Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids: 25 Easy Ideas (Preschool to Age 8)

The best Thanksgiving crafts for kids give them a real job for the holiday: place cards for every seat, a gratitude chain that counts down the days, a turkey in disguise for school, and leaf crafts made from a walk outside. Pick by age. Preschoolers glue, stamp, and stick. Kids 5 to 8 can cut, fold, weave, and write.

Quick answer: for ages 3 and 4, start with the gratitude jar, leaf-rubbing cards, contact-paper suncatchers, and bubble-wrap corn. For ages 5 to 8, try the turkey in disguise, woven paper-plate turkey, paper Mayflower, and turkey bookmarks. Print our free Thanksgiving craft templates first: seven pages with a blank turkey, place cards, thankful leaves, gratitude-chain strips, a thankful pie, and bookmarks, so the cutting is done in minutes.

Free printable Thanksgiving Craft Templates for Kids Printable PDF · 7 pages, no email needed →

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25 Thanksgiving crafts for kids at a glance

Scan the table, circle three, and you have a plan for the whole week. “Active time” is hands-on time; drying time is listed in each craft.

Craft	Best age	Active time	Mess	It becomes
1. Kraft-paper doodle tablecloth	3+	5 min setup	Low	Table runner
2. Pinecone place-card holders	4+	10 min	Low	Place cards
3. Cardboard-tube napkin rings	4+	15 min	Low	Table decor
4. Paper-bag pumpkins	3+	15 min	Low	Centerpiece
5. Tissue-paper leaf lanterns	5+	15 min	Medium	Table glow
6. Turkey in disguise	5+	30 to 45 min	Medium	School project
7. Woven paper-plate turkey	5+	25 min	Low	Wall decor
8. Paper-loop 3D turkey	4+	15 min	Low	Shelf decor
9. Accordion-fan turkey	5+	15 min	Low	Card or decor
10. Clothespin turkeys	4+	15 min	Low	Fridge clips
11. Gratitude jar	3+	10 min	Low	Family tradition
12. Thankful leaf garland	4+	15 min	Low	Mantel garland
13. Gratitude paper-chain countdown	4+	15 min	Low	Countdown
14. Thankful pie plate	3+	15 min	Low	Keepsake
15. Leaf-rubbing thank-you cards	3+	10 min	Low	Cards for guests
16. Contact-paper leaf suncatchers	3+	10 min	Low	Window decor
17. Bubble-wrap corn on the cob	3+	10 min	Medium	Art print
18. Pony-bead corn	5+	15 min	Low	Ornament or magnet
19. Paper leaf bowl	6+	30 min	Medium	Candy bowl
20. Air-dry clay leaf dishes	5+	20 min	Medium	Gift
21. Paper Mayflower boat	5+	15 min	Low	Story prop
22. Paper cornucopia	4+	20 min	Low	Wall art
23. Turkey bookmarks	4+	10 min	Low	Party favor
24. Paper turkey finger puppets	4+	10 min	Low	Kids’ table game
25. Washi-tape leaf pictures	3+	5 min	Low	Quick art

Crafting with younger kids too?

Crafting with a 1- or 2-year-old too? Our Thanksgiving crafts for toddlers has 25 different ideas built for little hands, so siblings can work side by side.

Crafts kids can make for the Thanksgiving table

Kids care more about a craft when it has a job. Give them the table, and every guest sees their work.

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1. Kraft-paper doodle tablecloth

Tape a roll of brown kraft paper over the kids’ table (or the whole table) and set out crayons. Kids draw a plate outline at each seat, write names, and add turkeys, pies, and leaves. Guests keep doodling during dinner, and cleanup is one roll-up.

2. Pinecone place-card holders

Collect one pinecone per guest. Cut out the place cards from our template, let kids write or trace each name, and wedge a card between the top scales. Little writers can add a sticker; big kids can add each guest’s favorite food.

3. Cardboard-tube napkin rings

Cut paper-towel tubes into 1.5-inch rings (a grown-up job with a craft knife). Kids wrap each ring in yarn, washi tape, or fall-colored paper and glue on a paper leaf. Slide a folded napkin through and every plate looks finished.

4. Paper-bag pumpkins

Kids stuff a brown lunch bag with crumpled newspaper, twist the top into a stem, and tape it. Paint the bag orange, then wrap green pipe cleaner around the stem for a vine. Make three sizes for a centerpiece that costs almost nothing.

5. Tissue-paper leaf lanterns

Brush thinned white glue onto a clean glass jar, then press on torn squares of red, orange, and yellow tissue paper. Add one more coat of glue on top and let it dry overnight. Light it with a battery tea light only, never a real candle.

Turkey crafts for preschoolers and big kids

Every Thanksgiving list has a handprint turkey. These five skip it and give kids something new to build.

