How Do You Play a Thanksgiving Rhyming-Pairs Game?

Make a small set of cards whose picture names rhyme, spread them face up, and work together to find the pairs. A pie belongs beside a tie because their names share an ending sound. The pictures themselves do not have to look alike.

This makes a quiet Thanksgiving table activity with a few homemade cards and no score to keep. Begin with three pairs, then add more if everyone wants another round.

Choose words by their sound

Say each proposed pair aloud before drawing it. Rhyming depends on pronunciation, so listen to the words rather than judging their spelling. PBS KIDS’ rhyming I Spy activity introduces rhyme through matching ending sounds.

For a seasonal set, choose one familiar Thanksgiving or autumn object in each pair. Its partner can be delightfully unrelated. You do not need to make every card a holiday symbol.

Here is a possible six-pair bank:

• PIE and TIE
• PEAR and CHAIR
• SPOON and MOON
• PLATE and SKATE
• LEAF and REEF
• CORN and HORN

Start with the first three pairs for six cards. Use the others only if the pictures and words are familiar to your players. Agree that SKATE means an ice skate, REEF means a coral reef, and HORN means a musical horn.

If a pair does not rhyme in someone’s everyday pronunciation, replace it together. Nobody needs to change their accent for the game.

Make one clear picture per card

Use index cards or same-size pieces of plain paper. Draw one large object in the center and write its name clearly beneath it. Keep every card’s background alike so color does not reveal the pairs.

A pie can be a simple round dish with a crisscross crust. A tie needs its long pointed shape and small knot. A spoon and crescent moon are easy to distinguish. Simple drawings are enough; elaborate decorations can hide the object you want named.

PBS KIDS’ rhyming puzzle-pairs activity combines written words with optional drawings. This version uses separate rectangular cards rather than interlocking puzzle pieces.

Keep the pair list on a separate sheet for whoever prepares the game. Check that each word appears once and has exactly one partner in your chosen set.

Name the pictures before playing

Lay out the cards and agree on each name. This avoids a drawing meant to be a PIE being called a dessert, or a TIE being called clothing. Waterford Institute’s Rhyme Match instructions, on printed page 2, similarly begins by naming the pictures.

Let anyone ask what a word means or suggest a clearer drawing. A player may point while someone else reads the labels aloud. You can keep all the cards visible throughout.

Find the pairs together

Mix the cards face up in the middle of the table. Follow a simple round:

1. One willing player chooses a card and says its name.
2. Everyone looks for a word with the same ending sound.
3. Say the two words together before placing the pair side by side.
4. Let another willing person choose the next card.

For example, PEAR does not go with PIE just because both can be food. Say “pear, chair” and listen to the matching ending instead.

Allow thinking time, help on request, and passing. If a suggested match does not sound right, try both words aloud and look again. Continue until the group has paired the set, or stop whenever people have had enough.

Change the challenge without changing the goal

For a shorter game, put out just two pairs. For a spoken version, name an object from the set and offer two possible partners. If everyone wants a memory challenge, turn the cards face down and uncover two per turn, returning unmatched cards to their places. This draws on Waterford’s face-down matching format; the cooperative, no-score approach here is an adaptation.

Save the cards in an envelope with the pair list. Next Thanksgiving, add a few new drawings and listen for new matches. The connection that matters is the sound of the words, not how alike their pictures look.