Thanksgiving morning at our house used to mean one adult cooking and one adult trying to keep small people away from the oven. Crafts fixed that. A pile of paper plates, some glue and a few of these ideas buys you an hour, and the kids end up making the table decorations themselves.
We’ve sorted these by age, so you can skip straight to what fits your crew. Most use things you already have in the craft drawer.
Best for: Ages 2 to 12 · Time: 10 to 45 minutes each · Mess level: Low to medium
The quick answer
For toddlers, go big and simple: handprints, stickers and paper plates. Preschoolers love anything with glue and natural materials. Big kids can make things the family actually uses on the day, like place cards, napkin rings and a gratitude tree.
For toddlers (ages 2 to 3)
Keep it short, chunky and supervised. The goal is the fun, not a perfect turkey. Little ones still put things in their mouths, so pick big pieces. The CPSC has toy safety tips on small parts and choking hazards.
- Handprint turkey. Paint their palm brown and fingers in feather colors, then press onto card. Add eyes and a beak when it’s dry.
- Paper plate turkey. Glue colored paper feathers around a paper plate. Pre-cut the feathers so little hands can just stick.
- Sticker leaf collage. Draw a big tree trunk and let them cover it in leaf stickers.
- Footprint pilgrim hat. A black footprint, upside down, becomes the hat. Add a yellow paper buckle.
- Pom-pom corn. Glue yellow and orange pom-poms onto a corn-shaped cutout. Great for fine motor skills.
- Torn-paper pumpkin. Tearing paper is half the fun at this age. Glue the scraps inside a pumpkin outline.
- Feather painting. Use a real craft feather as the paintbrush.
For preschoolers (ages 3 to 5)
This age can follow two or three steps and loves to “make something real.”
- Pinecone turkeys. Glue felt or paper feathers to the back of a pinecone and add googly eyes.
- Toilet paper roll turkeys. Wrap the roll in brown paper and add a fan of feathers.
- Leaf rubbings. Put leaves under thin paper and rub with the side of a crayon.
- Gratitude turkey. Each feather gets one thing they’re thankful for. You write, they decorate.
- Pasta necklaces. Dye pasta tubes with food coloring and a splash of vinegar, then thread.
- Paper bag scarecrow. Stuff a lunch bag with newspaper and add a face and straw hair from yellow paper.
- Coffee filter leaves. Color with washable markers, spray lightly with water and watch the colors spread.
- Corn on the cob printing. Roll a cob through paint and across paper for a textured print.
- Salt dough leaves. Mix 1 cup flour, ½ cup salt and about ½ cup water, cut leaves and bake low until hard.
Mom tip
Put a vinyl tablecloth on the floor, not just the table. And set out only the supplies for one craft at a time. Five open glitter pots is how Thanksgiving turns into a vacuum marathon.
For little kids (ages 5 to 7)
- Handprint wreath. Trace and cut lots of handprints in fall colors and glue them around a paper plate ring.
- Popsicle stick turkeys. Paint sticks in feather colors and glue them in a fan.
- “I am thankful for” book. Staple a few pages together and let them draw one thing per page.
- Paper chain countdown. One link for each day until Thanksgiving, with a family job or activity on each.
- Painted rock turkeys. Paint smooth rocks and add tiny paper feathers on the back.
- Fall leaf suncatchers. Press leaves between two sheets of clear contact paper and tape them to a window.
- Pilgrim and turkey puppets. Paper bag puppets for a dinner-table puppet show.
- Indian corn bead craft. Thread pony beads on a pipe cleaner and shape it into a corn cob.
For big kids (ages 8 to 12)
Big kids can make the table decorations everyone sees.
- Place cards. Fold card stock, write each guest’s name and add a small drawing or a pressed leaf.
- Napkin rings. Cut toilet paper rolls into rings and wrap with twine or ribbon.
- Gratitude tree. Put bare branches in a jar and give every guest a paper leaf to write on.
- Mason jar lanterns. Glue tissue paper leaves to a jar and add a battery tea light.
- Hand-lettered menu. Let them design the menu card for the meal.
- Pinecone bird feeders. Spread with sunflower butter or shortening and roll in birdseed.
- Thankful jar. Everyone adds notes through the month, and you read them aloud at dinner.
- Woven paper placemats. Cut slits in one sheet and weave strips of another through it.
- Felt leaf garland. Cut leaf shapes and string them on twine for the mantel.
- Turkey trivia cards. Big kids research fun facts and quiz the adults during dinner.
- Clay pumpkins. Air-dry clay, a toothpick for the ridges and a twig for the stem.
What I’d do differently
- Start crafts the weekend before. Thanksgiving morning is too busy to supervise glitter.
- Make an extra place card or two. Somebody always brings a friend.
- Keep a “done” box for finished crafts so they don’t get crushed under the pie.
Looking for more ideas? Our year-round family activities calendar has something for every month.
Make it part of the day
The best crafts end up on the table. If you’re planning the food too, our Thanksgiving dinner ideas kids will love has easy jobs for little helpers. These crafts also make a sweet start to family holiday traditions you can repeat every year. Keep the leftover supplies, because you’ll want them again for Christmas crafts for preschoolers next month, and for any rainy days in between. For more seasonal ideas, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian has family resources on the history behind the holiday.