Turkey Crafts for Kids: 16 Easy Ideas That Make Thanksgiving Week Fly By

Turkey crafts for kids are one of the sweetest parts of Thanksgiving week. School is out or winding down, the house smells like pie, and little ones are bursting with energy. A table full of paper, feathers and glue turns that energy into something you will want to keep for years. These sixteen ideas use simple supplies you probably already have, like paper plates, toilet paper rolls, pine cones and clothespins. Some take ten minutes, and some can fill a whole afternoon. Many make lovely table decorations for the big meal, too. A quick note for grown ups: googly eyes, pom poms and buttons are small, so keep a close eye on toddlers, and handle any hot glue yourself. Now grab the craft box and let the gobbling begin..

Turkey Crafts for Kids: Set Up a Craft Table

Before you start, set up a happy little craft station. Cover the table with kraft paper or an old tablecloth, fill a tray with feathers, colored paper, glue sticks and googly eyes, and put out safety scissors. When everything is ready, kids can move from one turkey to the next like stations at a fair. Play some music, pour some cocoa and let them make a mess. The crafts below go from easiest to a little more involved, so you can pick what fits each age..

You will need: Kraft paper or an old tablecloth, a tray, craft feathers, colored paper, glue sticks, safety scissors, googly eyes and wipes.

How to make it: 1. Cover the table. 2. Sort supplies into small bowls. 3. Show the kids a finished example. 4. Let them choose a craft and start creating.

Classic Paper Plate Turkey

The paper plate turkey is the classic of all turkey crafts for kids, and for good reason. It is big, bold and easy for even the youngest crafters. Kids paint or color the plate brown, then glue a fan of paper feathers around the back. Add big googly eyes, a triangle beak and a red wattle, and you have a turkey with personality. Hang a whole flock on the fridge or the classroom door. What colors will your child pick for the feathers?

You will need: A paper plate, brown paint or crayons, colored paper, scissors, glue stick, googly eyes and orange and red paper scraps.

How to make it: 1. Color or paint the plate brown and let it dry. 2. Cut long feather shapes from colored paper. 3. Glue them around the back of the plate. 4. Add eyes, a beak and a wattle.

Coffee Filter Tie Dye Turkey

This one feels like a science experiment and an art project in one. Kids scribble on a round coffee filter with washable markers, then spritz it with water and watch the colors bleed into a dreamy tie dye. Once it dries, the filter becomes a soft, colorful turkey tail. Every single one turns out different, which kids love. It is a great craft for a rainy afternoon. Which colors mix best, do you think?

You will need: Round coffee filters, washable markers, a small spray bottle of water, brown paper, googly eyes, glue and a paper towel.

How to make it: 1. Color the coffee filter with markers. 2. Lay it on a paper towel and spray lightly with water. 3. Let it dry completely. 4. Glue a brown paper body, eyes and beak in the middle.

Pine Cone Turkeys From a Nature Walk

Start with a walk outside to collect pine cones, and the craft becomes an adventure. Back at home, kids tuck felt or paper feathers into the scales at the back of the cone and glue a pom pom head on the front. They stand up on their own, so they make adorable place card holders or centerpieces. Pick cones that are fully open and dry. How many turkeys can your family make from one walk?

You will need: Dry pine cones, felt or craft feathers, brown pom poms, googly eyes, orange felt scraps and tacky glue.

How to make it: 1. Brush off any dirt from the cones. 2. Tuck feathers into the back scales. 3. Glue a pom pom head on the front. 4. Add eyes and a tiny felt beak.

Fluffy Pom Pom Turkeys

These soft little birds are pure cuteness. Glue a small pom pom on top of a larger one, add a fan of feathers behind, and finish with googly eyes and a felt beak. Older kids can even make their own yarn pom poms with a fork or a pom pom maker. They are small enough to tuck into a lunch box or set at each place on the Thanksgiving table. Remember, pom poms and eyes are choking hazards for toddlers, so grown ups should help. Who will name theirs?

You will need: Large and small brown pom poms, craft feathers, googly eyes, orange felt and tacky glue.

How to make it: 1. Glue a small pom pom on top of a large one. 2. Glue three to five feathers behind. 3. Add eyes. 4. Cut and glue a tiny orange felt beak.

Turkey Crafts for Kids That Talk: Paper Bag Puppets

A plain lunch bag becomes a chatty turkey puppet in minutes. The folded bottom of the bag is the face, so when kids open and close their hand, the turkey talks. Glue on eyes, a beak and a wattle, then add paper feathers to the back. Once a few are done, put on a puppet show for the grown ups before dinner. It is a fun way to keep everyone entertained while the food cooks. What will your turkey say?

You will need: Brown paper lunch bags, colored paper, scissors, glue stick, googly eyes and markers.

How to make it: 1. Lay the bag flat with the folded bottom on top. 2. Glue eyes, beak and wattle on the fold. 3. Cut and glue paper feathers on the back. 4. Slip a hand inside and start the show.

Turkey Headband to Wear to Dinner

Kids love crafts they can wear, and this headband is always a hit. Cut a strip of brown paper to fit around their head, staple it into a ring, then add a turkey face on the front and tall feathers around the back. They can wear it to the Thanksgiving table and pose for the family photo. Use a paper strip, never string or elastic around the neck. Will your little turkey wear it all day?

