Thanksgiving craft and activity ideas are certainly abundant. But here are some of our picks for ideas that pack that winning combination of being easy, fun, inexpensive and accessible to kids of all ages. Some of them are even educational, too!
1. Make a crafting paradise.
Cover a table with craft paper. Lay out a variety of craft supplies such as string and beads to make necklaces, stamps and stamp pads, colored pencils, crayons, watercolor pants, construction paper and drawing paper, foam shapes and stickers. Add in other interesting and less traditional items such as pine cones, colorful leaves and feathers. Then let the kids have at it!
2. Create feather place mats.
Trace the main plate you will be using on Thanksgiving on cardboard and cut out the circles. Next, take feathers and glue them along the edges of the cardboard circle. Place plates on top of the cardboard circles for a whimsical effect at your dinner table.
3. Host a turkey feather hunt.
Buy a bunch of colorful feathers at a crafts store and hide them around the yard or house to create a Thanksgiving day version of an Easter-egg hunt. Kids can use the feathers they collect to make a Native American headdress using construction paper as the headband.
4. Make guest place cards.
Make or purchase place cards for everyone who will be attending your holiday dinner. Then have your child write one reason he or she is thankful for that guest on the back. Guests can read them aloud to watch your child beam!
5. Design your own placemats.
Have your kids create collages of images cut from magazines of all the things they’re thankful for on sheets of construction paper. Laminate their works at a copy store and use them as place mats.
6. Make hand turkeys.
There are several variations on this family favorite. Have children color the palm of their hand to create a turkey body. Then have them color each finger to create feathers. Finally add an eye and a gobbler to the thumbs to create the turkey neck and head. Alternately, have kids trace their hands onto paper and color them. As a keepsake, you can frame the results from each year to display.
7. Make pine-cone bird feeders.
Pine cones slathered with peanut butter and rolled in birdseed are always a hit. Use string to tie them in a tree.
8. Create a thankful Thanksgiving tree.
Take a large piece of posterboard and have your kids draw a tree trunk and branches on it. Then give them colored construction paper to create “leaves” for the tree. Have them write on each leaf something they are thankful for and then glue or tape the leaves onto the tree. Be sure the messages are simple such as “family” or “love” or even silly but simple such as “X-box.” Hang the tree up for all of your guests to admire!
9. Make a Model of the Mayflower.
For the boat, use one of those cardboard hot coffee holders such as Starbuck’s provides. Glue a popsicle stick to each the front and back of the coffee holder to create two masts. Cut holes in four pieces of rectangular white paper or notecards—two larger and two smaller—to make sails. Thread the paper onto the popsicle sticks. For a more realistic look, be sure the white paper sails bend out a little. Top each mast with a red construction paper flag. Voila! Use the time while constructing to teach your children a little Thanksgiving history!
What Thanksgiving crafts will you do?
Photo Credit: istockphoto.com
