When I came down to write this post, I found a surprise my daughter left for me. She drew me a gorgeous picture, and titled it “For Mama”. My kids love doing crafts, and I often get these sweet little drawings or paper art projects on my desk. So I put together these 3 easy Thanksgiving craft projects for my kids.
We have a well-stocked craft supply closet, a basket full of markers, crayons and colored pencils, and a box full of paper they can use in their art. As much as they will pull out the scissors and glue and spontaneously create, they love it even more when I direct them through a craft.
Try these easy Thanksgiving crafts with your kids.
1. Handprint (Pinecone) Turkey
Materials Needed:
- construction paper
- red pompoms
- gold glitter glue
- large pine cones (or paper cups)
- scissors
- white glue
- large googly eyes
Instructions
- Trace your child’s handprints on 3-6 colors of construction paper. Cut them out.
- Arrange handprints in a “fan” shape and glue together.
- Glue base of pine cone (or rim of paper cup) to handprint fan.
- Cut out two small triangles from yellow construction paper. Then cut out an S-shape out of red construction paper.
- Glue “beak” and “wattle” (triangles and S-shape) to top of pine cone (or base of cup). And glue googly eyes on to create face.
- Glue two red pom poms on bottom of pine cone (or cup) to create “feet”. Position them so that your turkey won’t rock.
- Decorate pine cone (or cup) with gold glitter glue.
2. Leafy Trees
Materials
- construction paper
- tissue paper
- scissors
- glue stick
- white glue
- unsharpened pencil
Instructions
- Cut out a bare tree from brown construction paper, and glue onto a blue or green construction paper.
- Cut red, yellow, brown, and orange tissue paper into 1″ squares
- Wrap a square of tissue paper around the eraser end of a pencil. Dip gently into white glue and stick onto the tree.
- Repeat step 3 with tissue paper. Decorate the branches of the tree and the ground beneath it.
- Let dry before displaying.
3. Gratitude Placemat
Materials
- Gratitude tracing sheet or blank piece of paper.
- Ruler
- Pencil (optional)
- Black felt tip pen
- Contact paper
- Construction paper
- Scotch tape
- Autumn themed stickers or small leaves cut out of construction paper
Instructions
- Lay two pieces of construction paper side by side and tape together.
- Print off tracing sheet and trace with felt pen.
- (Optional alternative): use ruler to create lines on your blank piece of paper, and write your own gratitude list, prayer or poem in pencil. Then trace over in felt pen.
- Glue your gratitude poem in the middle of your construction paper, over top of the taped seam.
- Use your stickers or construction paper leaves to decorate the rest of your placemat.
- Measure your contact paper to be 1/2″ larger than the taped construction paper, on all sides. Cut two sheets, exactly the same size.
- Peel off the paper of one sheet of contact paper, and lay flat.
- Position your construction paper in the center of your contact paper, with 1/2″ of contact paper showing on all sides. Press firmly, and smooth out any bubbles.
- Peel off the paper of the 2nd sheet of contact paper, and carefully lay it on top of the first, with the construction paper in the middle. Use the ruler to smooth out any bubbles.
- Trim excess.
Making crafts can be fun
Whether you let your kids create their own imaginative projects, or you use pre-designed activities, make crafts with your kids. You’ll make more than just the crafts, you’ll make memories. And making crafts with your kids is more fun than you think.
For more on family fun, read: Why family traditions are important
