Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities

For Easy Thanksgiving Crafts, Begin With A Thankful Card.

Thankful cards

Make a card for each family member that will be your guest for Thanksgiving this year.
On each card, tell that person what you love most about them, and why you are thankful for them.

Thank you for babysitting, for collecting me from nursery/school, for reading a book to me. It's a great way to start your small child to see that things don't just happen.

Start Some Thanksgiving Crafts Early

Start Your Thanksgiving Crafts Early And Plan A Family Recipe Book

Thanksgiving Crafts; Recipe books
A few months before Thanksgiving, write a list of each family member. Beside their name, make a note of their best dish. Call each member and ask for a copy of that recipe, plus one or two of their own favorites that they’d like to share. When you have all the recipes ready, compile them into a booklet and print them, using your computer and printer. (You can also use professional services, if you wish, to make a longer-lasting recipe book.) After your guests all arrive for your Thanksgiving dinner, give them each a copy of your special recipe book.

Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities; flower pots
Buy the smallest red clay pots you can find at your local gardening store (these are super cheap), a bag of potting soil, and packages of various flowers, vegetables, or herb seeds. Let your kids write the name of the seed on the outside of the pot with a magic marker. Next, have them pour potting soil in each pot and plant the seeds. When the seeds begin to sprout in a few weeks, let your kids take their Thanksgiving pots to the local nursing home and give them away as Thanksgiving gifts to the patients.

More Fun Thanksgiving Activities And Crafts To Do

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Toddler or Preschool Cards of Thanks

Cards Of Thanks Are A Fun And Easy Start For Thanksgiving Crafts

Toddlers and Preschoolers love to draw and make things. Thanksgiving is a great time for your children to make cards of thanks to hand out to all the people they are thankful for.

You will need construction paper, crayons, colored pencils, stickers, fall leaves, glitter, paste and some scissors. You might even include some fall pictures or better yet give the kids some magazines and let them pick out their own pictures or a few pictures of the children with the various family members.

Ask the children to think about the things they are thankful for. It’s amazing what their little minds can come up. Tell them that they can make cards for their parents, grandparents or anyone who they want to thank.

Be sure that somewhere on the card they place Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, etc. so they will remember who each card belongs to. They can start by decorating their card. Let them draw pictures, use glitter or stickers to individualize their card.

On the inside of the card they can place pictures of what they are thankful for. Some may be thankful for their toys or a movie they really enjoy. Others may find that they are just happy with a certain type of food or a new jacket. Whatever they are thankful for let them find just the picture they need and glue it to the inside of the card. Next, with your help they can label the card to whomever they want.

You can also make generic cards of thanks and set up a time when you can take a field trip to the local nursing home, Veteran’s home or hospital to leave the cards. Your young children will enjoy a trip out and they will certainly make someone else’s day with their cards of thanks.

Remember these are cards of thanks from your young kids. Let their imaginations run wild. Young children can be very insightful and you might be surprised at what they are thankful for. Let them express their thanks in their own way and these cards of thanks will be keepsakes to treasure for a lifetime.

Teach Your Child The Meaning Of Thanksgiving

For Any Thanksgiving Crafts, Make Sure Your Small Child Know What They Are Celebrating First

Thanksgiving Crafts; Teach The True Meaning

Trying to teach each of your kids a long story can be a very difficult thing to accomplish. The Thanksgiving story is no exception. How do you get them interested in the story and the reason for Thanksgiving?

It can be as simple as creating play in your home or a playing a game. The fact that they are learning the true meaning of Thanksgiving is what is important. Here are a few ideas.

First you must keep them interested. Try finding a young age book at the library that tells the story. Many of these books are easy to read and have a lot of pictures that kids will understand. If it’s simple enough you can teach your young child how to read the book themselves. They pick up fast and may be reciting the story to you before you know it.

Make a game out the story of Thanksgiving. Kids love to play games. Try matching things that they are thankful for. Try matching Pilgrims together and Indians together that look alike. Make a game out of creating a Thanksgiving feast. Let the children come up with food to serve or places to have the feast. They can use an atlas to point at an area in the world to create their feast.

