62 Fun Conversation Starter Questions for Your Thanksgiving Table

Worrying about the conversation at Thanksgiving dinner shouldn’t be such a burden, so we prepped both fun and funny conversation starters.

You might know it's important to stay away from controversial topics such as politics and sour memories at your holiday dinner table. But what do you do if you don't want to revert to retelling old family stories or asking boring and generic Thanksgiving questions?

In an ideal world, we'd have a list of clever and funny Thanksgiving conversation starters on deck. We'd be equipped to defuse any awkward family tensions or change the subject quickly yet affably if a potentially controversial topic arose; we might even learn something new about our friends or family members.

The following questions are perfect for Thanksgiving and will help prevent those dreaded silences. If you're hosting a Friendsgiving this year, the icebreakers will also help everyone warm up to each other, especially if you're bringing different groups of friends together. If all else fails, you can always ask if anyone wants more turkey.

Parents to Ask Kids of All Ages

  • Who is the funniest person at the table and why?
  • Pretend you just won $5 million. What's the first thing you would buy?
  • What do you think is the hardest thing about being a parent?
  • What are you most thankful for this year? (You knew it was coming.)
  • If you could redo yesterday, what would you do?
  • If you could only eat three things for the rest of your life, what would they be?
  • If you could be famous for something, what would it be?
  • What part of "adulting" are you most looking forward to?

Kids to Ask Parents

  • If you could have named yourself, what name would you have picked?
  • What do you think is the hardest thing about being a kid?
  • What about me is the most (and least) like you?
  • If you could eat only one food on this table for an entire year, which one would it be?
  • If you were an animal, what would you be?
  • Would you rather not shower for a week or not brush your teeth for a week?
  • What super power do you wish you had?
  • What's the weirdest thing you've ever eaten?

Siblings to Ask Siblings

  • What is one of your favorite things we played as kids?
  • What is your funniest memory about us growing up?
  • If money was no object, what's the ideal spot for us to take a family vacation together?
  • Which of us do you think got in the most trouble?
  • If you could go back in time, what moment would you most like to revisit?
  • What song do you like to put on repeat?
  • What do you think was the best prank you ever pulled?
  • What's still on your bucket list to do?

Friends to Ask Friends

  • Which person here do you wish you knew better?
  • Which person at this table would make the best news anchor?
  • If you had a uniform that you had to wear every day, what would it be?
  • What's your celebrity baby name?
  • Who would your Clue character be?
  • What's your favorite dad joke of all time?
  • Would you rather be a super hero or a super villain?
  • What famous person would fit in best with this crew?
  • Would you ever want to be on a reality show? Why or why not?
  • What was the worst job you ever had—and why?
  • What's your go-to karaoke song?

Kids to Ask Grandparents or Other Older Relatives

  • How did you celebrate Thanksgiving when you were my age?
  • What was your favorite thing about where you grew up?
  • What about my mom/dad drove you bonkers when she/he was a kid?
  • If you could live in any decade of your life again, which would it be?
  • If you had an extra hour every day, how would you spend it?
  • Which is your favorite month, and why?
  • What's the weirdest thing you used to eat as a kid?
  • If you could, would you choose a different job?

Romantic Partners to Ask Each Other

  • What did you really think of me on your first date?
  • What phrase would you like me to never again utter?
  • If I were a pair of shoes, what kind would I be?
  • What is the best holiday we've ever spent with each other?
  • If you could travel anywhere, where would you go?
  • What was the best movie or TV show you saw this year?
  • What movie or TV couple do you think we're most like?
  • What's the worst pickup line someone ever used on you?

Random Conversation Starters

  • What was your most bizarre holiday purchase?
  • What new—and unexpected—hobby have you started this year?
  • What is the next trip you're going to take?
  • If you could have Thanksgiving dinner with your favorite TV character, who would it be?
  • What was your funniest or most embarrassing moment?
  • What was the best gift you ever received from someone?
  • What was the weirdest nickname you had growing up?
  • What was your favorite vacation memory?
  • What country would you most like to visit?
  • What movie do you think is the funniest?
  • Do you have a talent that no one knows about?

If you want even more conversation starters, try weaving some Thanksgiving quotes into your chats with relatives or impress the table with your Thanksgiving knowledge.

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