving Mad Libs is the answer!

These fill-in-the-blank stories give you a wildly entertaining word game that all ages love. Plus, they’re easy to do.

featured image; Thanksgiving mad libs for kids and adults

How To Play Thanksgiving Mad Libs

Mad Libs is a simple word game that prompts participants to fill in blanks with random words.

This creates hilarious and often far-fetched stories. And makes for lighthearted fun for kids and adults.

To play:

  1. Players are given a story containing blank spaces. Each space is designated for a specific part of speech such as an adjective, noun, or verb. Or specific categories of words such as number, food, person, etc..
  2. One person tells the other players to provide the words needed to fill in the blanks, without revealing or reading the story.
  3. Once all blanks are filled in, the story is read aloud, often resulting in hysterical combinations.

Thanksgiving Mad Libs can be incorporated into:

Print and use both of the free Thanksgiving Mad Libs stories below!

title pin; free Thanksgiving mad libs printable

Mad Libs Game Variations

Try out these variations for using the Thanksgiving Mad Libs.

Age-Appropriate Adaptations

Thanksgiving Mad Libs can be played by all age groups. Modify the game for younger children by providing simpler prompts to choose from.

For example:

  • Instead of asking for a noun, be specific and ask for a person, place, or thing.
  • Use word categories instead of parts of speech (numbers, food, emotion, etc…)
  • Make a word list ahead of time for each category.
  • Give two or three choices that younger kids will be excited to choose from.
  • Use a word bank. Players must use all the words. (This works well in a classroom!)

My boys lean toward potty humor when filling out Mad Libs. (Can you relate?) Simply give a reminder to keep things G-rated!

Play In Teams

Divide into teams. Each team creates their version of the Mad Libs story. Once all the stories are filled out, each team can read their completed story aloud.

The funniest story is declared the winner!

*This would be a fantastic addition to a classroom party or celebration!

Thanksgiving mad libs for kids; adults; funny; elementary

Round Robin

Instead of having one person read all the prompts, the whole group can take turns filling in the blanks in a round-robin manner.

This adds an element of surprise, which will lead to an even more hilarious story!

Related:

Create your own Thanksgiving Mad Libs

Challenge your kids to create their own mad libs for your Thanksgiving family gathering this year. Then, get ready to laugh.

Fun Fact: Invented in 1953, Mad Libs creators actually stumbled upon the idea while working on a script. The name “mad libs” came a few years later when they overheard an actor wanting to “ad-lib” in an interview and his agent thought he was “mad”. (source)

boy laughing

1. Brainstorm and choose a theme

Decide on a Thanksgiving topic for your Mad Lib.

Ideas include:

  • Turkey Tale
  • The history of Thanksgiving
  • Thanksgiving food
  • Thanksgiving meal mayhem
  • A funny story about the day
  • Thanksgiving day activities
  • Friendsgiving
  • How to (set the table, make a pie, prepare for guests)

2. Write a story

Create a short and simple story based on your theme. Aim for 100-200 words to keep it concise and easy to complete. Write a beginning, middle, and end.

3. Identify fill-in-the-blank spots

Replace specific words in your story with blanks. Indicate the type of words to be filled in.

  • Nouns- name a person, place, thing, or idea
  • Verbs- describe an action
  • Adjectives- describe a noun
  • Adverbs- describes a verb, adjective, or another adverb and usually tells how, when, where, why, or to what degree
  • Or specify specific word categories like foods, numbers, family members, friends, places, etc…

*Kids can ask a grown-up to help with the type of words needed for each blank.

parts of speech for Thanksgiving Mad libs

4. Ask for input

 One person should act as the leader, reading the prompts aloud to the group and writing down the responses without peeking at the story.

5. Read the story

After all the blanks are filled, read the completed story out loud to reveal the funny sentences created by the participants.

Got squirrely kids? Try our Thanksgiving charades game! They will also LOVE this Thanksgiving 5 Second Rule Game.

Free Thanksgiving Mad Libs Printable

Download and print your Thanksgiving Mad Libs game sheets here.

free printable Thanksgiving mad libs; pdf

More Thanksgiving Questions and Activities

Thanksgiving is a wonderful opportunity to connect and talk with loved ones. Use these awesome questions and Thanksgiving activity ideas to enhance your day.

kids Thanksgiving jokes with answers

Join the Family Night Club

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What’s Next?

Add this humorous Thanksgiving Mad Libs word game to your holiday and create lasting memories.

Don’t forget to use this Thanksgiving mad libs at your upcoming Friendsgiving! Find more Friendsgiving games and tips for hosting!

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Free Printable Thanksgiving Mad Libs