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Thanksgiving is so much more than a simple holiday dinner, it’s relaxation, gratitude, and warm friendship. What’s the simplest way to get in the holiday spirit? Diy with your own flair. Arts and crafts with the youngsters, hosting buddies, or table setting? Get a go at these thanksgiving crafts that are perfect for making your abode cozy, warm, and homemade.
Following are the best 30+ Thanksgiving crafts (for kids, families, adults, etc.) guaranteed to bring smiles and praise.
Getting Started: Tips Before You Begin
Before You Begin, Here are Some Tips To Get the Most Out of Your Crafting:
- Sell what you own: dried leaves, evergreen cones, buttons, scrap paper or fabric—these sales all require small, day-to-day objects.
- Have “craft stations”: devote each project to a tray or mat so pieces and glue will not interfere with dinner preparation.
- Mix up meaning with fun: include elements of gratitude like making the participants write down what they are grateful for.
- Embracing imperfection: hand-made is cute, so do not worry about perfection. Relax.
Crafts with Turkeys (a Thanksgiving staple)
- Handprint Turkey
Draw your hand on paper, then change the fingers into rainbow feathers. Add eyes, beak, wattles—voilà, a classic turkey keepsake.
- Toilet Paper Roll Turkey
Line a roll of toilet paper with brown paper, attach feather cutouts, googly eyes, and small paper wings.
- Fork-Painted Turkey
Submerge a fork in tempera and press onto paper in the shape of a turkey’s feathers. Add a body and eyes and cut-outs.
- Cork Turkeys
Use the shape of wine corks. Attach paper or felt feathers and crayon faces with glue. Cute little place-card holders as well.
- Turkey Windsock
Decorate a recycled can or container; suspend strips of paper to act as feathers that blow in the wind.
- Turkey Juice Box
Wrap the juice box up in paper, add some paper wings and feathers—children love the flair, and you have a little turkey at every table.
- Paper Bag Turkey
Use brown paper bags and finish them with paper feathers in colors, glue, and googly eyes.
Leaf & Nature-Inspired Crafts
- Gratitude Leaf Garland
Trace or cut out leaf shapes from cardstock. Ask each family member to write something they are thankful for, and then string them together.
- Glitter Book-Page Leaves
Trace leaf shapes onto pages from old books, dust with glitter, and mount on twine.
- Leaf Silhouette Art
Use real leaves taped to paper, spray or sponge paint over them, and then remove the leaves to see silhouettes.
- Leaf Crown
Create a headband crown out of felt or paper leaves—ideal for a Thanksgiving dinner entry or parade.
- Leaf Clay Dish
Take air-dry clay and flatten a real leaf into it. Paint or varnish when dry, and you have a cherished dish.
- Leaf People Puppets
Mix leaves, sticks, and googly eyes and make offbeat leaf puppets glued to sticks or paper.
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Table Decor, Place Cards & Centerpieces
- Pumpkin Place Cards
Inscribe guest names on small pumpkins or pumpkin cut-outs. Combine with leaves or berries.
- Ribbon Turkey Napkin Rings
Create turkey shapes from felt, ribbon, or paper that hold napkins together—a fun touch.
- Painted Acorns
Gather acorns, paint them in metallic or fall colors, and disperse them along your centerpiece.
- Mini Pie Boxes
Create small pie-shaped boxes using printable shapes or paper. They also serve as adorable takeaway boxes.
- Gratefulness Tree Display
Put a naked branch in a vase. Guests or relatives can write thank-you messages on leaves and display them.
- Pinecone Place Cards
Wrap pinecones with yarn or ribbon and add name flags for a country feel.
- Palm Springs Pie Centerpiece
Yes, pie as decor is a thing. Utilize a real or imitation pie and garnish it with little seasonal elements.
- Rainbow Leaf Runner
Cut out felt leaves in rainbow colors and attach them to a piece of fabric or paper to create a table runner.
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Gifts, Keepsakes & Sentimental Projects
- Thankful Jar / Gratitude Jar
Make over a mason jar. During the weeks before Thanksgiving, members of the family drop by slips of appreciation. Open and share aloud at the dinner table.
- “Thanks” Garland
Cut out letters from paper craft and string them with leaves, berries, or small ornaments to make a happy banner.
- DIY Busy Bags
Use little muslin or cloth bags. Children adorn them and place small toys or treats inside to keep their hands occupied while dinner is prepared.
- Printable Placemats
Make or print coloring placemats using Thanksgiving themes. Children (and adults) can doodle while they wait.
- Wool Pumpkins / Felt Pumpkins
Yarn or felt to create small pumpkins—soft, cute, and reusable year after year.
- Pom-Pom Acorns
Glue small pom-poms onto acorn caps. Suspend them or employ them as embellishments.
- Turkey Crayon Holder
Adorn a paper cup with turkey features and utilize it as a crayon holder.
- Glove “Talking” Turkey
Transform a glove and felt cutouts into a turkey puppet. Excellent hands-on fun.
- Pie Slice Banner
Slice felt into triangular “pie slices,” embellish, and string them together into a banner.
- Marble Painted Turkeys
Have children roll marbles coated with paint across paper to make abstract turkey feather patterns.
- Puffy Paint Turkeys
Apply dimensional “puffy paint” to create raised texture effects on a turkey illustration.
- Scarecrow Mason Jar
Create a smiling scarecrow from a jar using paper hats, felt faces, and raffia hair.
- Turkey Balloon
Inflate a balloon, add paper wings or feathers, and have it float as a turkey.
Creative Twists & Ways to Use These Crafts
- Mix and match with themes: Accompany turkey crafts with leaf decor for multi-dimensional whimsical displays.
- Craft + story time: During the crafting process, ask each person to share a story of gratitude.
- Offer them as gifts: Create small gifts (such as painted acorn, pom-pom acorn, or small pie) from smaller crafts.
- Seasonal layering: Some activities (thankfulness trees, leaf silhouettes) can stay up after Thanksgiving and carry you through the entire fall season.
- Children’s table activity: Keep some craft material at the children’s table so little kids can make their own placemats, napkin rings, or turkey shapes while they sit waiting.
Why These Thanksgiving Craft Ideas Matter
But there’s more behind such fun activities than glitter and glue. Constructing things reaches the three magic things:
- Connection — Sitting next to loved ones, creating together, ignites talk and bonding.
- Gratitude in the moment — Exercises like the gratitude journal and the gratitude garland turn an ephemeral feeling into a concrete practice.
- Personal style — These one-of-a-kind pieces inject personality and warm intention into your table and home.
When the visitors come and notice the hand-created details, tiny pie boxes, painted acorns sparkling in the middle of the centerpiece, they’ll take in the thought and hospitality behind it all.
Final Thoughts
Thanksgiving’s the time to put the brakes up and gather ’round, and these thanksgiving crafts let you make memories, glue sticks at a time. You can use them with toddlers busily gluing on feathers, with parents pondering all that they’re thankful for, or with friends after dinner mixing and mingling and unwinding in artistic camaraderie.
Select a couple that resonate with your style, round up the materials, and see how easy, homemade decor and keepers can elevate your holiday area. Who needs expensive store-bought decor when the best decor is the kind done with love?.
