Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to come together as a family. Celebrating with fun and creative projects is a great way to spend our family time. For us, crafting during the holidays has become a tradition. It’s not just about making something pretty. It’s about spending time together, sharing laughs, and creating new memories. While crafting we also create time to talk and learn something new about each holiday. Plus, it’s a great way to keep the kids engaged and excited about the holiday.
From adorable handprint turkeys to thankful trees, these family-friendly projects are fun and meaningful. It is our job to teach our kids about gratitude and these crafts help them understand and express it. Whether your family loves messy painting or simple paper crafts, these ideas are adaptable for all ages and will make your the time spent with family even more special. Let’s grab some supplies and start creating magic together!
My 5 Favorite Thanksgiving Crafts:
Handprint Turkeys
Materials:
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Paint
- Googly eyes
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
Creating handprint turkeys is one of our favorite Thanksgiving crafts. I think it’s a perfect way to capture little handprints as seasonal keepsakes! You can do it in two different ways – using paint or construction paper if your child doesn’t like to get messy.
If you choose construction paper, trace your child’s hand on a piece of brown construction paper. Cut it out and use it as the body of the turkey. Add googly eyes, a beak, and a wattle using different colored paper or markers to make it more colorful.
If you decide to use paint, here’s how we do it. We start by choosing some fall-colored paints and construction paper. My kids choose their favorite colors to make each turkey unique. Then, I paint their hands (brown palm and a different color on each finger) and we press them onto the paper. My kids love getting their hands (and feet for other projects) covered in paint!
Once the handprints are dry, we add a beak, eyes, and a wattle. Each child can add some other decorations if they like. Sometimes we even add more feathers or little hats, scarves, and bowties for fun. If you’d rather use markers or construction paper for decorations, that works, too!
When everything’s complete, we display their turkeys around the house, and it always brings a smile to see their little handprints! This project is such a special way to celebrate Thanksgiving and each child’s handprint makes it so unique.
Thankful Tree
Materials:
- Large construction paper
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
Creating a Thankful Tree is such a wonderful project to do with kids, especially as Thanksgiving approaches.
We do this project in two different ways:
- First, we start by cutting out a tree trunk and branches from brown construction paper and glue it on large paper (18in x 12in construction paper or 16in x 12in Crayola Giant Marker Pages). To make leaves, I trace my kids hands and the older one cuts them out. We trace and cut a lot of them in different colors to make our tree look big and beautiful.
- Another way to start the project is by painting your child’s hand brown and pressing it onto the construction paper to make your tree trunk. Then, have the kids cut out leaves from the fall-colored construction paper. The kids love adding their touches and picking their favorite colors for the leaves.
The rest of the project is done the same way, no matter what you chose your tree to look like.
Once we get our tree and leaves ready, we talk about things we’re grateful for, from family members to favorite snacks, animals, books, and hobbies. On each leaf or hand, we write or draw what we are thankful for and then glue the leaves (or hands) onto the tree.
And remember that this project doesn’t need to be done in one day. You can work on it all month long and just keep adding more hands or leaves whenever your kids come up with a new thing they are grateful for. It’s a great classroom activity to work on during the month of November, too.
I think it’s a very special project and a beautiful way to spend time together and share gratitude as a family. Watching the tree fill up throughout November gives everyone something to look forward to, and it brings a bit of warmth and meaning into our home during the season.
Pinecone Turkeys
Materials:
- Pinecones
- Colorful feathers
- Googly eyes
- Scissors
- Glue
- Felt
- Construction paper
Instructions:
Pinecone turkeys is a super fun project and it gets the kids excited for Thanksgiving!
We start by gathering pinecones. We always collect some whenever we’re in a park as we know we’ll use them at some point.
Once we’re home, we set up our supplies – quite a few of them for this project. My kids love picking out their feather colors, mixing reds, yellows, and oranges to make each turkey unique.
Then, we glue on the feathers to one end of the pinecone, add googly eyes and the felt (or construction paper) beak to the other end. It’s amazing how these little touches bring personality to each turkey!
Once dry, they look great as table decorations or little additions around the house. Seeing their creations makes everyone smile, and it’s a fun way to add a homemade touch to our Thanksgiving decor!
Even though felt works better for this project, I use construction paper more often since we always have it handy. Felt can also be tricky for younger kids to cut.
For my younger child, I use regular liquid glue, while my older daughter prefers hot glue, making her turkey more durable.
Pumpkin Pie Paper Craft
Materials:
- Brown construction paper
- Orange paint
- Cotton balls
- Paper plates
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
Making a pumpkin pie paper craft is a simple and cute project to celebrate fall with our kids. I love it because we can later use our pumpkin pie slices in our play kitchen!
To start, we divide and cut a paper plate into triangle pie slices. It’s a good way for kids to practice their cutting skills. Next, we paint the slices orange to resemble the pumpkin filling and let them dry. While waiting, we cut strips of tan or brown construction paper for the crust and glue them along the edge of each slice.
For the whipped cream, we add a cotton ball at the center. If you don’t have cotton balls, crumpled white tissue will also work. My kids think this part is so fun and it makes the pie look real! We also enjoy making each slice unique by adding some glitter or glitter glue at the end. Once completed, the slices look good enough to eat!
It’s fun seeing how each pie always turns out a bit different, just like homemade pies!
Feather Headbands
Materials:
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Feathers
- Scissors
- Glue
Instructions:
We like to make headbands for different occasions and Thanksgiving is one of them. It’s an easy and fun craft that you can do quickly and without much preparation. We usually use some ‘leftover’ fathers and construction paper from our turkey crafts.
We start by cutting out a long strip of construction paper to fit each child’s head and staple or tape the ends. The kids love picking their colors and I always encourage them to decorate the band itself. They can add stickers, drawings, or even glitter. This way, they can add a personal touch before the feathers even come in.
Next comes the feather fun! We use craft feathers in various colors and the kids pick a few to glue onto the back of the headband. They often choose colors that remind them of autumn, and they love arranging the feathers in their own way. Once the glue dries, they can finally wear their creations!
Seeing them run around with their headbands always brings a smile, as it gives them a chance to showcase their work!
I hope these Thanksgiving projects will be as fun for your family as they were for mine. I love crafting and each holiday gives me a chance to work on some fun projects with my kids.
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to enjoy meaningful moments with your family, and these projects are a perfect way to do that. As you wrap up your crafts, take a moment to reflect on the time spent together. These small activities remind us of the importance of little things and joy they bring to our lives.
What are your favorite Thanksgiving crafts or activities? How do you incorporate gratitude and creativity into your holiday celebrations?