The best Thanksgiving jokes for kids are short, clean puns about turkeys, pie and Pilgrims that a child can remember and retell, and this list has more than 100 of them sorted by theme and age.
A good joke gives a child a job at the holiday table: something to say to Grandpa and a reason for the cousins to giggle. These Thanksgiving jokes for kids are clean and kind, and each one was checked to make sure the pun actually works.
You’ll find turkey, food, Pilgrim, fall and football jokes, Thanksgiving knock knock jokes, riddles, simple jokes for preschoolers and trickier ones for big kids, then ways to use them, tips for telling one, and what research says about wordplay and language.
Key Takeaways
Short question-and-answer puns are the easiest Thanksgiving jokes for kids to retell.
Match the joke to the age: silly sounds for preschoolers, puns and riddles for grade-schoolers.
Every joke here is clean and kind, with nothing at any group’s expense.
Put jokes on place cards, in lunchbox notes, in a joke jar or into a kids’ table game.
Puns make children hold two meanings of a word at once, a skill linked with reading comprehension.
Table of Contents
Best Thanksgiving Jokes for Kids at a Glance
Quick Answer
The best Thanksgiving jokes for kids are quick puns a child can retell: a turkey that joins the band because it already has the drumsticks, cranberries that turn red when they see the turkey dressing, and Mayflowers that bring Pilgrims. Below are 100+ clean jokes in turkey, food, Pilgrim, fall and football, knock knock, riddle, preschool and big-kid lists.
A rough age guide: silly sounds for ages 3 to 5, puns and knock knocks from about 5, riddles from about 6, and math or vocabulary puns from about 8. For year-round material, see our jokes for kids.
Turkey Jokes for Kids
Why did the turkey cross the road? It was the chicken’s day off.
Why did the turkey join the band? It already had the drumsticks.
What key can’t open a single door? A tur-key.
What sound does a turkey’s phone make? Wing, wing, wing!
What is a turkey’s favorite dessert? Peach gobbler.
Which side of a turkey has the most feathers? The outside.
What do you call a turkey the day after Thanksgiving? Lucky.
Can a turkey jump higher than a house? Of course. Houses can’t jump.
What did the turkey say to the computer? “Google, google, google.”
What do you call a rainy day on a turkey farm? Fowl weather.
Why do turkeys gobble? Nobody ever taught them table manners.
What do you get when you cross a turkey with an octopus? Enough drumsticks for the whole family.
Why didn’t the turkey want any pie? It was already stuffed.
Pie and Food Jokes
Funny Thanksgiving jokes about the side dishes, for the long wait until dinner.
What kind of pie can fly? A magpie.
Why did the pumpkin pie go to the dentist? It needed a filling.
What is the best thing to put into a pie? Your teeth.
Why did the cranberries turn red? They saw the turkey dressing.
What did the gravy say to the mashed potatoes? “I’ve got you covered.”
Why shouldn’t you tell a secret in a cornfield? There are too many ears.
What did the corn say when it got a compliment? “Aw, shucks.”
What did the baby corn ask the mama corn? “Where’s pop corn?”
Why did the dinner roll stay home from school? It felt crumby.
What did the sweet potato say when asked its name? “I yam what I yam.”
Why did the apple pie cry? Its peelings were hurt.
What did one plate say to the other plate? “Dinner is on me.”
What smells the best at Thanksgiving dinner? Your nose.
Why do potatoes make good detectives? They keep their eyes peeled.
Pilgrim, Mayflower, Fall and Football Jokes
A little history, then leaves and the big game. These laugh with the holiday, never at any group of people.
If April showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring? Pilgrims.
Why did the Pilgrim’s pants keep falling down? He wore his belt buckle on his hat.
What kind of music did the Pilgrims like? Plymouth Rock.
What did the Pilgrims use to bake bread? May-flour.
Where did the Pilgrims land when they left the ship? On their feet.
Why did the Pilgrims cross the ocean? To get to the other tide.
Why did the Mayflower do so well in school? It never sank below C level.
What did the Pilgrim wear to dinner? A har-vest.
Why did the scarecrow win a prize? He was outstanding in his field.
What did one autumn leaf say to the other? “I’m falling for you.”
