Easy, quick Thanksgiving craft ideas and Thanksgiving activities for kids are fun for children but the whole family. This year is coming to a close so quickly, that Thanksgiving is almost here! Some great ideas for Thanksgiving activities for kids that we have come up for you are not just entertaining ideas but also helps them to learn a lot from it, especially evolving their creativity and develop their motor skill.
Thanksgiving Activities For Children
1. Paper Turkey for Thanksgiving Craft Activity:
Materials Needed:
- Tissue paper
- Scissors
- Glue
- Brush
- Paper Plate
- Brown, orange, and red paper
- Black marker
Instructions to make:
i. First, begin by putting multiple colored sheets of tissue paper together and then cut out a leaf shape by keeping on top of each other. Kids will need an adult’s supervision for this task.
ii. Take some glue and have the kids to use a paintbrush to smear glue all over the paper plate on the front side. Now, ask the kids to stick the tissue paper pieces on the plate by facing outwards as shown in the picture.
iii. Cut out an “8” shaped with the bottom faster than the top as a turkey’s body. Define the facial features with the colored paper as shown for eyes, beak, and snood. Glue on two cute little feet and your turkey is ready!
Kids love such simple and colorful fun Thanksgiving activities. They can display this art in their school or the walls of the room.
2. Paper Plate and yarn woven Turkey Thanksgiving Activity for kids:
Materials Needed:
- Paper plate
- Paint
- Paintbrush
- Yarn (any bright colors)
- Cardstock- brown, red and orange (You can also use craft foam)
- Wiggly eyes
- Tape
- Glue
Instructions to make:
i. First, ask the kid to cut the paper plate in half.
ii. Next, supervise while you have them to cut slits along the outside edge of the paper plate. The slit has to be about an inch and half-width and a deep slit down till you reach the inside bifurcation circle of the paper plate.
iii. Now, have the kid to paint the front of the paper plate with a brown color. Allow it to dry thoroughly.
iv. Stick one end of the yarn (can start with any color) onto the back of the paper plate. Start from the bottom of the slits or the cuts. Wrap the yarn while turning your paper plate over and weaving the yarn in and out of the slits as shown in the picture to make the turkey feathers as colorful as possible.
v. When you are done weaving the feathers, secure the other end of the yarn by sticking it onto the back of the paper plate.
vi. Now spread out the yarn for all the slits. Or have the yarn pressed down to get the weaving close together throughout the slits.
vii. With a brown paper, cut out a turkey head as shown in the picture. Add the detailing to it with an orange and red cardstock for the beak and snood. Add the wiggly eyes to the turkey head and then glue the turkey head onto your paper plate below the weaving.
This multi-colored craft activity with the yarn is totally perfect for the Thanksgiving kids’ activities. Although if you struggle to find the colorful yarn, use any one solid color yarn. To make it special for Thanksgiving, the fall colors like reds, oranges or yellows gives a perfect look.
3. A Veggie Turkey Salad for Thanksgiving Activities for Children:
Materials Needed:
- Paintbrush
- Sliced long bell peppers – combination of red, green, orange and yellow
- A small round cup of any dip (like ranch veggie dip or mayonnaise or hummus)
- Baby carrot
- 2 capers (or any nut to make the eyes of Turkey)
- A small extra slice of red bell pepper for the snood of Turkey
- A kitchen knife (adults to supervise children and let them follow the instructions safely).
Instructions to make:
i. Take a plain white plate and have the kid your container of dip in the bottom (more towards the center) of the plate to make the turkey’s head.
ii. With the knife, from the baby carrot, slice 1 triangle beak. Also, slice 2 legs as shown in the picture out of the carrot. Place them on the plate at their position.
iii. Use the capers for the eyes right above the beak area and place the red bell pepper slice near the beak to make its snood(R).
iv. Now is the best part for the kids to arrange the slices of bell pepper all over the head of the container of the dip to make it resemble the turkey feathers.
