Tony Sarg Thanksgiving: 15 Parade Day Crafts From the Puppet Master Who Designed the Giant Balloons
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving magic still floats through millions of homes every year, even if few people know his name. Tony was a puppeteer and illustrator, born in 1880, who was called America’s Puppet Master. In 1928 he designed giant tethered balloons shaped like animals, some up to 125 feet long, for a New York department store’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and his young helper Bil Baird built them. That is why so many of us still watch huge balloons drift down the street with a cup of cocoa in hand. This year, bring a little of that parade joy to your own table. Here are 15 cozy, budget friendly parade day crafts the whole family can make together before the big morning..
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Parade Morning Table
Start with the big picture: a Tony Sarg Thanksgiving table that feels like a tiny parade passed through your dining room. Paper mache animals hang above the plates, a shoebox float rolls down the runner and a row of felt puppets waits for their turn on stage. Tony loved anything that moved and made people smile, so this table is all about play. You can read his full story on the Tony Sarg page. Which animal would you hang over your table first..
You will need: string or twine, small ceiling hooks, a leaf garland, mini pumpkins, orange cloth napkins, white plates and any of the crafts below.
How to make it: 1. Hang two or three paper animals from ceiling hooks at different heights, well above head level. 2. Run a leaf garland down the middle of the table and tuck mini pumpkins along it. 3. Set the float and puppets in the center so everyone can see them from their seat.
A Paper Mache Elephant Parade Balloon
Tony’s first parade balloons were animals, so a paper mache elephant is a perfect place to start. A large round balloon makes the body, and rolled paper tubes become the legs and trunk. Paint it soft blue, add a red saddle blanket with gold trim and hang it with three strings so it looks like a real parade balloon on its handlers’ ropes. If you love this kind of project, try more balloon crafts for the holidays too. What color would your elephant be?
You will need: a large latex balloon used only as a mold, newspaper strips, flour and water paste or white glue, cardboard tubes, masking tape, acrylic paint, twine.
How to make it: 1. Blow up the balloon, cover it with three layers of paste and paper strips and let it dry fully. 2. An adult pops the balloon and pulls it out, then tape on tube legs, a trunk and paper ears and add two more layers. 3. Paint the elephant, add the saddle blanket and hang it from a ceiling hook with three strings.
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Lantern Animal Centerpiece
This Tony Sarg Thanksgiving centerpiece turns plain round paper lanterns into a mini balloon parade that floats over the table. A pig, a fox and a turkey each sit on a thin wooden dowel above a tray of leaves and tiny pumpkins. There is no helium and nothing to pop, so it is safe around small kids and lasts all season. The lanterns cost about a dollar each at the craft store. Which three animals would lead your parade?
You will need: small round paper lanterns, colored paper, felt scraps, a glue stick, craft glue, thin wooden dowels, a wooden tray, autumn leaves, mini pumpkins, floral foam.
How to make it: 1. Open the lanterns and glue on paper ears, snouts, feathers and feet. 2. Push a dowel into the bottom wire of each lantern and secure it with a little craft glue. 3. Stand the dowels in foam inside the tray at different heights, then cover the foam with leaves and pumpkins.
A Shoebox Parade Float
Every parade needs floats, and an old shoebox is all you need to make one. Cover it in paper leaves and crepe paper fringe, add bottle cap wheels and top it with a paper turkey. Tie a string to the front so kids can pull it slowly down the table like the real thing. It is a great craft for cousins to make together while the turkey roasts. Each child can make a float and you can hold your own little parade before dinner. What would sit on top of your float?
You will need: a shoebox with its lid, paper autumn leaves, orange and gold crepe paper, four bottle caps, brass paper fasteners, card stock, a glue stick, twine, scissors.
How to make it: 1. Glue the lid onto the box upside down and wrap the sides in crepe paper fringe. 2. Cover the top with paper leaves and stand a card stock turkey in the middle. 3. Attach bottle cap wheels with paper fasteners, with adult help to poke the holes, and tie a pull string to the front.
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Sock Marionette
Puppets were part of Tony’s life from childhood. He inherited his grandmother’s collection of puppets, kept making them as a hobby and turned them into his job in 1917. A Tony Sarg Thanksgiving sock marionette is a sweet way to share that story with kids. A stuffed brown sock becomes a friendly turkey with a fan of felt feathers, and two crossed sticks make the control bar. With a little practice your turkey can walk, bow and wave its wings. Who in your family will be the puppeteer?
