27 Easy Crafts to Get Your Kids Involved This Thanksgiving
Autumn & Thanksgiving
Audio By Carbonatix
By Carrie Lowrance, Crosswalk.com
Do your kids like to do crafts? Do you have a budding artist in the family? With Thanksgiving coming up, there will be lots of things for you to do. Instead of going out and buying a bunch of decor, why not let your kids make some crafts to decorate your home?
Kids love to craft and be artistic. I used to see it time and time again while teaching daycare. There is something about letting their creativity flow. They love to draw, decorate things, and paint. The messier, the better.
Not a crafty person? No worries, you can find tons of easy projects to do online. Check out Pinterest, Facebook, and other social media platforms for inspiration. To make things even easier, put your older children in charge of the younger ones so your crafting space doesn't look like a giant, sticky glue puddle or a glitter bomb went off when they are done. If possible, buy a cheap plastic tablecloth and put it under your crafting station to catch all the paint spills, glue globs, and glitter. This will be a much easier way to clean up and will save your carpet as well.
1. Links of Gratitude
Cut pieces of construction paper into strips and let the kids write what they are thankful for. Then, roll into "links" and staple them together to make a chain. Hang the garland around a door frame or somewhere else visible in your home.
2. Pilgrim Hats
Find a template for a pilgrim hat online and let your kids color it, then cut them out and staple the headband together to make a hat.
3. Indian Headbands
Like with the hats above, find a template for an Indian headband and let the kids color it. Then cut it out and glue some colored feathers from the craft store on it, staple and wear.
4. Mayflower Picture
Print off a template of the Mayflower and let your kids color it. Then add foam sticker pilgrims, Indians, etc., that you can buy in the Thanksgiving section at Hobby Lobby.
5. Marble Paintings
Put a piece of white construction paper in the bottom of a shoe box. Pour some fall-colored paints into three small foil pans. Drop a marble in each one and cover it with paint. Use a plastic spoon to drop the marble into the box and then roll it around to make a painting. Repeat with the other paint.
6. Thankful Jar
Have your kids decorate a jar and set it on a table by the front door for family and guests. Add a small notepad and pen and have each family member and guest write what they are thankful for and drop it in the jar. Gather everyone during dessert or after dinner to read what everyone wrote.
7. Leaf Pictures
Have your kids gather leaves from outside and glue them on a piece of cardstock.
8. Table Centerpiece
Do some research online and have your kids pick out a centerpiece to make for your table.
9. Table Place Settings
Let your kids pick out a place-setting craft to add to your dinner table.
10. Leaf Garland
Print off templates of different leaves on different colored sheets of construction paper and have your kids cut them out. Punch a hole in the top, thread a piece of yarn or twine through them, and hang it up.
11. Paper Bag Turkey
Get a pack of brown paper lunch sacks and cut out strips of construction paper. Have your kids write what they are thankful for on the strips of paper and staple them to the top of the bag. Add googly eyes, a triangle for a nose, and a small piece of red construction paper for a waddle.
12. Table Runner
Buy a plain table runner and let your kids decorate it with their handprints and fabric paint. Don't forget to add the child's name and the date to their print.
13. Turkey Face Cupcakes
Bake chocolate cupcakes and ice them with chocolate frosting. Add candy eye decorations, a piece of candy corn for the nose, and a small, rectangular piece of fruit rollup for the waddle. Add quarters of gummy worms to stick out the top as feathers.
14. Splatter Pumpkins
Buy some mini pumpkins and water down different colors of acrylic paint. Put the pumpkins out in your driveway and let the kids go to town. When they are done, hose down the driveway to clean up.
15. Place Card Holders
Cut rectangles out of cardstock, fold them in half, and decorate them with the name of each guest coming to dinner.
16. Turkey Munch
This is a great way for kids to get "crafty and creative" in the kitchen. Sit down with them and ask them what would like to put in their "turkey munch snack mix," and then get the ingredients and some cute treat bags.
