3 Easy DIY Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids to Make

DIY Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids: The Benefits of Crafting

There are many benefits to making your own holiday crafts. Here are just a few of the reasons to do these crafts this holiday season:

• You save money by entertaining your children with these easy crafts.
• Paper crafts are a fun and peaceful kind of entertainment.
• Making crafts with your family is often more special than sitting around watching television.
• Creating something from scratch takes time; this is quality time that you can treasure.
• It’s simple. You don’t have to get an artist to create these crafts. A child could do it easily, so you are able to make these items just as easily as your kids.
• It's a good lesson for kids who are getting caught up in material things. They will have fun making these crafts and will get a glimpse of what the world used to be like without what it has today. In other words, allow your kids to see what technology used to be like.

3 Fun Thanksgiving Paper Crafts for Kids

1. A Simple, Curious Turkey
2. Colored Construction Paper Turkey
3. My Wooden-Legged Turkey

1. A Simple, Curious Turkey

This simple craft is so easy that anyone can do it! You can make it your own with different words, eye colors, varying the shapes, etc. The best thing is to let your creative side run wild!

Materials

• Cheap, store-bought googly eyes (or draw them in yourself with a black Sharpie marker)
• Colored construction paper (I used red, orange, yellow, and brown)
• Scissors
• A black Sharpie marker (Optional: Use it to write the things you’re thankful for outside of the turkey)
• Elmer’s glue, a glue stick, or double-stick tape

Instructions

1. Cut a small, potato-shaped turkey out of brown construction paper or brown paper (construction paper is the better choice because of the sturdiness). See the picture of the craft for a better explanation of the shape of the turkey.
2. Next, cut half of a circle in the colors red, orange, and yellow (or whatever colors you wish to use), bearing in mind the sizes you will need (see picture for help with the sizes): yellow should be bigger than the turkey’s body; orange should outline the orange; red should be the largest half-circle of them all.
3. Then, cut a tiny, oval-shaped object out of the red construction paper for the turkey’s face.
4. Finally, cut tiny little feet for the turkey out of orange or yellow construction paper.
5. Now you have everything you need to make the craft. Glue the eye on the left or right of the turkey’s face like he or she is looking to the left or right.
6. For the rest of the shapes that you need to put together, I suggest using a glue stick, but Elmer’s glue should work just as well. If you are in a rush, the double-stick tape will work just fine.
7. Let your children sign the back of their art and add the year.
8. Place it on the dinner table for the family to enjoy for Thanksgiving dinner!

Alternative Ideas for This Craft

• Allow the child to get creative and write the things he or she is thankful for on the turkey’s feathers.
• Make the turkey a wild child with crazy colors or shapes.
• Use real craft feathers for the back of the turkey.
• Make a black top hat for the turkey.
• Use your and your child’s imagination and sense of adventure to make the crafts as special as you want them to be! It’s all about having fun and bonding in a good old-fashioned way!

2. Colored Construction Paper Turkey

This one is really funny and fun to make with all of the colors in the weird feathers. He got huge googly eyes and goofy skinny legs. This craft is made with creativity. Go with the flow, and you’ll see it’s enjoyable to create! Just have a blast making the turkey, and it will just be your own design.

Materials

• Cheap, large, store-bought googly eyes (or draw them in yourself with a black Sharpie marker)
• Colored construction paper (I used red, orange, yellow, brown, purple, pink, and blue)
• Scissors
• Paper plate
• A black Sharpie marker (Optional: Use it to write the things you’re thankful for on the feathers of the turkey)
• Elmer’s glue, a glue stick, or double-stick tape

Instructions

1. Cut out two circles from the brown construction paper. Make one as large as the foam plate, and using your preferred method of sticking (glue or tape), stick the two items together. I used double stick tape, but Elmer’s glue would probably hold the two together better. For the smaller circle, make it the approximate size of the one in the sample. It’s for the turkey’s head. Affix it to the body of the turkey by using your favorite sticking method—glue or tape.
2. Cut two skinny (or how you want them to be) legs out of the brown construction paper and affix them to the turkey’s body either by glue or tape. I would attach them to the body by using regular Scotch tape.
3. Attach the big eyes with Elmer’s glue (or double-stick tape works well, but make sure you use the exact size).
4. Cut a small triangle out of the yellow or orange for his nose (affix it with a glue stick for the best results), and cut a potato-sized shape out of red and attach it to the nose like the picture shows (again, use a glue stick for the best results.
5. Finally, for the fun part: cut out stripes of all the colors you have gathered for this turkey (except the brown). Fold each strip in half and affix it to the back of the turkey all around his body and head. To attach it, use tape or glue; regular Scotch tape would probably hold the best of all the methods.
6. Let your children sign the back of their art and add the year.

