How Do You Play a Thanksgiving Alphabet Packing Game?

Play a Thanksgiving alphabet packing game by imagining a bag for a holiday visit. The first player names something beginning with A. The next repeats that item and adds something beginning with B. Continue in alphabetical order, keeping the growing list in the same order each time.

This is a Thanksgiving variation on the alphabet picnic game described by PBS KIDS for Parents. All the packing happens in words. No one needs to collect objects, pack an actual bag, or bring food to the gathering.

Agree on the imaginary trip

Try this opening: “For our Thanksgiving visit, I packed…” Explain that the bag can hold ordinary visiting supplies, games, drawing materials, or silly extras. Keep the category broad enough that people are not struggling to name a Thanksgiving food for every letter.

Choose a turn order and an easy stopping point, such as A through F for a first round. You can continue if everyone wants to. There is no requirement to reach Z, race a timer, or eliminate someone who forgets a word.

For this version, use the item’s written starting letter, not its first spoken sound. “Xylophone” begins with X even though its opening sound resembles Z. Agreeing on that rule beforehand avoids an unnecessary spelling argument halfway through the game.

Demonstrate three turns

Show how the list grows before asking someone else to begin:

1. First player: “For our Thanksgiving visit, I packed an apron.”
2. Second player: “For our Thanksgiving visit, I packed an apron and a book.”
3. Third player: “For our Thanksgiving visit, I packed an apron, a book, and a crayon.”

The fourth person repeats apron, book, and crayon before adding a D item, perhaps a domino. Keep the chosen item names stable: replacing “book” with “story” would change the B entry. You can leave out repeated articles such as “a” and “an”; the objects and their order are what matter.

The Toy Association’s picnic-game instructions likewise make remembering the earlier items in order part of each new turn. Once everyone understands that pattern, start a fresh list together rather than treating the demonstration as a test.

Keep a starter list available

Here is an original set of possible choices. Offer a word only when someone wants a suggestion; players can invent their own list instead.

• A–F: apron, book, crayon, domino, eraser, flower
• G–L: game, hat, invitation, jacket, key, leaf
• M–R: mitten, napkin, ornament, pencil, quilt, ribbon
• S–Z: scarf, ticket, umbrella, vase, whisk, xylophone, yarn, zipper pouch

These are imaginary items, not a recommended travel checklist. A pretend vase needs no wrapping, and a pretend xylophone takes no room in the car. If the group would rather pack only cozy things or only art supplies, choose that theme for another round and allow broad or invented answers.

Help the list along

If someone loses their place, offer the next letter first. Then give a gentle clue, such as “We use the C item for drawing,” or let the group say the missing word together. A helper can keep a written list, leave the whole list visible, or draw simple symbols beside the letters.

Allow people to pass, point, write, or play with a partner. This is a shared word game, not a measure of anyone’s memory. Do not compare guests’ recall or turn a forgotten object into a joke about them.

The Oasis Intergenerational Tutoring example shows successive family members extending the same alphabet list. For this holiday version, keep that shared-list idea while using whichever amount of help makes the round enjoyable.

End with the bag you invented

At your chosen stopping letter, read the final list once together. Ask an optional silly question: which imaginary item would be hardest to fit through the front door, or which two would make the strangest present?

Then put the game aside. A short list that everyone helped create is a complete round, even when your Thanksgiving bag never makes it past F.