6. Turkey in disguise

This is the project many kindergarten and first-grade classes send home in November: the turkey wants to avoid the dinner table, so your child disguises it. Print the blank turkey from our template and dress it up as anything at all: a firefighter, a pumpkin, a superhero, a pizza, a dinosaur.

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How to do the turkey in disguise project:

1. Pick the disguise together. Ask “Where would a turkey hide?” Answers become the costume.
2. Sketch it first. Draw the costume lightly in pencil right on the turkey.
3. Add texture. Fabric scraps, cotton balls, yarn hair, paper hats, foil, and stickers turn a drawing into a project.
4. Write the hiding line. Kids 5 and up can write “I’m not a turkey, I’m a ___!” on the bottom. Younger kids can dictate it.
5. Let it dry flat overnight before it goes in the backpack.

Age guide: 4- and 5-year-olds do best with one big idea and stickers. Kids 6 to 8 can cut costume pieces, add speech bubbles, and write a short story about the turkey’s escape.

7. Woven paper-plate turkey

Cut slits around the rim of a paper plate, about an inch apart. Kids weave red, orange, and yellow yarn over and under through the slits, then glue a paper turkey head to the center. Weaving is slow, so it is a good pick for patient 6- and 7-year-olds.

8. Paper-loop 3D turkey

Cut strips of colored paper, about 1 inch by 8 inches. Kids curl each strip into a loop and glue or staple the ends behind a brown paper circle so the loops fan out as feathers. It stands up off the page, which kids love.

9. Accordion-fan turkey

Fold a sheet of patterned paper back and forth into a fan, pinch one end, and glue it behind a turkey body cut from brown paper. The folding is great fine-motor practice, and the finished turkey can be glued to the front of a card for grandparents.

10. Clothespin turkeys

Kids color the round head of a wooden clothespin brown, then glue small paper feathers to the back and draw on a beak and eyes. Add a magnet strip and it becomes a fridge clip for holding the Thanksgiving grocery list.

Gratitude crafts that last all month

A gratitude craft started on November 1 is more fun to read on Thanksgiving Day than one finished in an afternoon.

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11. Gratitude jar

Decorate a clean jar with paper and a label: “We are thankful for.” Each night at dinner, everyone writes or draws one thing on a slip of paper and drops it in. Read every slip aloud after the Thanksgiving meal.

12. Thankful leaf garland

Print the thankful leaves from the template on colored paper. Kids write one thing on each leaf, punch a hole at the top, and thread the leaves on twine. Hang it on the mantel and add a leaf a day.

13. Gratitude paper-chain countdown

Cut the gratitude-chain strips from the template. Each strip has a prompt, like “A person who helps me” or “Something I can do now that I couldn’t last year.” Kids answer one prompt a day, add the link, and the chain grows until Thanksgiving.

14. Thankful pie plate

The thankful pie page has eight slices. Kids color each slice like a different pie and write or draw one thing they are thankful for inside. Glue it to a paper plate and it hangs on the wall like a real pie.

15. Leaf-rubbing thank-you cards

Put a leaf vein-side up under a folded card and rub the side of a peeled crayon over it until the leaf appears. Kids write “Thank you for coming” inside and hand one to each guest at the door.

Fall nature and harvest crafts

Start with a walk. Collecting leaves, acorns, and pinecones is half the fun, and it gets the wiggles out before glue comes out.

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16. Contact-paper leaf suncatchers

Lay a sheet of clear contact paper sticky-side up. Kids press flat leaves and bits of tissue paper on it, then cover it with a second sheet. Trim it into a leaf or circle shape and tape it to a sunny window.

17. Bubble-wrap corn on the cob

Cut bubble wrap into a corn-cob shape. Kids paint the bubbles yellow, orange, and red, then press a sheet of paper on top and peel it back. Add green paper husks and the print looks like real kernels.

18. Pony-bead corn

Bend a pipe cleaner in half. Kids thread yellow, orange, red, and brown pony beads on both strands, twist the top closed, and add green paper husks. It makes a sweet ornament or, with a magnet, a fridge decoration. Keep pony beads away from younger siblings.

19. Paper leaf bowl

Cover an upside-down bowl with plastic wrap. Kids brush on thinned white glue and layer paper leaves (or real pressed leaves) all over it, then add a second glue coat. Dry overnight, pop it off the bowl, and fill it with wrapped candy. Many versions of this craft use a balloon; the bowl works just as well and skips the balloon risk for kids under 8.

20. Air-dry clay leaf dishes

Roll air-dry clay flat, press a real leaf into it, and cut around the leaf with a plastic knife. Rest the clay in a small bowl so the edges curve. Dry time is usually a day or two (check the package), then kids paint it as a ring dish for grandma.

Thanksgiving story crafts

These two crafts give kids a hands-on way into the history behind the holiday.