You will need: a brown sock, polyester stuffing, felt in orange, red and yellow, two buttons, a needle and thread, two wooden sticks, strong thread or fishing line, craft glue.
How to make it: 1. Stuff the sock, tie off the body and stitch on button eyes and a felt beak and wattle. 2. Glue a fan of layered felt feathers to the back. 3. Tie two sticks into a cross, then attach strings from the cross to the head, the back and each wing.
A Shadow Puppet Window Show
In 1935 Tony designed an animated window display that ran between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and crowds stopped to watch it. You can make your own window show at home with a white sheet and a lamp. Black paper shapes of a turkey, a pumpkin wagon and a hot air balloon on sticks cast crisp shadows for the audience on the other side. Kids can write a short story and perform it after dinner while the grown ups relax. Who would buy the first ticket?
You will need: a white flat sheet, a tension rod or clips, a desk lamp, black card stock, a pencil, scissors, wooden skewers with the points snipped off, tape.
How to make it: 1. Hang the sheet tightly across a window frame or doorway with a tension rod or clips. 2. Draw turkey, wagon and balloon shapes on black card stock, cut them out and tape each one to a skewer. 3. Set the lamp behind the sheet, turn off the room lights and move the puppets close to the sheet for sharp shadows.
Felt Finger Puppets for the Kids Table
Small hands get restless while the grown ups talk, so a basket of felt finger puppets at the kids table works like magic. A turkey, an owl, a fox, a squirrel and a pumpkin each take about twenty minutes to stitch. Kids can put on a mini show between courses or take a puppet home as a party favor. Use simple running stitches so older children can help sew their own. Which puppet would your little ones fight over first?
You will need: felt sheets in brown, orange, red, gold and green, embroidery floss, a needle, small buttons or black floss for eyes, fabric glue, scissors, a paper pattern.
How to make it: 1. Trace a finger shaped pattern twice on felt for each puppet and cut out the pieces. 2. Glue or stitch on faces, feathers, ears and tails to the front piece. 3. Stitch the two pieces together around the sides and top, leaving the bottom open for a finger.
A Cardboard Box Puppet Stage
Tony’s puppet shows were a huge hit. At the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair, about three million people saw his productions. Your home stage will have a smaller crowd, but it will be just as loved. A painted cardboard box with red fabric curtains and a scalloped paper top makes a sweet theater for popsicle stick puppets. Kids can paint a fall forest backdrop inside, and the stage folds flat to store for next year. What would your first show be about?
You will need: a sturdy cardboard box, a craft knife used by an adult, acrylic paint, red fabric scraps, ribbon, orange card stock, popsicle sticks, paper puppet characters, glue.
How to make it: 1. An adult cuts a large window in the front of the box and opens the back. 2. Paint the box, glue fabric curtains inside the window and tie them back with ribbon. 3. Add a scalloped paper edge on top and glue paper characters to popsicle sticks for the cast.
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Toilet Roll Marching Band
No parade is complete without a marching band, and this Tony Sarg Thanksgiving craft uses the cardboard rolls you already have. Paint each roll in red, white and gold, add a tall paper hat with a feather and give every player a tiny drum or horn. Line them up on the mantel or down the table so they look like they are marching toward dinner. It is one of the cheapest crafts on this list and kids love painting the faces. How many players will your band have?
You will need: empty toilet paper rolls, acrylic paint in red, white, gold and skin tones, card stock, gold paper, small feathers, buttons, glue, a fine brush.
How to make it: 1. Paint the top third of each roll for the face and the rest as a red jacket with white pants. 2. Roll card stock into tall hats, paint them and glue a small feather on the front. 3. Glue on gold buttons and tiny paper drums or horns, then paint simple happy faces.
A Felt Parade Watch Party Banner
Make the living room feel like the parade route with a felt pennant banner across the mantel. Triangles in orange, gold, red and brown carry simple leaf, acorn and turkey shapes, so the banner works from Halloween to Thanksgiving. Hang it the night before, set out popcorn and blankets and you have a watch party ready for the morning broadcast. Felt does not tear, so the banner will last for years. Where would you hang yours?
You will need: felt sheets in fall colors, felt scraps for shapes, fabric glue, a ruler, a fabric pencil, scissors, jute twine.
