Crafts are a great way to really bring traditions to life for children in a fun way. I have scoured the internet to find a perfect craft to convey two important things, (1) a visual countdown to thanksgiving and (2) a spirit of gratitude in the thanksgiving tradition. Since I didn’t exactly find the perfect craft on someone else’s blog, I came up with this one:
Not only are these turkeys easy and fun to make, but they also bring a special tradition. We made them ten days before Thanksgiving, so we made ten feathers. We will take the feathers off one-by-one every day leading up to the holiday while going around the table and telling one another what we are thankful for. On Thanksgiving, we will look over all of our feathers, as a reminder of our many blessings.
While the two-year-old doesn’t quite get this concept yet, our four-year-old loves count down crafts like this and really grasps the idea of giving thanks even if she is most thankful for cookies and toys at this point in her life… It’s a start, right? And they both just might surprise me with their answers as the days go on. On our first day, my four-year-old was thankful for meatloaf, Mommy, and her little brother while my toddler was thankful for grandma. Not a bad start.
Supplies:
- A combination of craft foam, construction paper, and scrapbooking paper
- Googly eyes
- Toilet paper tube
- Glue and scissors
Instructions:
Just take some craft foam, construction paper, or scrapbook paper to cut out a turkey body, feathers, and features then glue it all together as above. Under 4s will probably need you to cut everything out while those 4 and over may be more adept at doing it all themselves with less guidance. When you are done, and the glue is dry, glue the whole thing to a toilet paper tube, so it stands up for display.
And here are a few more Thanksgiving crafts from around the web (with links to instructions of course) that are simple and require only basic supplies:
Toilet paper tube puppets from Making Learning Fun
My daughter had a lot of fun coloring, cutting and gluing this craft.
Thanksgiving centerpiece from Free Kids Crafts
I can’t wait to do this one with both kids.
Paper Bag Turkey from DesignBoom
Another mom project but a fun surprise to keep the kids happy while they wait for the real turkey to be done.
Let me add that my children absolutely love crafting but have no fear if your children enjoy gluing walls more than turkeys. You can always check our Thanksgiving Pinterest Board for printable thanksgiving coloring pages, dot to dots, mazes, and more all for free online. As for those who enjoy coloring walls more than paper, well, I am not much help there…
What are you crafting this season? Comment to share some of your ideas.
By Kristy K.
Round Lake
Kristy is the mother of two young children, who join in her quest for unique restaurants, fun places to play and a little personal sanity in the process. She does her best to teach her children healthy habits, kindness, compassion and a love of nature while also learning that sometimes we need to let go of our ideals in the name of fun.
Cute scrapbook paper turkey! My SIL made us all wear those hats a few Thanksgivings ago. We also did Indian headbands, you got to decide which you wanted to be.
Love to craft every season! Thanks for these great ideas – seen that paper turkey all over the blog world and I may just have to make one 🙂