*Also posted on FathersofMultiples.com
It's a day of traditions. A day of food. A day of naps.
It seems like Thanksgiving day is getting shorter and shorter each year as Black Friday encroaches more and more on our holiday family time. It's also a day of cooking, A day of cooking. watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and a day of hand turkeys!
Whatever you see Thanksgiving Day as, it's a day of family. Spending time together and being thankful. Why not spend some time with your little ones making some fun Thanksgiving crafts to show them you're thankful they're in your life?
Hand Turkeys
One of the most popular Thanksgiving crafts of all time. Even better, it's simple and makes a wonderful keepsake of your little ones' hand prints. Simply paint their hands and fingers with finger paint, making each finger a different color. Then, stamp their hand print on a piece of paper to form the turkey. Draw a beak, legs, and add an eye to finish.
Popsicle Pilgrim Hat
Paint or color about 11 Popsicle sticks black. Glue 8 of them to a piece of paper vertically. Then, glue the remaining 3 sticks horizontally across the bottom of the other 8. Add a white strip of paper at the top of the 3 horizontal sticks and cut out a yellow square for the center of your white hat band to act as the hat's buckle.
Paper Plate Turkeys
Color a paper plate with fall colors (aka turkey colors). Cut slits around the sides to act as your turkey's feathers. Pick a side of your turkey to be the bottom and cut across, adding legs as you cut. Using brown construction paper, cut out a turkey head and paste it to the center of the plate. Add a beak, eyes, and the red gizzard to complete.
Paper Bag Teepee
Draw Native American symbols, patterns, and imagery onto a paper bag. (A great time to talk about petroglyphs and totems with your kids!) Cut a "door" near the bottom of the bag, then rubber band the opening of the bag a few inches down from the top. Lastly, cut the part sticking up out of the rubber band to split it into the "separate pieces" of the teepee.
Thankful Turkey
A great craft for the whole family. Cut half a plate to act as a turkey body and color it in brown. Use a toilet paper roll as the turkey's head. Add eyes, beak and a red gizzard to the roll. Then, using fall color construction paper, cut out feathers to paste around the plate. Then have the family write something on each feather to show what they are thankful for!
After you spend your day with turkeys, whether it's the bird, the hand crafts, or your little ones themselves, be sure to send us pics of any Thanksgiving crafts you and your family make. We'd love to see them!
For non-Thanksgiving crafts, be sure to see our other craft ideas.