Thanksgiving Craft Ideas for Kids

Tap to Read ➤ Harshada Kekare

Thanksgiving is not only a holiday to be grateful for all that we have, but a day to sit down as a family and create artwork that is befitting for the season. Adults can help kids out in preparing the craft ideas mentioned here.

Easter. Christmas. Hanukkah. Thanksgiving. All these holidays are the perfect time to try a hand at craft-making. Whether you're a grownup or a child, there's never a dull moment when it comes to making decorative items from scratch.

The craft ideas here are incredibly simple to put together, and the materials that each one needs to be bought prior to making them. Be sure to supervise younger kids as they sit down to make the Thanksgiving crafts, so that they don't ingest anything or hurt themselves. The crafts once completed can be displayed at home for all to see and appreciate.

Simple Thanksgiving Craft Ideas for Kids

There are all kinds of crafts that you can create by using the elements of Thanksgiving. Let's take a look at some cool, fun ideas on how to create decorative artwork from at home.

Pumpkin Turkey

What You'll Need ♦ Small pumpkin ♦ One sheet of crimped cardboard ♦ One sheet of ordinary cardboard ♦ Box cutter ♦ Carving tool (mini knife) ♦ Pencil ♦ Strong glue ♦ Printout of a turkey (side head pose and wings for tracing) ♦ Asian fan ♦ Poster colors (brown, red, orange, and black)

Instructions Take the pumpkin and carve three deep, wide grooves where the wings, head, and tail feathers will be wedged (refer to image for placement). Make sure they're at least 3 inches deep.

Crimped cardboard comes with a textured, uneven surface that can be used to make the wings. Trace the outline of the turkey's wings using the printout for reference, over the crimped cardboard (if you can't find crimped cardboard, a paper crimper tool will come in handy) with the pencil.

Don't worry about the uneven outline; use the box cutter (or a pair of sharp scissors) to cut out the shape of the wing. Place the wing cutout against the crimped cardboard sheet surface to create your other wing. You'll need four in total; glue two wing cutouts together for added thickness.

Draw the head of the turkey using the printout as reference (you can puncture the outline of the turkey's head using a pencil, while placing the printout over the cardboard sheet to get an identical look), using the box cutter to carefully cut out its head. Cut out another cardboard turkey head and glue the two pieces together.

The wings and the head should have a sharp end so that it can be driven into the groove. Snip off the ends in an angular fashion to create a sharp tip. Place the wings in the grooves along with the head, making the cuts in the pumpkin deeper if they don't stay in place.

If the Asian fan you have is too big, snip off the excess and bring it down to size - color of the fan doesn't count - and place it within a groove at the back of the pumpkin. Color the wings with the brown poster paint and add details to the turkey using black, red, and orange. Let it dry completely before putting it up on display.

Clay Cornucopia

What You'll Need ♦ Play dough set (with carving tools) ♦ Brown paper bag ♦ Dark brown cardstock (1 medium-sized sheet) ♦ Glue

Instructions Roll, slice, carve, and manipulate the play dough to make interesting little shapes that will form the fruits and vegetables to be placed within the cornucopia. Make sure they're medium-sized models and not tiny.

For the cornucopia, place the brown paper bag in an upright position and turn the mouth of the bag like the collar of a shirt. Turn the mouth of the bag in two neat folds and press lightly to help it keep its shape.

On the reverse side of the paper bag, tear an opening through the center and then gather the ends, twisting it in an outward spiral. Firmly curl the end, adding tape to the tip to help the cone keep its cornucopia shape.

Take the brown cardstock and fold it in the adjacent direction until you have a cone shape (tape the ends as the cone takes shape), cut off the excess cardstock around the cone's mouth to get a rounded shape. Place it within the brown paper bag, cutting off any cardstock that peaks off its circumference.

Glue the cardstock cone into the paper bag so that the two form a well-rounded cornucopia. Place the play dough food models within the cornucopia and keep it on display at the center of the dinner table. Tip: You can use poster paint to add real-life detailing to the fruits and vegetables using oil or poster paints.

Clay Turkeys

What You'll Need ♦ Play dough set (with carving tools) ♦ Maple leaves ♦ Feathers ♦ Small pebbles ♦ Toothpicks ♦ Wiggly eyes (optional) ♦ Stapler

Instructions You can make either of the two kinds of turkeys featured in the images here, or both. For the first kind, create your turkey using the image as reference. Make the parts of the turkey separately and attach each one using toothpicks. Snip the toothpicks down to size so that they don't jut out.

For the eyes, you can use pebbles by sinking each one into the corners of the turkey's head, or buy a pack of wiggly eyes for a cartoon-y effect. Place two maple leaves together, stapling the bottom ends.

Drive a toothpick behind the turkey through the stapled maple leaves, securing them in place by adding play dough around the punctured hole. Make sure the clay turkey is big enough to support the maple leaves, or feathers for the second type of clay turkey.

Clay Indians and Palm Turkey

What You'll Need ♦ Play dough model (with carving tools) ♦ Crayons, felt tip pens, poster colors, or markers ♦ Toothpick ♦ A4 size paper

Instructions For the Indian play dough models, use the given image as reference making sure put the carving tools to use for the little details. Use the toothpick to make little holes for eyes and add little grooves to make tiny mouths.

The palm turkey is an easy one to make, using the palm of one's hand to trace its outline before adding the little details and colors that go into making it look like a turkey.

Hold your hand sideways against the surface of the paper before tracing it out, so that it looks like the feathers are off to one side. Feel free to use colored feathers, wiggly eyes, or craft paper to add 3D detailing to the palm turkey.

Creating different artworks that go hand in hand with Thanksgiving is not only engaging but a fascinating process to bring mere craft materials to life. Be sure to check out a ton of other ways on how you can turn ordinary items into works of art.