21. Paper Mayflower boat

Fold a paper boat from a sheet of brown paper, then glue white paper sails onto a straw or craft stick mast. While kids build, share a fact: the real Mayflower carried 102 passengers and spent 66 days at sea in 1620, according to Plimoth Patuxet Museums.

22. Paper cornucopia

Draw a big horn shape on brown paper and let kids “fill” it by cutting fruits and vegetables from colored paper or old grocery flyers. Talk about the harvest while you glue: apples, squash, corn, and grapes.

Quick crafts for the kids’ table on Thanksgiving Day

The meal is cooking, the grown-ups are talking, and the kids need something to do now. These take five to ten minutes and almost no cleanup.

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23. Turkey bookmarks

Print the bookmark page on cardstock. Kids color the turkeys, write their name on the “This book belongs to” lines, cut them out, and tie a ribbon through the hole at the top. They make a nice favor for cousins.

24. Paper turkey finger puppets

Wrap a small strip of brown paper around a finger, tape it into a tube, and glue on a paper beak and a fan of tiny feathers. Kids make a few and put on a show while the turkey rests.

25. Washi-tape leaf pictures

Kids tear strips of washi tape and stick them on paper to make leaves, trees, and pumpkins. No glue, no drying, and the tape peels off the table.

Thanksgiving crafts for preschoolers: what works at 3, 4 and 5

The best preschool Thanksgiving crafts have one main step a child can do alone, like pressing, sticking, or stamping. Save cutting for the grown-up at 3, and use child-safe scissors on big, simple shapes at 4 and 5.

• Age 3: leaf suncatchers, bubble-wrap corn, washi-tape leaves, and the gratitude jar (they draw, you write).
• Age 4: paper-loop turkey, paper-bag pumpkins, clothespin turkeys, and the thankful pie plate.
• Age 5: turkey in disguise, the gratitude chain, pony-bead corn, and pinecone place cards.

These preschool Thanksgiving craft ideas also work for a classroom party: pre-cut the shapes, set out glue sticks, and run one craft per table. Turkey crafts for preschoolers go fastest when the turkey body is ready and kids only add the feathers.

Thanksgiving art for kids 6 to 8

Older kids get bored with “glue the feather here.” Give them Thanksgiving art with choices:

• A still life: set out mini pumpkins, apples, and a pinecone and have them draw what they see.
• A leaf-print painting: paint the vein side of a leaf and press it on paper in layers.
• A comic strip: four panels about the turkey in disguise escaping dinner.
• The woven turkey or the Mayflower from the lists above, which take real patience.

Hang the finished art in a row on the wall and call it the family gallery for the day.

What to make ahead and what to save for the day

Glue and clay need time, and Thanksgiving Day has none to spare. Split the crafts like this:

• Two weeks before: start the gratitude jar and the gratitude chain so they fill up by the holiday.
• The week before: make the leaf lanterns, the paper leaf bowl, and the clay dishes (they all need overnight drying), plus the napkin rings and place cards.
• The day before: paper-bag pumpkins, the thankful leaf garland, and the doodle tablecloth.
• On the day: bookmarks, finger puppets, and washi-tape pictures at the kids’ table.

Crafting with different ages at once

Mixed ages at one table? Run two stations. Big kids get scissors, yarn, and beads at one end. Little siblings get stickers, washable paint, and big paper shapes at the other, with no small parts in reach.

Let a 7-year-old “teach” a 3-year-old the paper-loop turkey; both stay busy longer. For more ideas for the youngest guests, see our Thanksgiving activities for toddlers.

Free Thanksgiving craft templates

The free Thanksgiving craft templates are a 7-page PDF made for the crafts in this post:

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• Page 1: how to use the templates, with age tips
• Page 2: a big blank turkey for the turkey in disguise project
• Page 3: six turkey place cards
• Page 4: eight thankful leaves for the garland or the jar
• Page 5: gratitude-chain strips with prompts
• Page 6: a thankful pie with eight slices
• Page 7: four turkey bookmarks

Print on US Letter paper or cardstock with “Fit to page” turned on. Want a handprint keepsake too? Grab our handprint turkey templates.

Safety notes

• Younger siblings and small parts: pony beads, pom-poms, and googly eyes are choking hazards for children who still put things in their mouths. The American Academy of Pediatrics lists toys with small parts among common choking hazards and notes that balloons are a choking risk for children up to 8. That is why the leaf bowl here uses a bowl instead of a balloon.
• Grown-up jobs: craft knives, hot glue guns, and anything in the oven.
• Light: use battery tea lights in the lanterns, and keep spare button batteries out of reach.
• Supplies: pick paint and markers labeled washable and non-toxic.

Thanksgiving crafts for kids FAQ

More Thanksgiving fun: free Thanksgiving coloring pages, fall coloring pages, and the pumpkin life cycle for kids.