5 Fun Thanksgiving Craft Ideas That Are Kid Friendly

[Cafe Beth]

5 Fun Thanksgiving Craft Ideas That Are Kid Friendly

Posted by Lindsay Mannering on November 17, 2012 at 10:05 AM

Between now and Thanksgiving, there is going to be a rainy day or two (you heard it here first!) so be prepared with some awesome indoor ideas when cold, drizzly weather strikes. There are tons of great Thanksgiving craftsout there you can try at home, but I've curated a list of some of the best, because you deserve it. I mean, why have your little geniuses waste their talent on those stupid hand turkeys when you guys could be making awesome paper cup turkeys with cute little feetsies and everything!

Round up some basic supplies, clear the kitchen table, and try out these 5 kid-friendly Thanksgiving craft ideas. It's what the pilgrims would want.

Paper Cup Turkeys via Kaboose. 

Supplies: 
Paper or foam cup (8.5 oz)
Acrylic paint in fall colors (brown, tan, orange, red, green, yellow, etc.)
Large pom-pom for head (brown, yellow, red, orange, etc.)
Small foam heart for gobbler (to contrast with color of head)
Small foam triangle (orange or yellow)
2 small wiggle eyes
3” x 2” piece of orange construction paper
1 sheet of white construction paper
White craft glue
Scissors

Instructions:
Place cup upside down on work surface and paint brown (see image).
To make the feathers, paint the white construction paper with several fall colors, crisscrossing the colors as you go. Let dry (see image).
Cut feathers out in one large piece, should be shaped similar to a hand or crown. Cut the tips of each feather into a point (see image).
Apply glue to the bottom portion of the feathers and press onto the bottom of the cup. Hold in place for a minute or so to let the glue grab.
Place foam heart upside down so that the bumps are facing downward. Glue the foam triangle, point down, onto the upside down heart--the upper points of the triangle will be hanging over the edge. This is the beak and gobbler (see image).
Glue the pom-pom to the top of the paper cup.
Glue the wiggle eyes and the beak and gobbler to the head.
Cut two feet from the orange construction paper and glue to the bottom of the cup.
Hint:
Use these as name plates for your big Thanksgiving meal!

Dried Bean Indian Corn Craft via All Kids Network

Supplies:
Printable corn template
Green and yellow construction paper
Scissors
White glue
Dried beans (bag of bean soup mix from the grocery store does the trick.)

Instructions:
Print our corn template and cut out the pieces. Trace the pieces onto construction paper and cut the pieces out.
Glue the corn piece onto the husk piece.
Cover the corn piece with a layer of glue. Spread it into an even layer with your finger.
Add beans to the glue. Younger children find it easiest to just dump the corn on by the handful. Older children can place the beans individually to create more of a pattern.

Pinecone Turkey via Free Kids Crafts

 

Supplies:

Pinecones
3-4 each foam (or lots of real ones!) leaves in orange, red, yellow, green and tan
Tan pipe cleaner cut in half (head)
Brown pipe cleaner stem (wings)
Craft or white glue

Instructions:

Place all pinecones on a foil lined baking sheet and cook for 45 minutes at 200 degrees F. This process will kill any insects or spider mites that may have been living in them. 
Lay pinecone on its side and drip some glue into the bottom layer, then insert foam (or real) leaves into the glue. Repeat this process for 2-4 layers, depending on the size of your pinecone.

Put some glue close to the front of the pinecone, then stretch the brown pipe cleaner stem so that it is straight. Center it over the top of the pinecone and insert it into the glue so that "arms" are sticking out both sides. Bend the ends of the stem so that they look like wings. 
Insert the tan pipe cleaner stem in front or in the same slot as the brown stem. Bend the end of the tan stem to look like a head.
You can stand this as is or if your pinecone is too wobbly, you may choose to hot glue it to a piece of cardboard for stability. You can also tie a string around the body and hang it from the ceiling.

Thankful Leaf Wreath 

Supplies:
A plain white paper plate
Construction paper (orange, red, yellow, brown, and other earth tones)
Crayons or markers
Scissors
Glue or a glue stick

Instructions:

Cut a half circle out of the center of a plain paper plate. This plate is what you'll glue the leaves to.

Cut out a lot of leaves from construction paper. Draw the leaf veins if you wish. If you'd like, use a leaf template.

Glue the leaves all around the rim of the paper plate.

In the lower center of the wreath, write, "I am thankful for," and then let the child write or draw what they are thankful for.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece via Womans Day

Supplies:

Construction paper in assorted colors
Paper bag
White glue
Red pipe cleaner

Instructions:

Trace your hand on several colors of construction paper and cut out for feather shapes. Roll back top edge of paper bag and glue on feathers. Cut out wings, head and pilgrim hat from construction paper. Attach to bag. Use a red pipe cleaner for the turkey’s wattle.

Happy crafting! 

What's your favorite Thanksgiving craft to do with kids?

[MistressMinerva]

Cool. Thanks for sharing.

[itsblissmas]

I think my kids would have fun with these!

[delanna6two]

We make hand turkeys and trace overs of leaves.

[goddess99]

We like making centerpieces with pinecones and acorns, leaves, and sticks.

[DixieFlower]

Love these ideas.

[pasteeater]

Those are fun ideas, but where is that cold rainy weather? lol