Thanksgiving is coming up! Gratitude is a beautiful and important value to celebrate, so you might be thinking about how to encourage everyone to get in the holiday spirit.
Nothing does the trick quite like getting creative with your decorations, so why not consider some Thanksgiving craft ideas? We have a list of crafts that are easy as they are lovely!
Crafts Made from Paper
1. Turkey Corner Bookmarks
Kids get to enjoy several days away from school in the last week of November, so it’s a great time to encourage reading. Who wouldn’t want to read with a sweet turkey corner bookmark?
Thanks to the printable template, this is one of the easiest Thanksgiving craft ideas to implement. Just get some glue sticks, scissors, and printer paper, then follow the template. It makes a bookmark that fits a page corner so snugly that it’s unlikely to fall off and get lost.
2. Turkey Spinner
The purpose of the season is to think about all your reasons to feel thankful. A turkey spinner is the perfect Thanksgiving craft idea for that.
On the turkey’s construction paper round belly, you can write down something that fills you with a sense of gratitude. Add some googly eyes and use a spinner anchored by a brass fastener. Your turkey is ready to let everyone know what you’re thankful for.
To ensure the craft is doable for anyone, it comes with a printable template. Make multiple turkeys to literally count all your blessings!
3. Paper Cup Turkey
You may need to stock up on lots of small paper cups for the kids anyway, so consider setting a few aside for Thanksgiving craft ideas. These paper cup turkeys are an excellent example!
Although you need several materials besides paper to make these turkeys, the instructions are simple and straightforward.
Color disposable cups with brown acrylic paint. Glue on some construction paper feathers, googly eyes, and a beak. There’s plenty of potential for kids to get imaginative with their choices and make some unique decorations for your home. Plus, it will keep them busy for a while!
4. Paper Bag Turkey
Paper bags have many uses, including serving as materials for Thanksgiving craft ideas. Take this paper bag turkey!
When combined with a white plastic spoon, construction paper feathers, and googly eyes, paper lunch bags work splendidly to make plump, silly turkeys. You could even make a whole family of differently-sized turkeys! Big grocery paper bags can be used for “parents” while lunch bags are great for “children.”
5. Pilgrim Hat Holder
Turkey themes tend to be popular for Thanksgiving craft ideas, so why not shake things up with something different?
This paper pilgrim hat–complete with a glittery band and cute button–is not only adorable, but useful and versatile. For example, it can hold pencils, crayons, or markers for your kids.
If you take one to work, it’s a festive holder for your pens, pencils, and other tools. At home, put a small bouquet of flowers inside and let it grace a hallway or side table.
6. Place Cards
What about when Thanksgiving dinner arrives? You may appreciate Thanksgiving craft ideas that enhance the dining area while helping you stay organized. Customizable place cards are just the ticket.
With just some nice cardstock, you can make place cards that feature lovely designs and the names of your guests. Lay them on the plates or silverware at the spots where you expect each guest to sit.
This way, everyone can settle in and get comfortable with minimal confusion, getting dinner off to a pleasant start.
Crafts Made from Spare or Repurposed Materials
7. Coffee Filter Turkeys
Perhaps you’ve found yourself with more coffee filters than you need at home. Not to worry–cut down on the excess with Thanksgiving craft ideas, like coffee filter turkeys!
Along with coffee filters, you’ll need clothespins, washable markers, brown acrylic paint, googly eyes, glue, scissors, and a little paper.
Coloring the filters in a pattern and then spraying them with water produces a gorgeous tie-dye effect for the turkey’s feathers. From there, it’s just a matter of adding everything else to make the body. Hang them directly to a wall or put them on a string to make streamers!
8. Toilet Paper Roll Turkey
Your household probably accumulates plenty of empty toilet paper rolls on a regular basis. Instead of letting them go to waste, repurpose them for Thanksgiving craft ideas, such as toilet paper roll turkeys!
Since the toilet paper rolls are already brown, there’s not really much you need to do in the way of coloring or painting, unless you so choose.
Just make a face with googly eyes and paper! Although this craft suggests using crafting feathers, you could also make them yourself with construction paper.
9. Clothespin Turkeys
With the invention of laundry machines, clothespins are not used to hang clothes as often as they were in the past. Nevertheless, they’re handy for lots of other reasons, including making clothespin turkeys!
This Thanksgiving craft idea is simple enough; just make a turkey face on the body of the pin and attach a fallen leaf for the feathers. Make the feathers from construction paper or fake leaves if you can’t find the right leaf on the ground.
Festively organize your documents, accessories, and other items!
10. Pom Pom Turkey
If you’re here reading about Thanksgiving craft ideas, chances are you already craft as a hobby. That means you might have some spare yarn, felt, pipe cleaners, and cardstock or cardboard. If so, why not make a pom pom turkey?
With some twisting, tying, and gluing, you can use these materials (along with craft feathers and googly eyes) to make a soft, fluffy turkey. It’s an adorable little friend for your kids to play with or to keep you company while you’re cooking. They could also serve as table decor or place settings!