Try doing a play. Kids love to use their imaginations. A play is a perfect venue for them. Make costumes with help from your dress up chest. Do an actual play that grandparents can watch. By acting out the story children can learn by doing and being the parts of the story.

If you’re doing a play be sure to assign parts for the children that are right for them. Help them to understand and they’ll learn faster and retain the information longer. It also doesn’t have to be the traditional Thanksgiving play. Change the characters in the story to things that preschoolers can associate with. For instance many children are into the Cars movie so make your play following Lighting and Mater, just changing the story line to fit Thanksgiving. This will give the kids an idea of what they are doing, who their characters are, but also an idea of what Thanksgiving about.

Be sure to keep it simple and short. As you well know, young children have short attention spans. If the play is too long or complicated they won’t stick with it. Also allow them to be themselves. If they make up their own lines or add Mommy and Daddy in that’s ok. The important thing is that they are learning from the story.

Let the kids imaginations take over. They can decorate cardboard for scenery or come up with ideas for their costumes. The more involvement they have, the better they’ll grasp the true meaning of Thanksgiving.

Be sure to incorporate today into the story. The kids will associate Thanksgiving and being thankful with things they have and know. If the preschooler is thankful for the cookie they had at lunch let them say so in the play. This will bring it to a level they can understand and appreciate.

Whatever the case may be for teaching kids about Thanksgiving be sure to that they know it’s okay to be thankful for anything they have in their life that brings them happiness and joy. It’s the little things in life we forget and take for granted and our children are a great reminder of those little things.;

Try These Simple Thanksgiving Placemats

Thanksgiving Crafts Placemats

Making Thanksgiving Crafts; Placemats

Keeping your young kids busy the week before Thanksgiving vacation can be hard to do. They want to roam, run and can’t concentrate because the big day is coming and they are too excited. Each day can be a new adventure. Allowing them to use some of that pent up energy to create things for their Thanksgiving Day can be a blessing of it’s own. There are many things small children can make on their own. One is their very own table placemat.

Let the kids pick out their construction paper color of choice for their placemat. Attach the construction paper with paste to a very thin sheet of cardboard cut to the same size as the construction paper. This will help to keep the paper from tearing or being bent in the take home process.

The fun part for the kids begins now. Be sure to have crayons, colored pencils, glue, scissors, glitter, pictures of turkeys, pumpkins, corn stalks, scarecrows, Pilgrims and Indians and any other Thanksgiving items you can think of. Now set your preschoolers to work.

Let their imaginations soar. They may come up with leaves attached to every part of the construction paper. Maybe they will do their own type of Thanksgiving feast by using pictures of food cut out of magazines. They can even draw a scarecrow next to a Pilgrim eating all that wonderful food. You just never know with a child’s imagination.

Thanksgiving Crafts Can Be Super Easy, Because Nature Is Beautiful On Its Own, This Time Of Year.

Be sure once the placemat is finished and completely dried to cover it with saran wrap taped to the back. This will protect and preserve the placement for the trip home. It will also help to keep the placemat clean and protected during their dinner. This way Mom and Dad can keep it to remember that special Thanksgiving with their preschooler.

Try These Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

Thanksgiving Crafts; Napkin Rings

There are many things preschoolers can make on their own for Thanksgiving. One functional and fun craft is napkin rings for their Thanksgiving dinner. Toddlers will require a little more help, as they will not know what a napkin ring is.

The easiest way to start a napkin ring is by using a toilet paper or paper towel tube. This keeps the rings sturdy enough for the kids to work with and can easily be set directly on the dinner table holding a napkin.

Thanksgiving Crafts Simple To Do

There are many different ways to create Thanksgiving napkin rings. One of the easiest ways is to apply stickers to the ring. Finding Thanksgiving stickers should be an easy feat. Have the children pick the stickers they like and place them on the outside of the ring. This could create quite the festive napkin ring for any table.

Get a bit more creative, by placing a single turkey sticker on the ring. Add a few feathers with glue to the inside of the ring to create a turkey napkin ring. Feathers work well in making Indian headdress napkin rings also. By gluing a strip of brown construction paper around the tube and then adding feathers to the inside of the tube you can have a headdress fit for any Indian at the table.

