As Thanksgiving draws near, it’s the perfect time to add a little extra warmth and charm to your home with some fun and easy arts and crafts for kids and families! Handmade decorations create a cozy, festive atmosphere that everyone will love. Not only will these DIY projects make your home feel extra special, but they also offer a wonderful opportunity to get together with loved ones and create lasting memories.
As Mona Schmitt from Craft Klatch reminds us, Thanksgiving crafts often get overlooked in favor of Christmas, but there’s so much to enjoy during this festive time! She shares, “I love turning recycled materials like paper bags, buttons, golf balls, and toilet paper rolls into fun creations. Turning these everyday items into turkeys, pumpkins, scarecrows, and pilgrims not only makes for adorable decorations but also allows for quality time with the kids. It’s the perfect opportunity to keep their hands busy while sneaking in a conversation about what they are most thankful for—those moments are the best part of the holiday!”
Whether it is an apartment in Seattle, a new home in Chicago, or a rental home in Ogunquit, this Redfin article will prepare you to grab your craft supplies, put on your favorite fall playlist, and get started on turning your home into a beautiful, inviting space that’s perfect for celebrating all the things we’re grateful for this season!
Thanksgiving crafts for kids: Crafting gratitude and togetherness
As Thanksgiving approaches, it’s the perfect opportunity to create lasting memories with your loved ones. These moments are what make the holiday truly special.
As Katie Pinch of A Little Pinch of Perfect beautifully expresses, “Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time because it brings families together. Spend time together doing activities, crafts, and making memories with the ones you love. Choose ideas that are simple and fun to keep everyone smiling.”
Melissa from A Sparkle of Genius adds, “Thanksgiving crafts are such a fun way to keep the kids busy and make some cute home decorations! Handprint turkeys, gratitude garlands, or painted pinecones are easy and adorable. Set up a little craft station with paper, markers, feathers, and glue, and let them go for it. Have them add what they’re thankful for to their creations — it makes everything feel extra special. Then, hang up their masterpieces to show them off!”
Jennifer Hier from Early Learning Ideas emphasizes the gratitude aspect of Thanksgiving by stating, “Make gratitude the centerpiece of your Thanksgiving decor by making a simple and meaningful paper chain craft with your kids. Help them write things they’re thankful for on strips of colorful paper, then link the strips into a paper chain. Hang the chain on your mantel or weave it around the centerpiece on your Thanksgiving table. Use printed strips or patterned paper for a creative twist, and let kids add stickers or hole punch designs before you assemble the chain.”
Katie Clark of Clarks Condensed notes, “Arts and crafts projects are a great way to keep the kiddos busy while you’re making your Thanksgiving dinner – and you can even use them as decor. Grab some Dollar Tree canvas and a variety of pants and have the kids create a handprint turkey or have them create leaf garlands using real (send the kiddos on a leaf hunt) or paper leaves decorated with gratitude messages to hang up around the room. You can also keep it simple and set up a “craft station” with paper, markers, paints, glitter, and stickers, and encourage creativity. My mom always does this for family gatherings and the kids are entertained for hours. Crafts don’t have to be complicated!”
Keeping up with traditions and making new ones through crafts
Thanksgiving is the perfect time to practice ongoing traditions – or learn some new ones. In either case, highlight their importance and embrace teaching moments through crafts.
Julie Gribble of Kidlit recommends, “As you plan your Thanksgiving lesson plans and activities at home, here are a few Kids Books and Activities for Thanksgiving that will delight young readers. These books encourage celebrating a historically accurate holiday, teaching global harvest traditions from around the world, and getting us into turkey trouble!” Along with these engaging stories, you’ll find fun activities for kids, such as the “How to Catch a Turkey” book, which includes a hands-on turkey trap activity.
