Thanksgiving is a great time of year for crafts because there are an abundance of natural materials you can use, and you can get the whole family involved. Try some of these crafts with your kids to brighten up your Thanksgiving:
Handprint Turkey
Ages 2 to 6 Skill level: Easy
Materials needed: Construction paper, black and red markers, and brown, yellow, red, orange, and green fingerpaints.
Help your child paint the palm of his or her hand and thumb with the brown paint. Then paint each finger a different color. Press their hand firmly on the construction paper. You should have a brown turkey “body” and four tall feathers of different colors. With the black marker, draw eyes and a beak at the tip of the thumbprint. Use the red marker to draw in the wattle underneath the beak.
Thanksgiving Place Cards
Ages 4 to 12 Skill level: Easy to Medium
Materials needed: Heavy cardstock, scissors, glue, seeds collected from outside, pencil, ruler, markers.
Using a pencil and a ruler, draw a line dividing one sheet of cardstock in half from top to bottom, and then draw two horizontal lines that divide the cardstock in thirds. Follow the lines to cut the cardstock into six pieces. Take each piece and fold it in half lengthwise to make standing place cards. Choose a handful of seeds, either all alike or different varieties, and glue them in a little sunburst pattern on one side of the place card. With the marker, write the person’s name under the sunburst. Repeat with all of the place cards. If you have more than six guests, repeat with another sheet of cardstock.
Thanksgiving Book of Thanks
Ages 4 to 12 Skill level: Easy to Medium
Materials needed: Brighly colored construction paper or lightweight cardstock, hole punch, string or twine, markers and crayons.
Choose three sheets of paper (any color or combination of colors) and fold them in half horizontally (like a book). With the hole punch, punch two holes in each sheet of paper along the fold – one hole about an inch from the top and one hole about an inch from the bottom. Stack the three pieces of paper together so that the holes are aligned. With the string or twine, tie the papers together, binding them with a small knot on the outside of the “book.”
Variation 1 (Start at least ten days before Thanksgiving): Have your child name one thing that he or she is thankful for, and write it and illustrate it on the first page. Continue adding one illustration each day until Thanksgiving. At Thanksgiving dinner, your child can read the book and show the pictures to everyone.
Variation 2: Bring the blank book to Thanksgiving dinner, and have your child interview each guest at the dinner about what he or she is thankful for. Write and illustrate their responses on each page. At dinner, your child can read the book and show the pictures to everyone.
Thanksgiving Pie-Crust Cookies
Ages 3 to 10 Skill level: Easy
Materials needed: Leftover pie dough, rolling pin, cookie cutters, butter, cinnamon, sugar.
This craft is fun to do if you are making homemade pie crust. When you trim the unbaked pie crust from the edge of the pan, save the trimmings. Shape the dough into a ball, then roll it out to 1/3-inch thickness with the rolling pin. Cut out shapes with the cookie cutter. Place on a small baking sheet. Dot each cookie with butter, then sprinkle lightly with cinnamon and sugar. Bake at the same temperature you are baking the pies for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until golden brown.