Thanksgiving is a great time for fall and holiday art projects. With a wide variety of easy Thanksgiving crafts to choose from, the whole family can enjoy doing one together. Some projects involve icons of the holiday, such as a turkey, while others use items commonly found during autumn, like colorful leaves, pumpkins, or squash. Most easy Thanksgiving crafts are inexpensive to make, and some can be created with things typically found around the house.
One of the easiest Thanksgiving crafts involves making a turkey out of paper products. The materials needed can include paper plates, markers, and colored construction paper. Many children find this to be an especially fun project. It is usually made by cutting the paper plate in half, and cutting pieces of construction paper into the shapes of feathers. The plate is then colored brown, the construction paper feathers are glued behind the plate, and the remaining colored paper is used to make the face and feet of the turkey.
A fun, edible turkey craft can be made with a caramel-coated apple, marshmallows, raisins, candy corn, and toothpicks. The first step to making these easy Thanksgiving crafts is to dip apples into caramel and allow them to harden. Five toothpicks should be skewered with two raisins and two mini marshmallows each, and then stuck into the apple to make the bird's tail feathers. The turkey face is then made by placing a large marshmallow on another toothpick, and then pressing raisins into it to make the eyes. A piece of candy corn becomes the mouth. Finally, this toothpick is positioned in the apple as the turkey's head. In addition to being a fun project, this craft also makes a delicious snack for kids.
Place cards are easy Thanksgiving crafts that can also be useful during the actual holiday meal. One easy idea is to collect fall leaves in a variety of different colors, and then use a metallic permanent marker to decoratively write each dinner guest's name. Children can also help make place cards by using card stock, non-toxic ink pads, and markers. The card stock should be folded in half so it stands on its own, and the child can use the colored ink to make an arc of colorful thumbprints that look like a turkey's tail feathers. Brown ink can be used to make another thumbprint to represent the turkey's body. Each guest's name can then be written in marker, and the cards can be placed on the dining table before the Thanksgiving meal.