young boy wearing a construction paper turkey headband and carrying a thanksgiving basket

Thanksgiving is on Thursday, November 23, and with it comes thoughts of juicy turkey, mashed potatoes, apple pie, and so much more. Celebrate this upcoming festive holiday with fun Thanksgiving crafts that you can do with your kids. From centerpieces and pictures to place cards and gifts, you can display your kids’ talents at your Thanksgiving gathering.

Pumpkin Patch Apple Stamping

With just some paint and apples, you can create your own fun pumpkin patches with this stamping craft.

You will need:

  • Apples
  • Washable orange paint
  • Paint brush
  • Watercolors
  • Canvas
  • Markers
  • Paper plate

Directions:

  1. Watercolor the background: Choose two to three colors for the background of your pumpkin patch, such as brown or green or even pink and purple.
  2. Slice an apple right through the core and stem.
  3. Pour orange paint onto the paper plate.
  4. Press the apple into the paint, and then stamp the canvas.
  5. Once dried, draw stems and vines with markers, pipe cleaner, or ribbon. You can even add googly eyes.
  6. Dry and hang.

Handprint Candy Corn Turkey

This is a fun and yummy spin on the old-school turkey handprint craft. This is an easy project for toddlers but older kids will also enjoy it, especially if they know they can sneak a treat.

You will need:

  • Paper
  • Crayons, markers, or colored pencils
  • Candy corn
  • Glue

Directions:

  1. Trace your child’s hand to create a turkey outline, drawing a line where the fingers meet the hand.
  2. Tell your child to color in the main part of the hand. They can also add sequins, gems, or other crafting supplies to make it unique.
  3. Instruct your child to fill in the fingers with candy corn as turkey feathers.

Turkey Gourd Centerpieces

This one’s fairly easy. If you have some colorful gourds in your home, or even if you have to buy them at your local farm stand, grab a few and start getting crafty. You need a glue gun, and you’ll have to do the actual gluing, but you can all get silly adding googly eyes, feathers, and ribbon to each gourd.

Each one will have a distinct funny personality, and you can have your child decorate the Thanksgiving table with them. You can put a few in the center of the table, or add one at each place setting, personalized for each guest.

Turkey Favor Bags

This bag project will keep your little ones busy as you prepare the Thanksgiving feast. You can make a few for centerpieces or you can have your child make several to use as favor bags for guests. This is a great way to mark assigned seats at the holiday dinner table. Just mark each one with the guest’s name and place it at their seat.

You will need:

  • Paper bags
  • Scissors
  • Colored cardstock
  • Glue or glue dots
  • Surprise to go inside

Directions:

  1. Cut basic shapes out of cardstock to make turkey feathers, eyeballs, beak, and wattle.
  2. Fill each bag with a surprise such as popcorn or candy.
  3. Fold the top of the bag about an inch, gluing it to stay down.
  4. Glue on all the turkey shape parts.
  5. Add a rectangle at the bottom with each guest’s name on it.

Painted Rocks and Leaves

Adorn your Thanksgiving table with painted rocks and leaves customized by your kids.

You will need:

  • Acrylic paint
  • Paintbrushes
  • Pine cones
  • Rocks
  • Pressed leaves

Directions:

  1. Paint each rock a solid color. Make enough to spell out your message, such as “Give Thanks.” Let dry.
  2. Paint each letter onto each rock.
  3. Press the leaves first by putting them under a pile of heavy books. This will ensure they won’t curl up or wrinkle when on the table.
  4. Paint each leaf a different color and let dry.
  5. Paint the pine cones with a smaller brush to get into the nooks and crannies. Let dry.
  6. Arrange the rocks, pine cones, and leaves in the middle of your table to form a colorful centerpiece.

With so many festive Thanksgiving crafts to try this holiday season, you will never be at a loss for ways to get creative with the kiddos. Happy Thanksgiving to your family from Country Home Learning Center!

Schedule a Tour of Country Home Learning Center Today

We love to do crafts here Country Home Learning Center and believe there is a great value in helping kids be creative no matter how young or old they are. To tour one of our eight convenient locations, contact us today. We would be happy to show you how creative our little ones get, from toddlers to preschoolers and beyond.