What is the cutest season? Awww-tumn.
What did the tree say when autumn got pushy? “Leaf me alone.”
What do you get when you drop a pumpkin? Squash.
Who helps the little pumpkins cross the street? The crossing gourd.
Why did the football coach go to the bank? To get his quarterback.
Why did the stadium get so hot after the game? All the fans left.
What did the football say to the kicker? “I get a kick out of you.”
Where do hungry football players eat on Thanksgiving? The Supper Bowl.
Why was the turkey sent off the football field? Fowl play.
What runs around a football field but never moves? The fence.
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Knock knock jokes give a shy child a script, because the other person has to answer. Each one opens the usual way (“Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?”), then the name and the punchline. More in our knock knock jokes for kids.
Norma Lee. Norma Lee who? Norma Lee I don’t eat this much pie!
Dewey. Dewey who? Dewey have to wait much longer for dinner?
Olive. Olive who? Olive the side dishes!
Annie. Annie who? Annie body want the last roll?
Luke. Luke who? Luke at all this food!
Don. Don who? Don eat all the pie before I get there!
Phillip. Phillip who? Phillip my plate, please!
Possum. Possum who? Possum gravy, please!
Wanda. Wanda who? Wanda play football after dinner?
Thanksgiving Riddles for Kids
Read the clue, ask “What am I?” and allow three guesses. More brain teasers live in our riddles for kids.
I have ears but can’t hear, and I grow in tall rows. Corn.
I start as a seed, grow big and orange, and end up in a pie. A pumpkin.
I have eyes but can’t see, and I get mashed for dinner. A potato.
We fall every autumn and never get hurt. Leaves.
I’m a boat that never touches water. A gravy boat.
I cost nothing, take one second to say, and everyone likes to hear me. “Thank you.”
What is at the very end of Thanksgiving? The letter G.
I gobble but I’m not a hungry kid, and I have feathers but I’m not a pillow. A turkey.
Two people pull me, I snap, and one of them makes a wish. A wishbone.
I’m red and tart, I grow in a bog, and I wobble on your plate. Cranberry sauce.
I have a crust but I’m not bread, and a filling but I’m not a tooth. A pie.
Thanksgiving Jokes for Kids by Age: Preschoolers and Big Kids
For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5): keep it very simple. Silly sounds beat clever puns. Younger still? Try our toddler jokes.
What do a turkey and a very hungry kid both do? Gobble, gobble!
What do turkeys say when they play peekaboo? Peck-a-boo!
What is orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot.
What did the big pie say to the little pie? “Hello, cutie pie!”
What sound does a sleepy turkey make? Gobble, gobble, snore.
What kind of music does corn like? Pop.
How do the leaves say hello? They wave.
What do you call a potato wearing glasses? A spec-tater.
What does a pumpkin put on a boo-boo? A pumpkin patch.
What do you call a turkey in the snow? A brrr-d.
For big kids (ages 8 and up): these lean on math, geography and vocabulary.
What do you get when you divide a pumpkin’s circumference by its diameter? Pumpkin pi.
What did the acorn say when it grew up? “Geometry.” (Say it slowly: “Gee, I’m a tree.”)
How do you make a turkey float? Root beer, two scoops of ice cream and a turkey.
What do you get when you cross a turkey with a banjo? A turkey that can pluck itself.
What is on a geography teacher’s Thanksgiving table? Turkey, a little Greece and a bowl of Chile.
Why was the Thanksgiving soup so expensive? It had 24 carrots in it.
How is Thanksgiving different from April Fools’ Day? On one you’re thankful, on the other you’re prankful.
What did the thesaurus bring to the feast? Synonym rolls.
What do you get when you cross a turkey with a ghost? A poultry-geist.
One-Liners and Thanksgiving Dad Jokes for the Kids’ Table
No setup needed. Say one while passing a dish and wait for the groan. Grown-ups can borrow more from our dad jokes and silly jokes for kids.
I’d tell you a joke about the corn, but it’s pretty corny.
Mashed potatoes and I are best spuds.
I had a pie joke, but it was only half-baked.
You butter believe I want another roll.
Lettuce all give thanks.
I yam so thankful for you.
Cranberry sauce is my jam.