Your turkey salad is ready! Can you believe how quick and simple was this activity for the kids?! And also, how the kids would also love to eat the salad even though they might not really like it otherwise? This makes a healthy children Thanksgiving activity.
4. Beaded Feathers Turkey Thanksgiving Activity for Kids:
Materials Needed:
- Cardboard tube with a height of three inches. You can use any can or material from your home for this.
- Pipe cleaner
- Beading colorful pasta or any plastic beads
- Wiggly eyes
- Glue
Instructions to make:
i. Start off by asking the kid to paint the cardboard tube brown or any can by painting it or sticking a brown paper to it for the same look as shown. This cylindrical thing becomes the body of the turkey. And while this is kept aside to dry, we must complete the other below steps.
ii. Take pieces pipe cleaners about six inches length each (cut a longer one if you have). You will need total 5 such pieces of pipe cleaners. Encourage your kids to bead this cleaner pipe with pasta or the plastic bead, and teach them to make it colorful. You might need about twelve small beads to feed each of the pipe cleaners. Remember to keep some gaps in order to shape it. If you feed in extra then it gets difficult to shape it to resemble the feather.
iii. After finishing the 5 beaded pipe cleaners, shape them into feather pattern as shown in the picture by bending them at the middle a little and securing their ends by twisting it together.
iv. Now, with the glue or the hot glue gun, which must be supervised by the adults for smaller kids, stick the beaded tail feathers at the back of the card board tube only after it is completely dry.
v. Now, arrange the beaded feathers at the back of the tube evenly such that they overlap a little bit over some
vi. Once the glue has dried and the feathers are stuck neatly to the body of the turkey, your time to add the detailing to it. Complete the turkey attaching a very small piece of yellow pipe cleaner or a paper cutting to make the beak. Then similarly its nose with a red pipe cleaner or a paper cutting.
vii. Once done, stick the wiggly eyes to have you Turkey craft ready and beautifully colorful.
This is a very creative kid thanksgiving activity which can be placed wither in the kitchen table anywhere else for the display to enjoy during the holiday season.
5. Turkey Handprint Message as a fun Thanksgiving Activity for Kids:
Materials Needed:
- A plain white paper
- Paint
- Brush
- Wiggly eye
- Marker pen
Instructions to make:
i. Take the plain white paper and place it on the working surface for the kid.
ii. Ask them to mix the brown paint and apply it evenly on one of their palm quickly such that it does not dry off.
iii. Once done, quickly place that palm firmly on the paper such that it imprints the brown color on your hand completely on the paper. Help the kid to wash off the hand clean.
iv. Let the paint dry on the paper, after which you can attach one wiggly eye on the thumbprint as shown to act as the turkey’s head
v. Paint a small paper orange and cut a proper small triangle for the nose. Stick it near the thumb as shown.
vi. Next add a small piece of the red paper to form its snood and your personalized turkey is ready.
vii. Have the kid to write some thanks message on this paper and give it to someone special.
Such a special gift and makes a brilliant Thanksgiving activity for the kids.
6. Pumpkin Seed Painting:
Materials Needed:
- Pumpkin seeds
- Colors
- Paintbrush
- Plain white paper
- Glue
Instructions to make:
i. Take the pumpkin seeds and place it on a surface for the kid (try to cover the surface with a waste cloth or a paper). Using the color paint and brush, paint the surface of the pumpkin seed with a color. Once dry turn them upside down and paint the other side of the pumpkin seed.
ii. Repeat this with 4-5 different colors. (you can have about 6-7 seeds of the same color depending on how big and dense you want your tree painting to look.)
iii. Next, keeping the seeds aside to dry, on the white paper, draw the tree trunk and add a lot of branches to it with a brown color.
iv. With the glue, once the pumpkin seeds are dry, stick them to the paper on the branch with the tip facing inside as shown in the picture. You can make the craft more colorful and dense with added pumpkin seeds.
Not only will the kids enjoy doing Thanksgiving Activity but also happily display it in their room.