Mix up the ingredients in a big bowl and fill each bag as a take-home gift for guests.
17. Smiley Pumpkins
Buy some "sticker face" pumpkin decorating kits after Halloween and some mini pumpkins, and let your kids decorate them to display in different areas of your home, like the mantle, as a centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table, or in the front windows of your house.
18. Busy Bags
Buy quart-size zipper bags and some cute Thanksgiving stickers. Let your kids pick out some things to put in them, like a notebook, crayons, small toys, stickers, etc. Give these bags to your little guests before and/or after dinner to keep them entertained.
19. Handprint Turkeys
Trace your kids' hands on brown construction paper and paint the fingers in different colors. Add googly eyes, a triangle for a nose, and a piece of red pipe cleaner for a waddle to the thumb.
20. Indian Paper Bag Vest Craft
First, cut the paper bag down the center for an open front. Next, cut a hole in the bottom for the neck and then cut holes in the sides to fit your child for "sleeves." Then cut fringe at the bottom and let your kids decorate them with markers, paints, glitter, etc.
21. Turkey Cheese Ball
Another way for kids to be creative is in the kitchen. Make a cheese ball and let them roll it in chopped nuts for the turkey's "body." Then, let them add cut-up veggies like different colored pepper strips, celery sticks, and carrots for "feathers." Add two halves of a hard-boiled egg w/olives for pupils to make eyes, the tip of a carrot for a nose, and a slice of red pepper for a waddle.
Of course, you will have to do all the prep work unless your kids are old enough to cut veggies and use a mixer for the cheese ball part. Regardless, kids of all ages will enjoy assembling this turkey and presenting it to your guests.
22. Fall Bracelets
Buy some fall-shaped craft beads and string them on yarn to make friendship bracelets.
23. Pumpkin Cake Balls
Make cake balls shaped like pumpkins and decorate them with different colored icings. Use a piece of a green gumdrop for a stem and some vine candy for vines. Kids will love helping mix the cake balls and decorating with their own flare.
24. Marshmallow Turkey
You will need jumbo marshmallows and thin pretzels for this edible craft. You will also need either edible candy eyes, black licorice, or gel icing, and gummy worms.
On one flat side of the marshmallow, insert candy corn for the beak, cut a piece of red gummy worm for the waddle, and add either candy edible, licorice, or icing eyes, and press into the marshmallow. Make the pieces elongated so they can be pushed into the marshmallow. Then, add halves of thin pretzel sticks for the legs. Next, add a row of pretzels fairly close together on the other end of the marshmallow to make the tail.
25. Leaf Necklace
Trace leaf patterns on different colors of construction paper. Then, cut them out and put a hole in the top with a paper punch—string with yarn or twine to make a necklace.
26. Fall Picture
Have your kids draw a fall picture on cardstock and then make a "frame" around it with popsicle sticks. Then, hang them on the wall for all to see.
27. Pilgrim Hat Place Holder
Get a pack of styrofoam cups and small paper plates. Trace around the drinking edge of the cup on the paper plate to make the "brim" of the hat and cut out to fit the edge of the styrofoam cup. Paint both the "hat" and the "brim" black. Glue the brim onto the hat. Add a square piece of yellow cardstock with each guest's name and wrap a piece of brown construction paper around the cup to make a belt. For a less messy option, color the cup with a black marker.
As you can see, there are all kinds of crafts your kids can do to make the upcoming holiday festive and fun.
Carrie Lowrance is a freelance writer and author. She has had her work featured on Crosswalk, iBelieve, Huffington Post, and the Penny Hoarder. She is also the author of three children’s books, three clean romance books, one romance novella, three books of poetry, and one non-fiction book. When she’s not writing, she enjoys cooking and baking, reading, and hanging out with her husband, and sweet cat, Cupcake. You can find out more about Carrie and her writing at www.carrielowrance.com.