How about making them into a Pilgrim’s hat? Help the children glue a black piece of construction paper around the tube. Then using a piece of cardboard cut into a round shape, make the brim of the hat by attaching it with glue to the bottom of the tube. Help the children cut out buckles from yellow, gold or silver construction paper and attach them to the front of the hat. They can also place black construction paper around the tube and glue the buckle right to the tube for just the buckle effect.

Whichever idea you decide to use be sure it’s easy for your preschoolers to accomplish. They will be proud to take these napkin rings home and help Mom with the Thanksgiving Day decorations.

Simple Centerpieces

For Easy Thanksgiving Crafts Stick With Nature

Thanksgiving Crafts; Centerpieces

Most families have so many family members over for Thanksgiving dinner that the kids end up sitting at a table of their very own. Why not keep your preschoolers busy making a centerpiece they can enjoy on their own table?

There are a couple of things that your preschoolers can do for a centerpiece. The first idea will require a trip to the craft store. Purchase some inexpensive wicker horns. These can be found at most craft stores and depending on the size can be inexpensive. Now go on the hunt for artificial fruit, pinecones, acorns, Indian corn and some fall flowers and leaves.

Once you have all the crafts let your preschoolers make their own cornucopia. They can fill the wicker horns with any of the items you have. Be sure to have some large bags to place the cornucopia in for the transport home.

They can also make a turkey for their centerpiece. Again this will require some help from you. Take balloons and wrap paper mache around the balloons. You will need large balloons for the body and small ones for the turkey head. You can have the children do this, but be sure they have protective clothing or aprons before starting. Once the paper mache is completely covering the balloon allow it to dry before the children start decorating them. This craft should probably be done in two separate days in order for it to dry completely.

Using brown paint let the children paint their turkey bodies and heads. Again this can be very messy so make sure the children are covered and the area they are working in is covered as well.

Thanksgiving Crafts and Nature

Once the paint is dry they can finish decorating their turkey. Attach the head to the body with glue. Let the children paint eyes and beaks on their turkeys. A gobbler can also be made by using cotton balls dipped in red paint. Once the cotton ball is dry, attach it to the turkey using glue.

Now attach legs and feet by using light brown pipe cleaners. To make them strong enough to hold the turkey body you will have to put a few pipe cleaners together. Do this by twisting them into one piece. Bend the bottoms out at a 90-degree angle for the feet. Attach the legs to the bottom side of the turkey body.

Don’t forget the feathers. Brightly colored feathers will make their turkey more colorful and inviting. Place these at the back of the turkey with glue.

Now your preschoolers have their very own turkey to take home and place in the center of their table.

Try A Simple Table Runner

Thanksgiving Crafts; Table Runner

Table runners can be fun and easy for preschoolers to make. They don’t have to fit the table perfectly either. Children will love the idea of having made a table runner to decorate their own Thanksgiving table with. Here’s how to do it.

Start with pieces of fabric about one foot wide and four feet long. It may not fit their table perfectly but it will come close and cover the center of almost any table no matter what the size. The fabric needs to be in plain bright fall colors. Be sure it is a color that the children’s creations will stand out on.

Using fabric markers let the children be creative. You might want to find some simple Thanksgiving pictures for the children to work from. They know what a turkey looks like but having pictures to work from may help them to create things on their runner they might not think of on their own.

Pilgrims and Indians are a good idea for a table runner. They are easy for children to draw and will bring delight to any table. They can also apply leaves or fall flowers to their table runner with glue. Fall ric rac can be applied easily with glue to give the table runner a festive look.

You can also allow the children to use cutouts instead of drawing if you’d prefer. These can be taken from magazines and placed on the table runner with glue. They can also attach paper pumpkins to the table runner or pictures of a cornucopia in the middle. Whatever ideas your preschooler comes up with will be great.

After the children have finished their table runner and any glue applied has dried, you will need to take pinking shears and finish off the edges of the fabric. Go completely around the fabric. This will ensure that the fabric doesn’t ravel out. It only takes a few minutes and will keep your little ones from becoming upset because their decoration has come apart or started to unravel.

