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6 ways to make virtual Thanksgiving entertaining for everyone

Might as well make it fun!

Playing some games on Zoom with family might make it seem a little bit more normal. (Pexels.)

Many of us scaled down Thanksgiving last year, and might continue that this season, as well.

But thanks to technology, you can still gather with your extended family.

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When the pandemic first hit the U.S., we hopped on Zoom to celebrate birthdays, wedding showers and even do happy hours with coworkers and friends. It just makes sense to do the same this Thanksgiving with the people you’ll miss seeing in person. So after everyone is full on turkey and stuffing, crank up a Zoom call with your extended family and play some fun games.

There’s really no reason not to.

Here are six games to entertain everyone.


Pictionary

Did you know that Zoom has a whiteboard feature? You can split up into teams of two, and each round, someone else has to draw on the whiteboard feature while members of your team try and guess what you’re drawing. It’s just like regular Pictionary, and is so easy to do on a Zoom call.

A game on Jackbox

If you never got to have an afternoon of playing a game on Jackbox at the beginning of the pandemic, you really missed out. There are a variety of games that you can play, and they’re all done virtually. It’s honestly so fun that you won’t want to stop.

Talent show

OK, so this might sound kind of cheesy, but why not have a talent show with all of your family? Each person can pick a talent to perform, and everyone gets to watch and admire. And if you don’t have a talent like singing, dancing or playing an instrument, just come up with something silly and fun. You’ll be around family, so you can’t get too embarrassed around them, right?

Charades

Just like Pictionary, a rousing game of charades is so easy to do over a Zoom call. Just split into teams and try and guess what your teammate is acting out while they use zero words. How fun does that sound?

Trivia

Who doesn’t love a competitive game of trivia? You’ll have to assign one person in the family to figure out the questions/ask the questions, and each household/person can come up with their answers. You can have fun with it by making the trivia game themed, such as pop culture, sports or current events.

Scavenger hunt

This is something that will get everyone in the family up and moving. The person running this game can come up with a giant list of items you would normally find laying around the house, and each group on the Zoom call has 2 minutes (or more -- it’s up to you) to find the item. The team that finds the most of the items on the list wins.


About the Author
Jack Roskopp headshot

Jack is a Digital Content Editor with a degree in creative writing and French from Western Michigan University. He specializes in writing about movies, food and the latest TV shows.