An Alternative Colored Construction Paper Turkey

• This one uses lots of different colors! It doesn’t have to be the ones I used. Go wild and pick out your own colors; it will still look cool!
• Make the turkey a wild child with crazy colors or shapes.
• Use real craft feathers for the back of the turkey.
• For each of the colored feathers, allow your child to write something he or she is thankful for.

3. My Wooden-Legged Turkey

This old-fashioned craft is a turkey with wooden legs!

Materials

• Cheap, large, store-bought googly eyes (or draw them in yourself with a black Sharpie marker)
• Colored construction paper (I used red, orange, yellow, black, and brown)
• Scissors
• Clothes pins (I used two brown ones)
• A black Sharpie marker (Optional: Use it to write the things you’re thankful for on the feathers of the turkey)
• Elmer’s glue, a glue stick, or double stick tape

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Instructions

1. Gather your materials.
2. Cut out the feathers with red, orange, and yellow; cut out the body of the turkey with brown; cut out the head of the turkey with black; cut out the nose with yellow or orange and the gobbler with red.
3. Attach the feathers to the brown body using tape or glue.
4. Attach the head of the turkey to the body of the turkey with Elmer’s glue.
5. Using a glue stick, attach the facial features to the face, except the eyes; attach the eyes with Elmer’s glue.
6. Attach brown, wooden clothes pins to the body for the turkey’s legs.
7. Let your children sign the back of their art and add the year.
8. Give it to cooks so they can display them this thanksgiving on the dinner table.

An Alternative Idea for My Wooden-Legged Turkey Craft

• Allow the child to get creative and write the things he or she is thankful for on the turkey’s feathers.
• Make the turkey a wild child with crazy colors or shapes.
• Use real craft feathers for the back of the turkey.
• Make a black top hat for the turkey.
• Use your and your child’s imagination and sense of adventure to make the crafts as special as you want them to be! It’s all about having fun and bonding in a good old-fashioned way!

Thanksgiving Is a Great Time to Do Fun Crafts With the Kids

Thanksgiving is all about spending time with those you love. It’s all about being thankful for the things you value in your life. It’s also a great time to do fun stuff with the kids (or even the adults) who share your Turkey Day with you. These simple crafts are very easy and affordable to make and even more enjoyable to play with once done or to just show off with the rest of the family!

Comments

Michele Kelsey (author) from Edmond, Oklahoma on January 02, 2020:

Rebecca,

So glad you stopped by. I love that one too. I've been doing crafts with my nieces and I like trying new things. That one is especially original because I rarely have seen crafts made by kids with clothespins. I thought it was pretty cute too! I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to share the post to anyone who has kids and loves to do crafts; they can probably create something for whatever holiday is around the corner using the same directions.

For example, Valentine's Day is coming up so instead of a turkey, the kids could make little cupids or heart people with clothespins that are painted red. I don't know; have fun with it.

Thanks for voting!

Michele

Rebecca Mealey from Northeastern Georgia, USA on December 22, 2019:

What adorable ideas for kids to do at Thanksgiving. I voted for the turkey with wooden legs. Too cute!

Michele Kelsey (author) from Edmond, Oklahoma on November 24, 2018:

Eniela,

Thank you for the comment! I am hoping that families (especially those with children who are bored) can enjoy doing paper crafts like how we did it once upon a time! lol. That was before cell phones and Netflix! lol. I just think stuff like this is fun to do! Hope you are able to do something like this! Happy Thanksgiving!

Michele Kelsey

Eniela on November 22, 2018:

Nice ideas for Thanksgiving :)