Thanksgiving Crafts of The Week

The leaves are still falling here in Southeast Michigan after a remarkably warm fall. It’s always tough in The Midwest to get into the spirit of the holidays when snow is nowhere in sight - so we’re dreaming and planning up a host of activities to drop onto the calendar to help in growing our holiday cheer.

I’ve included in our list a couple of the standard go-tos from my own childhood, as well as, a few new ones that look like too much fun to not try out!

Thanksgiving Craft Ideas

And if you’re reading this and thinking to yourself “Why did I search for this? I don’t want to do crafts - I want to just sit down.” Girl, I feel you. Check out our Home Alone & Home Alone 2 Marathon Guide!

Handprint Turkey

• Age: Toddlers and preschoolers

• Time: 15-30 minutes

• Materials: Brown construction paper, paint, googly eyes, feathers, glue, and a marker.

• Instructions: Let your child make a handprint on the brown paper for the turkey's body. Cut out a beak and wattle from construction paper and glue them on. Add googly eyes and feathers. Use a marker to draw the turkey's legs.

Paper Plate Turkey

• Age: Preschoolers and kindergarteners

• Time: 20-30 minutes

• Materials: Paper plate, construction paper, markers, googly eyes, feathers, glue, and scissors.

• Instructions: Cut out a beak and wattle from construction paper and glue them to the top of the paper plate. Add googly eyes and feathers. Use a marker to draw the turkey's legs and tail feathers.

Leaf People

• Age: Preschoolers and kindergarteners

• Time: 30 minutes

• Materials: Collected leaves, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, markers, and glue.

• Instructions: Let your child decorate the leaves with markers. Glue on googly eyes and use pipe cleaners for arms and legs.

Gratitude Garland

• Age: All ages

• Time: 30-45 minutes

• Materials: Construction paper, markers, scissors, and string.

• Instructions: Cut out leaves from construction paper. Let your child write or draw something they are thankful for on each leaf. Punch holes in the leaves and string them together to make a garland.

Turkey Finger Puppets

• Age: Toddlers and preschoolers

• Time: 20-30 minutes

• Materials: Brown construction paper, paint, googly eyes, feathers, glue, and scissors.

• Instructions: Let your child make a handprint on the brown paper for the turkey's body. Cut out a beak and wattle from construction paper and glue them on. Add googly eyes and feathers. Cut out slits for the fingers to go through.

These are just a few ideas to get you started. There are many other fun and creative Thanksgiving crafts that you can do with your kids. Have fun and enjoy the holiday!