Thanksgiving Questions for Couples
Before the families arrive, or after they leave.
- Players
- 2 players
- Length
- 20–40 min
- Cost
- Free · no signup
- Long distance
- Works long distance
Ready?
Before the families arrive, or after they leave.
- Players
- 2 players
- Length
- 20–40 min
- Intensity
- Sweet
Free · No signup · Nothing you answer is saved
How do you play Thanksgiving Questions for Couples?
Thanksgiving questions for couples ask for specific gratitude rather than generic — the smallest thing, the thing never said aloud, the person who should have been thanked. They also cover the family half of the holiday: what to steer away from at the table and what the exit strategy is.
How to play
- Use the first half in the car on the way, or the morning before.
- The family cards are best done before you arrive, not after.
- Both answer everything.
- Save the last three for the drive home.
- Specific answers only — "my health" is not an answer.
Why couples love this game
Specific gratitude works and generic gratitude does not. "I am grateful for you" is a sentence; "you got up with me at four in the morning in March and never mentioned it again" is a memory, and the difference in how it lands is enormous.
Thanksgiving asks everyone to be grateful, and most people respond with the same three things they said last year. Generic gratitude is pleasant and does approximately nothing.
This deck asks for specific gratitude instead — the smallest thing, the thing you have never said, the person you should have thanked and did not. It also covers the other half of the holiday, which is two families, one table, and a lot of managed diplomacy.
Use it in the car on the way, or once everybody has finally gone home.
Example questions
- What is the smallest thing you are grateful for today?
- What is something I do that you have never thanked me for?
- Who should you have thanked this year and did not?
- What went right this year that could easily have gone the other way?
- What are you grateful for that you did not expect to be?
- What is something about your family you are genuinely glad of?
The full game has 22 of these, shuffled every time you play.
Who this game is best for
- The drive to or from the family
- The morning before everybody arrives
- Couples navigating two sets of in-laws
- Long-distance couples on a Thanksgiving call
Tips to make it better
- Do the exit-strategy and difficult-topic cards before you arrive. They are genuinely useful.
- Specific gratitude only. Push back on anything vague.
- The car is the ideal place for this — nobody has to make eye contact.
- Save the last three for the journey home, when you both have opinions.
Frequently asked questions
What are good gratitude questions for couples?
Ones that force a specific example. "What is something I do that you have never thanked me for?" produces a memory; "what are you grateful for?" produces a list everyone has heard.
When should we do this?
The family cards before you arrive, the gratitude cards whenever, and the last three on the drive home while you both still have opinions.
Does this work outside the US?
The gratitude half works on any holiday where two families share a table, which is most of them.