The Thanksgiving Table: free large-print word searches and conversation cards

Thanksgiving is the one day a year when the whole family ends up around the same table. Somebody's carving, somebody's passing the rolls, and sooner or later somebody says "Remember when...?" This little pack is made for that moment.

Inside are three brand-new nostalgia word searches in big, friendly 22pt letters, just like the puzzles in my books, plus a set of cut-out conversation cards to set by the plates. It's free, there's no sign-up, and you're welcome to print as many as you need.

Thanksgiving Dinner, the Old-Fashioned Way, a large-print word search with a 14 by 14 letter grid and a word list with tick boxes

A page of Remember When conversation cards with dashed cut lines, with prompts such as What did Thanksgiving dinner look like when you were 10?

Download the free Thanksgiving pack (PDF, 9 pages)

Pages 1 to 3 are the puzzles, pages 4 and 5 are the cards, pages 6 to 8 are the answer keys, and page 9 is a short note from me. Print only the pages you need.

What's inside

Three 14 x 14 puzzles in large 22pt print, the same grid size as the books
15 words in each puzzle, each with its own tick box
Every word reads forwards: across, down or diagonally, never backwards
16 "Remember When" conversation cards, 8 to a page, with dashed lines for cutting
An answer key for each puzzle, with every word circled
US Letter size (A4 tips below)

The three puzzles

Thanksgiving Dinner, the Old-Fashioned Way

The words: Cranberry Sauce, Deviled Eggs, Dinner Rolls, Gelatin Mold, Good China, Gravy Boat, Green Beans, Kids Table, Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, Relish Tray, Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Sweet Potatoes, Wishbone.

Autumn in the 1950s and 60s

The words: Acorns, Apple Cider, Bonfire, Canning Jars, Caramel Apples, Corduroy, Football Game, Harvest Moon, Hayride, Homecoming, Pumpkin Patch, Raking Leaves, Scarecrow, Storm Windows, Wool Sweater.

Family Traditions

The words: Board Games, Card Table, Cousins, Dishes, Giving Thanks, Grandma, Hugs, Leftovers, Long Walk, Old Recipes, Parade on TV, Photo Album, Saying Grace, Seconds, Stories.

Remember When cards for the family table

Cut the cards apart and tuck one under each plate, or keep the stack by the pie and pass it round after dinner. Here are a few of the 16 prompts:

What did Thanksgiving dinner look like when you were 10?
Did you sit at the kids' table? When did you finally move up?
Who said grace at your table, and what did they say?
Did you ever rake leaves into a big pile and jump right in?
Which recipe would you like to pass on, and who taught it to you?

There are no right answers and no scores. If one card gets Grandpa telling a story nobody's heard before, that's a good Thanksgiving.

A few ways to use the pack

Before dinner: leave a puzzle and a pencil on the coffee table while the turkey rests. It gives early arrivals something to do together.
Grandparent and grandchild: one reads the word out loud, the other hunts for it. Then swap.
After dinner: pass the cards round the table while the coffee's poured.
Visiting someone in a care home? Bring a puzzle and two or three cards. It's an easy way to spend a happy half hour.
Activity directors: the pack works nicely for a Thanksgiving week group. See the activity guide for a simple 30-minute session plan.

Printing tips

Print at 100%. In the print box, choose "Actual size" or "100%" rather than "Fit". That keeps the letters at their full 22pt size.
Paper: the PDF is set up for US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches). Nothing is printed closer than half an inch to the edges, so home printers won't cut anything off.
In the UK or Europe? It prints fine on A4. Choose "Actual size", or "Fit to page" if anything looks tight.
The cards hold up best on card stock or heavier paper, but plain paper is fine too.
Keep the answers to yourself: print pages 1 to 5 for the table and pages 6 to 8 for the host.

A note from Sunny

I made this pack for families to share. If you enjoy it, there are 100 more puzzles in each of my books, one for the 1950s, one for the 1960s and one for the 1970s. Same big 22pt print, one puzzle per page, answers in the back, $9.99 each in paperback. No pressure at all: the free printables are yours to keep and share either way.

Front cover of 1950s Nostalgia Word Search for Seniors, Volume 1, by Sunny Porter

See the 1950s book on Amazon

Front cover of 1960s Nostalgia Word Search for Seniors, Volume 2, by Sunny Porter

See the 1960s book on Amazon

Front cover of 1970s Nostalgia Word Search for Seniors, Volume 3, by Sunny Porter

See the 1970s book on Amazon

See all three books in the series on Amazon

Also free: Christmas through the Decades · Fabulous Fifties word search · Groovy Sixties word search · Seventies Flashback word search

Free to print and share for personal, family, library and activity-group use. Puzzles and cards by Sunny Porter. Happy Thanksgiving!