11. Clay Pot Turkey
Lots of gardeners collect clay pots so that they’re always ready to transfer a plant if necessary. Clay pot turkeys are a wonderful Thanksgiving craft idea to try if you have any extra!
If the clay pot isn’t already a color you’d like for your turkey, the first thing to do is paint them. Everything after that is up to your imagination!
Attach googly eyes, paper beaks and tongues, and craft feathers to the pot. Try making different faces and color combinations for variety. Think of how great they’ll look lining your porch or window sills!
12. Fall Leaf Luminary
Consider a fall leaf luminary if you want another Thanksgiving craft idea that diverges from turkeys. It all starts with a spare glass jar from your kitchen.
The goal is basically to turn the jar into a lantern of sorts. Using Mod Podge, paste beautiful leaves inside and embellish the exterior with flowers, wooden beads, or other fall-themed decor.
Put a candle inside, and you have a beautiful way to light up the long autumn nights.
Crafts Made with Paint
13. Watercolor Turkey
With its soft hues and unique texture, watercolor paint always provides a striking aesthetic. That’s why painting a watercolor turkey deserves a place among your Thanksgiving craft ideas.
You don’t have to be an artist to successfully follow the tutorial. All it takes is a few strokes of watercolor paint in whatever order you’d like to make the turkey’s feathers.
From there, you just add a cardstock image of a turkey’s body, then arrange the eyes and beak. Minimal mess and effort for maximum beauty!
14. Painted Rocks
Rock painting is a popular hobby among adults and children alike. Have you ever thought about implementing it as a Thanksgiving craft idea?
Take a walk outside and breathe in the crisp autumn air while you look for small, smooth rocks. Bring your favorites home and then decorate them with acrylic pens and paint.
Create whatever words and images resonate with you most about the holiday, whether that’s leaves and pumpkins or messages about gratitude.
15. Painted Pumpkin on Canvas
If you’re feeling up to more artistically ambitious Thanksgiving craft ideas, try your hand at painting a pumpkin on canvas.
First, draw the pumpkins on your canvas. Paint the background, and fill the pumpkins in with paint. The shapes all consist of gentle curves and spirals, so although it’s more complex than the watercolor turkey, it’s still easy to make.
Remember that pumpkins come in other shades besides orange, so your painting could be bright and colorful!
16. Chalk Paint Gratitude Heart
The last Thursday of November isn’t the only day that you can reflect on everything that’s good in your life! A chalk paint heart is a lovely Thanksgiving craft idea for encouraging an attitude of gratitude for the whole month.
Using chalkboard paint, simply paint a heart onto your canvas. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Add a few little vines or leaves, if you feel so inspired.
In the days and weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, let your family take turns writing what makes them feel thankful inside the heart. When it’s someone else’s turn, just remove the writing with a damp cloth.
Crafts Made with Food
17. Candy Corn Turkey
Candy corn is fun not only to eat, but to use in Thanksgiving craft ideas. For example, you’ve probably seen handprint turkey art before, but you might not have seen them with this popular fall treat.
The concept is simple–trace your hand on a piece of paper and color the palm and thumb like a turkey’s body and head.
However, instead of coloring the fingers to look like feathers, glue candy corn inside them. This is another way to keep the kids busy for a while!
18. Thankful Pumpkin Centerpiece
Perhaps you’re interested in Thanksgiving craft ideas that can promote feelings of gratitude during the holiday dinner. The thankful pumpkin centerpiece fits that description.
All you have to do is paint a pumpkin in a color of your choosing. Have all the guests write what they’re grateful for with metallic pens. You can see and discuss each item throughout the meal.
You can also use a fake pumpkin for this craft and keep it to display each year.
19. Sugar Cone Cornucopia
Who doesn’t love snacking while preparing Thanksgiving dinner? Here’s a whimsical Thanksgiving craft idea for that–sugar cone cornucopias!
Of course, the sugar cone itself acts as a cornucopia. Simply stuff it with all the sweet little snacks you love most for fall. Candy corn, nuts, dried fruit, and M&Ms are just a few examples. It’s a fun way to whet your appetite and make dinner cravings more bearable before it’s time to sit down and eat!
Celebrate the Season with These Thanksgiving Craft Ideas!
With so many wonderful Thanksgiving craft ideas, you’ll have no trouble welcoming a spirit of gratitude into your home. However, this list isn’t exhaustive!
For parents with young children, there are even more amazing crafts that you could do together. Check out our suggestions for Thanksgiving crafts for preschoolers!
With a bachelor’s degree in history and several years of professional writing experience, Ashley Morales believes there’s a story in everything. It’s her passion to tell each one that she can.
For Ashley, the home is a sanctuary. It’s where she works, rests, and spends time with her family. She believes that everybody should feel the same about their own homes, which is why she loves contributing to That Sweet Tea Life!