A Thanksgiving Craft Round Up

The Holiday season can be a whirlwind of activities, parties and commitments. Unfortunately, Thanksgiving sometimes feels as if it is an afterthought.

More than ever I think that we should make an effort to develop an Attitude of Gratitude and take some time to Say Thanks. Of course, making memories with those we love goes a long way.

What better way to spend some time with the kids than around the craft table? For the past few weeks, my son (Josiah) and I have loaded up our crafting supplies and shared some of our favorite Thanksgiving crafting ideas with friends. I want to pass along some of our results and give you links to some fantastic Thanksgiving craft ideas.

No Thanksgiving craft round-up would be complete without

Thanksgiving Turkey Crafts.

The Thanksgiving Turkey Handprint is so simple that even the most craft challenged gal or guy can pull it off. Simply cover the little hand with paint and press. Trace around the hand and add the appropriate features and appendages. Viola!

You can help the owner of the handprint explore their inner turkey (as I did above) or you can let them fly on their own.

Either way, the owner of these turkey handprints (Corbin) was pretty proud of his creation. I should say that one year when Josiah was very young I created a whole little set of Turkey HandPrint cards to send to friends and family for Thanksgiving.

Another fun turkey craft uses some of Fall’s beauty.

Cousin Maddie created her turkey using a pile of fall leaves, scrapbook paper and glue. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

If you want more Turkey inspired crafts consider these ideas.

This Turkey Marionette is adorable. I’m anxious to try this one. Origami lovers will enjoy making this Origami Turkey.

Take advantage of those pine cones in the backyard. These Pine Cone Turkeys are just plain cute.

This turkey craft is easy peasy. It just uses toilet paper rolls and paint chips.

Nothing beats wearing a turkey on your head (or so I’ve heard). Try this Turkey Hat!

These turkey puppets made from cereal boxes look so fun. Can you imagine the plays waiting to be written?

Here in the Ozarks our leaves are just plain gorgeous right now. However, I am sure that before Thanksgiving the trees will have mostly lost their leaves. There are many ways to preserve some of  that loveliness. We preserved real ones by using a paraffin wax method.

Here are several Leaf Craft projects to try. Try these Salt Dough Leaf impressions. They are sure to make an ‘impression’!

These Fall Leaf Sun Catchers would be gorgeous hanging from a window.

It doesn’t get any cuter than this Fall Leaf Fingerpainted Bunting.

Thanksgiving wouldn’t be the same without Pumpkin Pie. Our Crafters created darling little pumpkins made out of coffee filters.

Corey took time with his leaves as well as his pumpkins. They are bright and colorful.

Courtney loved curling the ribbon to make the curly pumpkin stems. This is an easy peasy craft that uses items from the kitchen!

I think these little pumpkins would be just adorable as place settings for a Thanksgiving table. You could also fill them with candy instead of the tissue paper. Find the instructions here.

Here are a few more craft ideas for the Thanksgiving Table.

This woven Paper Placemat is just darling. I also love this Turkey Placemat. It simply takes paper and paint. I would laminate as well.  How cute would these adorable Kid’s Art Luminaries look on a Thanksgiving table?

Do you have a separate kids table for Thanksgiving? This blog post  has some of the cutest ideas for fixing up a kids table.

Don’t forget to include some Historical Crafts in all of your Thanksgiving doings!

We made adorable Indian corn using Legos as stamps! So easy.

I am in love with this Pilgrim Bonnet.  I think these corn husk dolls are just precious. They might take a bit of time, but just imagine the smiles. Here are instructions to make a Pilgrim village with clothespin dolls.

Use this site for inspiration to make a Wigwam. If you are really ambitious you can try this life- sized one. This wigwam uses pipe cleaners and felt.

Your Thanksgiving crafting wouldn’t be complete without a Mayflower craft. This site is filled with Mayflower crafts of about every age group and persuasion.

We don’t want to neglect Giving Thanks and developing that Attitude of Gratitude. Some of my favorite crafts do just that.

We always put a Blessings Tree in our hallway. Last year I cut leaves out of old sheet music. I put the leaves in a basic along with a marker. Everyday we added to the tree.

This Seeds of Gratitude Tree is a wonderful idea. If you have littles this Thankful Thanksgivings Turkey is just perfect. The whole family could contribute to this Thankful Turkey Box. 

No matter the craft or activity just take time to enjoy your family! You don’t to spend a lot of money or gather elaborate supplies. Just create and savor this season of Gratitude. 

Rebekah Teague is a homeschooling Mama of one creative and highly-entertaining son. She has been married to The Muffin Man who is a pastor and a great guy. She resides in the Ozark Mountains and blogs at There Will Be a $5 Charge For Whining.