Making a table runner for their very own table can be so much fun for preschoolers. The ideas they come up with might throw you for a loop, but in the end it’s their creation and their memories for years to come.

Thanksgiving Wreaths

Thanksgiving Crafts; Wreaths

Not many people decorate the outside of their homes for Thanksgiving. Your preschoolers can change that with some really cute wreaths that can be hung on their front door or taped to a window in the house. With a little construction paper, glue and some items that can be found outdoors, they can make a wreath to treasure and spruce up their home as well.

You can go to the local craft store and purchase some straw wreaths for the children to decorate. Depending on the size of the wreath they can be pretty inexpensive. Remember if you purchase straw wreaths you will also have to purchase some floral wire to attach the decoration items with.

You can also make wreaths out of construction paper. Using green, brown or even yellow construction paper and a wreath template you can create paper wreaths for your children to decorate. A piece of string attached to the top of the wreath will make the wreath easy to hang.

Gather items they can attach to decorate their wreath. Most of these items can be found in your own back yard. Better yet take the kids on a nature walk and have them collect their own decorations. Pinecones, acorns, berries, leaves, pieces of corn stalks and other items like these can be found and easily attached to either kind of wreath. Be sure the items aren’t too big to fit on the wreath.

If you are making a wreath from construction paper the children can glue pictures of Thanksgiving items around it. Cut out pictures from magazines that will cover not only Thanksgiving but fall in general. Be sure they are bright and easy to manage when gluing onto the wreath.

Let the children create their wreath however they see fit. You have given them a theme to follow and they will use their imaginations to create a wreath like no other. If you are using straw wreaths help the children attach their items with the floral wire. This will ensure the items stay on the wreath after it is hung.

Last but not least use a piece of floral wire to create a hanger on the back of the wreath. If you are making wreaths out of construction paper, use string for the hanger. It is easy to attach the string with by punching a hole through the paper and running string through the hole.

Whichever idea is the easiest for you and your preschoolers is the best way to go. As long as the wreath is colorful, follows the fall and Thanksgiving theme and is created mostly by the preschooler. Once home they can decorate their house with their own creation and maybe start a new tradition in the neighborhood.

Make An Indian Headdress

Thanksgiving Crafts; Make an Indian Headdress

Thanksgiving is a great time for children to make an Indian headdress. Indians were part of that history and a headdress is one way your preschooler can say thank you to them for their part in our history and freedom.

When Making An Indian Headdress For Thanksgiving Crafts. Buy The Feathers From You Craft Store, As These Will Be Clean Or Artificial.

These headdresses are pretty easy to make. You will have to help the children with the actual headband but the decorating will pretty much be all their own doing. Start with construction paper and make each child a headband that will slide easily onto his or her head.

Now onto the fun part; you’ll need glitter, stars, fall ric rac, colored pencils, crayons, feathers of different sizes and glue to complete the look.

Start by letting your preschooler color their headband. There colors should be bright and bold. Most Indian headdresses stand out not only because of the feathers but also because of the bright vibrant colors included in the headdress. Even fluorescent markers will work if you dare to bring them out of hiding.

Once the children have decorated their headdress with markers they can place gold and silver stars on the headdress. Glitter is also a good item to place on the headdress to make it stand out. The brighter the better and both stars and glitter are a great way to make the headdress sparkle. The ric rac can be applied with glue.

Next you will need to attach the feathers. If you are making a headdress for an Indian squaw one long feather attached in the middle of the back of the headdress is the way to go. If you are doing a full headdress then you will need to attach numerous feathers. You will need to start with short feathers attached by glue to the headband. The next row should be medium length feathers attached to the backside of the short feathers. The third row will be the longest feathers, again attached by glue to the backside of the medium feathers. This will create a full headdress any Indian chief would be proud to wear.

Be sure to tell the story of the Indians and their part in the first Thanksgiving. The children will enjoy knowing about the Indians and why the headdress is so important. On Thanksgiving Day they can wear their headdress with pride and tell their own version of the first Thanksgiving to their family.

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