How to make it: 1. Cut felt triangles about 8 inches wide at the top and 10 inches long. 2. Glue a leaf, acorn or turkey shape cut from contrast felt onto each triangle. 3. Fold the top edge of each pennant over the twine and glue it in place, spacing them evenly.
Turkey Balloon Napkin Rings
These little turkey balloon napkin rings make every guest smile the moment they sit down. A round felt turkey with feathers floats on a short stiff wire above the plate, just like a tiny parade balloon held by its rope. The base is a simple twine loop around the napkin. They are quick to make in a batch and guests often take them home. Bend the wire tip into a small loop so there are no sharp ends. Would you make one for every seat?
You will need: brown felt, felt feathers in fall colors, polyester stuffing, buttons, needle and thread, stiff craft wire, pliers, jute twine, cloth napkins.
How to make it: 1. Sew two felt circles together with a little stuffing inside and add button eyes and a felt beak. 2. Glue a fan of felt feathers behind the circle. 3. Bend a short length of wire, loop the tip safely, push it into the turkey and twist the other end around a twine napkin tie.
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Clothespin Balloon Handlers
Real parade balloons need a team of handlers on the ground holding the ropes. This Tony Sarg Thanksgiving mantel scene copies that with wooden clothespin people in red and blue outfits, each holding twine strings tied to small round paper balloons shaped like a duck, a dog and a turkey. Stand them on a bed of fall garland and the whole mantel turns into a parade route. It is a sweet detail that guests will look at for a long time. Which animal would your handlers hold?
You will need: old style wooden clothespins, small wooden bases or clay, acrylic paint, fine brushes, card stock circles, paper scraps, twine, glue, a fall garland.
How to make it: 1. Paint the clothespins as people with red and blue uniforms and simple faces. 2. Make small round paper balloons from two card stock circles with paper ears, beaks and tails. 3. Glue twine from each balloon to a handler’s hand and stand the figures in clay or on bases along the garland.
A Pumpkin Sea Serpent Centerpiece
One of Tony’s most playful creations was a giant sea serpent shown on the island of Nantucket in 1937. This centerpiece is a cozy wink to that story. Paint a row of pumpkins and gourds soft sea green, use a long neck gourd for the head and line them up from big to small so the serpent swims down the table. Felt eyes and a felt fin give it a friendly face. Kids will name it before dinner even starts. What name would your sea serpent get?
You will need: one long neck gourd, six pumpkins in different sizes, sea green and white acrylic paint, a sponge brush, felt scraps, craft glue, leaves and greenery.
How to make it: 1. Paint all the pumpkins and the gourd sea green, adding a little white on top for a soft highlight. 2. Glue felt eyes and a small felt fin onto the gourd head. 3. Line them up from the largest pumpkin behind the head to the smallest at the tail and tuck greenery around them.
A Leaf Garland Parade Route Runner
Turn the whole table into a parade route with a burlap runner and a felt leaf garland down the middle. Little paper floats and clothespin figures line both sides like a crowd waiting for the balloons to pass. Mini pumpkins at each end act as the start and the finish line. It costs very little, packs flat in a box and looks wonderful in photos. Kids can add one new float every year so the parade keeps growing. Which spot at the table would be the best seat on the route?
You will need: a burlap table runner, felt leaves in fall colors, a hot glue gun used by an adult, small paper floats, painted clothespin figures, mini pumpkins.
How to make it: 1. Lay the runner down the table and arrange the felt leaves in a long overlapping line. 2. An adult glues the leaves to a strip of twine so the garland can be lifted off easily. 3. Line the floats and figures along both sides and set mini pumpkins at each end.
Tony Sarg Thanksgiving Wagon Snack Tray
Finish with the most popular stop of the morning: a Tony Sarg Thanksgiving snack wagon for the parade watch party. A small wooden toy wagon becomes a rolling tray filled with cups of popcorn, apple slices, pretzels and mini pumpkin muffins. Pull it up to the sofa and everyone can grab a snack without missing a single balloon. Line it with a cloth napkin so it is easy to clean afterward. What snack would you put in your wagon first?
You will need: a small wooden wagon, a cloth napkin, paper snack cups, popcorn, apple slices, pretzels, mini muffins, a small bowl.
How to make it: 1. Wipe the wagon clean and line the bed with a cloth napkin. 2. Fill paper cups with snacks and set them snugly in rows so they do not tip. 3. Pull the wagon up to the sofa when the parade starts and refill it during the commercials.
