Thanksgiving Day is a lot of fun – it’s filled with good times with family and of course, with lots of delicious food. In most houses across the nation there will be a mix of young and old. Most adults will play at least some role in the preparation of the meal. And during that process it can be helpful if the kids have something to do – something they enjoy.
Why not get them started on a few activities they’ll have fun doing on this special holiday? The older kids can help guide the younger ones. If you have a well-stocked craft box you probably have everything you need for these simple projects. The craft projects are easy and kids are sure to love them!
The Clay Turkey
Let’s start with the ‘clay turkey’. All you need to have on hand is clay (or play dough if you prefer) in the appropriate colors, and some feathers. As you can see by the image above, the turkey is very basic, but he is also very cute!
Even small children can make these Thanksgiving turkeys!
Table Placemats
A small poster board or even a piece of construction paper can be the beginning of a placemat. Since it’s Thanksgiving ideal color choices are shades of orange, gold, brown, and red. The kids can cut out shapes of leaves, acorns, and other figures that remind them of the holiday and tape or glue them to the ‘placemat’. Each person at the table will have a unique placemat and the table will have a colorful setting that you will definitely want to capture on film.
This theme can be taken a step further with name tags. The kids can create decorated name tags that can be placed at the table settings.
Turkey Feather Hunt
Everybody likes playing the ‘Easter Egg Hunt’, right? So why not play the ‘Turkey Feather Hunt’? You can use the same principle as you do with Easter eggs. Just hide some feathers in your house and/or your yard. You can give small prizes to the one that finds the most feathers or a certain color feather. Or, to encourage participation, everyone that plays can get a prize.
These little ‘extras’ can go a long way towards making the holiday magical for the little ones. At the same time, these activities can keep them busy, which can be helpful for everyone!
Debbie Allen writes about a variety of topics but her favorite things include holiday traditions, like delicious foods at Thanksgiving and letters from Santa at Christmas.
