Thanksgiving is the perfect time for spending time with loved ones and appreciating the good things in your life. It’s also a great opportunity for enjoying a cosy afternoon crafting with the kids, making decorations for the home and Thanksgiving table. Here we’ve put together 16 Thanksgiving craft ideas for kids of all ages and the whole family to enjoy.
Make pumpkin lanterns, turn handprints into turkeys, count your blessings with a gratitude paper chain and much more with our guide.
Many of the craft projects in this guide can be made with basic craft supplies or from natural materials you can gather on an autumn walk. Read on for easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids and young at heart.
Easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids
Make Thanksgiving decorations for the home
1. Autumn Leaf Turkey
Kids will love going out on an autumn walk to gather leaves for this collage, which would make a beautiful Thanksgiving decoration for the wall or window. Plus there’s lots of fun to be had choosing different shaped and coloured leaves for the turkey’s feathers!
This craft guide from One Little Project has a free printable template for the turkey shape.
2. Handprint Turkey
This decoration made from children’s handprints will make a beautiful Thanksgiving gift or a keepsake you can reuse year after year. Kids will love the messy fun with the paint and adding personality to the turkeys with googly eyes and different colours for the beak and wattle.
This craft guide from Make Life Lovely has a printable Thanksgiving poem to accompany the turkey handprint.
3. Autumn Leaves Wreath
Get out in the fresh air and gather autumn leaves for this beautiful Thanksgiving wreath. Have fun arranging the colours and shapes, and add extra autumnal touches with pine cones, acorns and perhaps a raffia ribbon.
Make an Autumn Leaves Wreath with Raising Veggie Lovers.
4. Gratefulness Chains
Gather loved ones to count your blessings and write down the things you’re grateful for in your life. Join these blessings together in a paper chain that you can drape around the house or over the Thanksgiving table.
You can download and print strips for making your chain from Carla Schauer.
5. Thankful Turkey
Brighten up a wall or window with a flock of these Thankful Turkeys! This craft project is a lovely way for children to share the good things in their lives with others, and hone their motor skills by cutting out the feather shapes.
This craft guide from A Dab of Glue Will Do has a printable template for the turkey shape.
Easy Autumn crafts for kids
Whether you need to keep the kids entertained or want some fun activities for you all to enjoy, here are some cheap and easy Fall craft ideas to try!
6. Autumn Leaf Suncatchers
Enjoy the beautiful autumn colours of these suncatchers when the sun shines through your window. Kids will love choosing their favourite autumn colour combinations for this project.
This craft guide from The Best Ideas For Kids has a printable template for the leaf shape.
7. Indian Corn Wreath
You’ll need bubble wrap for the cool painting technique that makes this Indian Corn Wreath, which would look amazing on the front door or hung on the wall. And there’s lots of fun to be had popping the bubble wrap afterwards!
Make an Indian Corn Wreath with 123 Home School 4 Me.
Decorate your table with these fun Thanksgiving crafts for kids
8. Painted Pine Cone Turkeys
Take the kids out on an autumn walk to gather pine cones for this simple craft project. These characterful turkeys will look so cute placed between dishes on the Thanksgiving table, or used as place card holders.
A clever Thanksgiving craft project from Life Craft Eat.
9. Gratitude Tree
Create a beautiful centrepiece for the Thanksgiving table with this Gratitude Tree, which your kids can add their blessings to while they’re sat down to dinner. Perhaps go for a walk beforehand to find the perfect branch, then brighten it up with a lick of paint and some ribbons.
Make the Gratitude Tree with Let’s Get Together.
10. Turkey Headbands
This craft project is a great way to make use of leftover card and will provide fun headwear for guests at the dinner table! Kids will love personalising the headband for each guest with jazzy colours and googly eyes.
This guide from Sew Woodsy has a printable template for the headband shape.
11. Gratefulness Rocks
Celebrate the true meaning of Thanksgiving by creating these visual reminders of the good things in our lives. Gather smooth pebbles from the garden or a day out at the beach and sit down with your loved ones to do this wonderful mindfulness activity for the family.
The stones would look great displayed in a shallow bowl or scattered around the Thanksgiving table.
Make Gratefulness Rocks with Teach Kids Art.
Enchanting autumn craft ideas for adults
There's nothing better than cosying up on a rainy evening with a wonderful autumn craft and a hot chocolate. Try these autumn crafts ideas for adults.
12. Pumpkin Pinch Pots
This craft project is a great introduction to clay modelling – a wonderfully slow and tactile activity for little hands. You can pop a candle or LED into the pumpkin pot for a sweet light at the dinner table, or fill it with sweets for a gift.
Learn how to make a Pumpkin Pinch Pot with The Imagination Tree.
13. Gratitude Activity Pages
Here’s something to keep little ones (and even grown ups!) entertained at the dinner table – they can write or draw the things they’re most thankful for. Place pots of crayons around the table and let the magic happen!
This project from Rhythms of Play has printable Gratitude activity pages.
14. Pumpkin Turkeys
A colourful Thanksgiving decoration for the dinner table! Kids will love choosing a mini pumpkin from the grocery shop for this project and gathering leaves for the turkey’s ‘feathers’ on an autumn walk.
Learn how to make a Pumpkin Turkey with Growing Up Bilingual.
15. Jar Leaf Lanterns
Place these pretty lanterns around the home or Thanksgiving table for a magical autumn glow. This project is ideal for making use of old jars, and while the craft guide uses fabric leaves for this project, real leaves can be used, too.
Make Jar Leaf Lanterns with One Little Project.
16. Beaded Indian Corn
These adorable Beaded Corns would look lovely placed around the Thanksgiving table or clustered in a shallow bowl for a colourful centrepiece. This satisfying beading project uses only pipe cleaners and pony beads, and kids will have fun choosing colour combinations for the corn’s kernels!
Make Beaded Indian Corn with One Little Project.
Bring the outdoors in for your Thanksgiving crafts for kids
Many of these Thanksgiving craft projects require only basic craft supplies but can be enhanced with colourful natural materials you can gather on an autumn walk, such as fallen leaves, pine cones and acorns. Get your wellies on and see what you can find!
Are you looking for more autumn crafts for kids?
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