Thanksgiving is an annual holiday when people pause to reflect on what they’re thankful for. Kids can learn about gratitude and thankfulness early with this easy, fun Thanksgiving craft. It’s a turkey crafted from a brown construction paper or cardboard body, with eyes, a nose, a wattle, and feet.
The feathers are the most fun and introspective part of the craft. The question is, “What are you thankful for?” The answer lies in what your kids (or yourself) write on one feather for each day in November.
Here’s the craft I created, and one my daughter made so that you can see the final Thanksgiving craft from both a parent’s and a child’s perspective.
What Is The Thankful For Turkey Craft?
The “Thankful For” Turkey craft doubles as a fun activity and a unique gratitude journal. Every feather added each day to the turkey represents something your child, or you, if you’re doing the craft too, is thankful for. Family, friends, favorite foods, and the simple joys of life are all what your child can reflect on being thankful for. By Thanksgiving Day and the end of November, there’s a cute turkey full of heartfelt thoughts about what your child is grateful for in their life.
Gather Your Materials
Here’s what you need to get started on this simple and cute Thanksgiving craft:
- Scissors
- Brown construction paper or cardboard
- Red, yellow, and orange construction paper
- Pencil
- White glue, tape, or glue stick
- Black marker
- Gallon-size plastic storage bag
- Optional: Googly eyes for extra personality.
Make And Cut Out the Feathers
There is a specific reason I cut out the feathers for this project first. I will touch on this more later. Fold a piece of construction paper in half. Make the feathers big enough to have at least 1-3 words written on them. A standard piece of construction paper is about 9 x 12 inches. A folded piece can allow you space to draw 3-4 feathers, depending on how big you draw them. This yields 6-8 feathers per piece of construction paper. Hence, for 30 days of the month, you need about five pieces of construction paper per turkey.
After drawing and cutting out a feather, I used one of the cutouts as a template to trace onto other subsequent pieces of construction paper. Store the turkey(s) and feathers in a gallon storage bag so they stay protected until you add something you’re thankful for each day.
Make The Turkey Body
A turkey’s body is easy to freehand draw and cut out on construction paper. Draw a small circle for the head and a larger circle for the body. Layer two, three, or more brown construction pages on top of one another to cut out all the pieces at once if multiple children are making the craft. My daughter and I used cardboard for the turkey’s body because we ran out of brown construction paper at home. The packs of construction paper at Dollar General didn’t have any brown pages either.
I made two separate heads and bodies to cut out because the cardboard was thicker. I used two different-shaped objects from our cup collection to trace and cut out the turkey body.
Make The Turkey’s Body Parts
Set aside the turkey body next to the feathers. Now it’s time to make the turkey’s body parts. Use the leftover paper (as shown in these pictures) to draw and cut out each one. Draw a small triangle on orange construction paper for the turkey’s nose and cut it out. Grab a red piece, draw, and cut a slanted teardrop shape for the turkey’s wattle. Don’t forget to draw and cut the turkey’s feet on yellow construction paper.
Here are three ways to make eyes. Use googly eyes of your choice. Cut out small white circles for the eyes and even smaller black circles for the pupils. Alternatively, use the black marker to manually draw the eyes on the turkey’s head.
My daughter made her special eyes with a pencil and then went over them with a Sharpie. I drew standard oval eyes on my turkey with the marker.
Add One Feather To The Turkey On Each Day Of November
Ask your child what he or she is thankful for on every day of November. Use the black marker to write 1-3 words describing their responses. Grade school children can write it themselves, and you can write it for your toddlers based on what they do.
It could take some age-appropriate explanation to a two or 3-year-old on what being thankful means. Instead, maybe ask what they love about life, like who they love spending time with, or their favorite activities or toys.
I have two toddlers, but I wanted to do this craft as a one-on-one activity with my eldest daughter so I could learn more about what she’s thankful for. What you write on the feather could be a general term like “family” or as descriptive as a person’s or a pet’s name. It can be difficult for a child, or even an adult, to make this craft and recognize 30 things you’re thankful for. However, as you do the activity throughout the month, you’ll recognize there’s so much to be thankful for.
A More Toddler-Appropriate Thanksgiving Turkey Craft Alternative
If you want your toddler to do this craft, but you think they aren’t ready to vocalize what they’re thankful for, here’s another option. Try having them make their turkey with as many colorful craft feathers as they can fit on the turkey’s body. You can cut each piece of the turkey body and have your child use a glue stick to adhere everything in place. Have them use a glue stick or a piece of tape to attach each feather to their turkey once the body is assembled.
The Finished Thanksgiving Turkey Craft
I finished my turkey in advance to show what the finished product will look like. Stack the construction papers feathers in a slanted position on top of one another after you run out of room on the first row. It makes for a delightful presentation, as if it’s a real-life turkey with its feathers spread out. I hope this DIY Thanksgiving craft is as fun for you and your children as it was for my eldest daughter and me!