Thanksgiving crafts are a beautiful way to bring families closer together while teaching the value of gratitude. Brad Ainge of Positive Discipline shares a special family tradition: “My favorite Thanksgiving craft idea is from my daughter, who now has two children of her own. She and the kids created a turkey and every night before dinner each person in the family would add a feather with what they were thankful for. It created such a loving and connected feeling in the home. The original source of the idea was from Busy Toddler.”
Thankful Turkey crafts for kids
Thanksgiving, also called “Turkey Day,” has made these birds icons of the holiday. Keep the tradition going with these turkey-themed crafts for kids.
Jeni Utley adds, “The ‘Thankful Turkey’ is a fun and easy Thanksgiving craft for kids! They make their own turkey and write something they’re thankful for on each feather. It’s a great way to teach gratitude and doubles as a cute Thanksgiving decoration for your home. Plus, it’s a keepsake you’ll love looking back on!”
Cori of Mrs. B’s Beehive also uses ‘Thankful Turkeys’ for arts and crafts. She says, “For families looking to add a personal touch to their Thanksgiving decor, kid-friendly arts and crafts projects make lovely additions to your home. A simple, heartfelt option is the ‘Thankful Turkey’ craft, which lets kids create colorful turkeys by writing or drawing things they’re thankful for on each feather. This free resource is easy to use and a meaningful way to decorate for the holiday, creating keepsakes that add warmth and charm to any room.”
Making memories with Thanksgiving crafts
Joy Cendrowski of In the Bag Kids’ Crafts, LLC states, “Kids don’t want to just watch the memories being made. They want to be a part of the Thanksgiving festivities.
Include them by having them help with the table decor. Be sure to keep it simple and leave lots of room for individual creativity like with these easy paper turkeys. Put one at each place setting with the guest’s name or scatter them down the center of the table. Your kiddos will be so proud that they played a part in making the holiday table extra special.”
Lena Mintz Mr. Mintz Crafts shares, “Here are two of our favorite Thanksgiving craft ideas that make the holiday extra memorable:
“In our home, this handprint turkey is a favorite. The kids love dipping their hands into paint to make colorful “feathers,” and the finished craft often ends up framed on our wall or gifted to grandparents as a keepsake. It’s a simple, heartwarming project that truly captures the spirit of the season.
Next is our ‘Thankful for You’ pumpkin handprint art:
This craft combines a handprint-painted pumpkin with a sweet ‘Thankful for You’ message. In our family, it’s a beautiful way to teach gratitude while creating something meaningful. We’ve hung it in our dining room to remind us of what we’re thankful for all season long.
Both crafts are easy to make and help children feel connected to the holiday’s meaning while creating timeless keepsakes. They’re not just crafts — they’re little pieces of joy that make our home feel festive and full of love. You can find both crafts, along with others in our Thanksgiving collection, here.”
Crafting with autumn leaves
To take a step away from turkeys, Kathy of All In One Curriculum says, “Create a “Gratitude Garland” using fall-colored paper leaves. Have kids write or draw what they’re thankful for on each leaf, then string them together with twine or ribbon to hang across a mantel, doorway, or table. To make it more fun, let kids decorate the leaves with glitter, stickers, or even pressed flowers for a personalized touch.”
Bonnie Terry from Scholar Within shares, “Need to keep your kids busy and out of the kitchen? Have your kids go for a hike with an adult and collect leaves. They can turn these leaves into the best Thanksgiving placemats for your dinner table. See how to turn the leaves into placemats and get a free printable Thanksgiving game on Scholar Within’s blog.”
Stacey of Life of Colour Products recommends, “ Make unique butterflies with painted autumn leaves. Shape the leaf into small butterfly designs and attach pegs and magnets. These are a fun project and make great gifts. Or celebrate the beauty of fall foliage by creating leaf wreaths. You can easily make these with collected leaves and glue, which doesn’t require heat to take shape. Mold your leaves onto cardboard or use a real leaf as a template to cut out the shape. Once dry, paint the veins with gold acrylic paint for an elegant touch. These wreaths are a perfect display item.”