Gourd job on dinner, everybody.
Peas pass the potatoes.
I only have pies for you.
Whoever baked the pie really takes the cake.
Leaf a little room for dessert.
Ways to Use These Jokes on Thanksgiving
Place cards: write the question on the front of each name card and the answer inside. Kids can decorate them as one of your Thanksgiving crafts.
Lunchbox notes: tuck in one joke a day the week before the holiday.
A joke jar: cut the jokes into strips and pass the jar between courses so each person reads one aloud. Leaf prints from our fall crafts make a quick label.
A kids’ table game: one child reads a question and the table gets three guesses. Score a point for the real answer and one for any wrong guess that gets a laugh.
Pick one joke that fits: one joke told well beats five forgotten ones. Let your child choose.
Make sure they get it: explain the two meanings (“a filling is in a pie and in a tooth”). A child who understands the pun remembers the punchline.
Practice the pause: say the question, count to two silently, then give the answer.
Rehearse with a friendly audience: a sibling, a stuffed animal or you.
Laugh at the attempt: KidsHealth advises parents to praise children for trying to be funny and to model humor themselves. A mangled punchline still counts.
Teach the kindness rule: a joke is only funny if everyone can laugh. No jokes about how someone looks, talks or eats.
Why Jokes and Wordplay Are Good for Language Development
KidsHealth describes a sense of humor as a learned quality, not something children are born with, that helps kids see things from more than one perspective.
Humor starts early and tracks language. In a parent survey study led by the University of Bristol, about half of babies appreciated humor by 2 months and about half were producing their own by around 11 months. By ages 2 and 3, children were joking with words: inventing nonsense words and calling things by the wrong name on purpose.
Puns ask more. To get the pie joke, a child has to hold two meanings of “filling” at once. Reading researchers call this metalinguistic awareness: thinking about language itself. An article in The Reading Teacher describes studies in which first and second graders’ ability to spot words with two meanings predicted their reading scores the next year, and third graders given four short lessons on double meanings and riddles improved more in reading comprehension than classmates who were not.
That does not make turkey puns a reading program. But explaining why a joke is funny is real language practice, and the American Academy of Pediatrics notes that play with parents builds language and social skills.
Pick a few jokes that fit your child’s age, practice one or two before the big day, and give them a place to land: a place card, a joke jar or a turn at the kids’ table. The laughs are the point. The wordplay practice is a bonus.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are some good Thanksgiving jokes for kids?
Good ones are short puns a child can retell. Why did the turkey join the band? It already had the drumsticks. Why did the cranberries turn red? They saw the turkey dressing. If April showers bring May flowers, what do Mayflowers bring? Pilgrims.
What is a turkey’s favorite dessert?
The answer is peach gobbler. It is a favorite turkey joke for kids because the pun is easy to hear: cobbler becomes gobbler. Follow it with another quick one: which side of a turkey has the most feathers? The outside, of course.
What is a good Thanksgiving knock knock joke?
Try this one. Knock, knock. Who’s there? Arthur. Arthur who? Arthur any leftovers? Name jokes suit young children because the other person has to answer, which gives a shy child a script. Gladys, Harry, Olive and Phillip work well too.
What Thanksgiving jokes work for preschoolers?
Keep them very simple and built on sounds or silly pictures. What do turkeys say when they play peekaboo? Peck-a-boo! What is orange and sounds like a parrot? A carrot. Preschoolers laugh at things that are out of place more than at clever wordplay.
How can I use Thanksgiving jokes at the kids’ table?
Write a joke on each place card, pass a joke jar between courses, or play a guessing game where one child reads the question and the table gets three guesses. Riddles and knock knock jokes suit a group because everyone takes part.
Are jokes good for a child’s language development?
Wordplay can help. Puns and riddles ask a child to notice that one word can have two meanings, which reading researchers call metalinguistic awareness. Studies described in The Reading Teacher link that skill with reading comprehension in the early grades.
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Hoicka E, Soy Telli B, Prouten E, et al. The Early Humor Survey (EHS): A reliable parent-report measure of humor development for 1- to 47-month-olds. Behavior Research Methods. 2022;54(4):1928-1953. https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13428-021-01704-4
