Thanksgiving dinner

Thanksgiving is almost here! As we head into the holiday season we want to help spread the excitement for the tastiest day of the year. In between baking pies, roasting turkeys, and actually sitting down to eat, here are a few fun Thanksgiving fun facts to share with your family. We even added Thanksgiving trivia questions just for kids to ensure everyone gets involved in the conversation. 

Thanksgiving Trivia to Share

  • Thanksgiving became a national holiday came about largely due to a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, who campaigned for the idea for 20 years. 
  • This holiday was first celebrated in 1621 by about 50 Pilgrims and around 90 Native Americans from the Wompanoag tribe. 
  • The first Thanksgiving menu had a couple similar items on the menu as today, such as pumpkin and cranberries. However instead of turkey, the pilgrims and Native Americans opted for venison, duck, goose, oysters, lobsters and even eels!
  • The day before Thanksgiving is well-known as the busiest travel day of the entire year!
  • Roughly 7 billion pounds of turkey (about 280 million turkeys) are purchased each year for Thanksgiving. 

Thanksgiving Trivia for Kids

  • Which president finally declared Thanksgiving a holiday?
    Abraham Lincoln
  • What famous nursery rhyme and song did Sarah Josepha Hale write?
    Mary Had A Little Lamb
  • How many years since the first Thanksgiving will we be celebrating this year?
    400 years! 
  • What sports league played its first game on Thanksgiving in 1920?
    The NFL!
  • Pre-Covid-19, about how many million Americans were traveling for Thanksgiving?
    Around 55 million.
  • How many calories does the average American consume on Thanksgiving Day?
    About 4,500 calories!
  • What popular Christmas song was actually written to be sung on Thanksgiving?
    Jingle Bells! 

Want to add a fun activity to the Thanksgiving table? Make a game out of these trivia questions. Perhaps the person with the most correct answers by the end of the meal doesn’t have to do dishes…or gets an extra slice of pie!

Don't Forget to Shop Our Holiday Frames

We hope you have a warm and wonderful Thanksgiving. Be sure to stop by the GiftWorksPlus website to check out our holiday frames. They are perfect to frame your photos of your Thanksgivings throughout the years and make for a thoughtful and unique gift to give this holiday season. Shop them today!