You will need: Brown construction paper, colored paper, a stapler (grown up use), glue stick, googly eyes and markers.

How to make it: 1. Measure a paper strip around the child head. 2. Staple it into a ring. 3. Glue on a turkey face at the front. 4. Add tall paper feathers around the back.

Clothespin Turkey With Clip On Feathers

Of all the turkey crafts for kids here, this one doubles as fine motor practice. Kids paint wooden clothespins in bright colors, then clip them around a paper circle body as feathers. Pinching the clothespins is great exercise for little fingers, and they can take the feathers off and clip them back on again and again. Preschool teachers love this one for that reason. It is also a fun way to practice colors and counting. How many feathers will your turkey have?

You will need: Wooden clothespins, washable paint, a paintbrush, brown cardstock, googly eyes, orange paper and glue.

How to make it: 1. Paint the clothespins and let them dry. 2. Cut a big circle body from brown cardstock. 3. Glue on eyes and a beak. 4. Clip the clothespins around the top as feathers.

Fall Leaf Feather Turkey

Nature does most of the work on this one. Kids collect colorful fall leaves on a walk, press them flat inside a heavy book for a day or two, then glue them in a fan as the turkey tail. Every leaf is a different shade of red, orange or gold, so no two turkeys are alike. Frame the best one and hang it in the hall as a little fall memory. What is the most colorful leaf you found this year?

You will need: Fresh fall leaves, a heavy book, cardstock, brown paper, glue stick, googly eyes and orange paper.

How to make it: 1. Press leaves in a heavy book for a day or two. 2. Glue them in a fan shape on cardstock. 3. Glue a brown paper body in front. 4. Add eyes, beak and legs.

Toilet Paper Roll Turkey Crafts for Kids

Save your empty toilet paper rolls, because they make perfect little turkeys. Paint the roll brown or wrap it in paper, then glue a tail of paper feathers at the back and a face at the front. They stand up on their own, so a whole family of them looks great lined up on a windowsill. You can even fill the rolls with a few treats and seal the ends for party favors. If you love turning scraps into treasure, you will love our Halloween crafts for kids too.

You will need: Empty toilet paper rolls, brown paint or paper, colored paper, glue, googly eyes and orange paper.

How to make it: 1. Paint or wrap each roll in brown. 2. Cut paper feathers and glue them to the back. 3. Add eyes and a beak at the front. 4. Let dry and stand them in a row.

Thankful Feather Turkey for the Whole Family

This craft has a big heart. Put a large paper turkey body on the wall at the start of Thanksgiving week and leave a basket of blank paper feathers and markers nearby. Every day, each person writes or draws one thing they are thankful for and adds a feather. By Thanksgiving Day, the turkey is full and colorful, and you have a sweet record of what matters most to your family. Little ones can draw pictures instead of words. What would you write on your first feather?

You will need: Brown poster board, colored paper feathers, markers, painter tape and a small basket.

How to make it: 1. Cut a big turkey body and stick it on the wall with painter tape. 2. Cut lots of paper feathers. 3. Put them in a basket with markers. 4. Add one thankful feather each day.

Fork Painted Turkey Crafts for Kids

Hand kids a plastic fork and some paint, and watch their faces light up. Dip the fork in paint and press it on paper in a fan shape, and each stamp looks like a feathery brush stroke. Layer red, orange, yellow and brown for a rich tail, then paint a round body and add eyes once it dries. Like most turkey crafts for kids, it is messy in the best way, so cover the table well. Would your kids rather use forks or fingers?

You will need: White cardstock, plastic forks, washable paint in fall colors, a paper plate palette, googly eyes and glue.

How to make it: 1. Pour paint onto a paper plate. 2. Dip the fork and stamp feathers in a half circle. 3. Paint a brown body in the middle. 4. Add eyes and a beak once dry.

Fun Turkey Facts to Share While You Craft

Kids love a good fact while they glue. The wild turkey is a real bird that lives across much of North America. Males, called toms, puff up and fan their tail feathers to show off, just like the crafts on your table. Wild turkeys can fly short distances and often sleep up in trees at night. The red skin under the beak is called a wattle. Ask your kids to spot the wattle on their own turkey crafts. Which fact surprised you most?

You will need: A curious mind, this photo and maybe a library book about birds.

How to make it: 1. Show kids this real turkey photo. 2. Compare its feathers to their craft. 3. Point out the wattle and the fan tail. 4. Let them add any missing details to their turkey.

Apple Turkey Snack Craft

Here is a craft you can eat. Use an apple as the turkey body, then poke in toothpick skewers of grapes, berries or cheese cubes as colorful feathers. A raisin or two makes the eyes, and a bit of cheese makes a beak. It is a fun pre dinner snack that keeps hungry kids busy while the turkey roasts. Grown ups should handle the toothpicks with little ones, or use soft pretzel sticks instead. What fruit would you use for feathers?

You will need: A red apple, grapes, berries, cheese cubes, raisins, toothpicks or pretzel sticks and a plate.

How to make it: 1. Set the apple on its side on a plate. 2. Thread fruit and cheese onto toothpicks. 3. Push them into the back of the apple as feathers. 4. Add raisin eyes and a cheese beak.

Turkey Crafts for Kids at the Table: Place Cards

Give kids an important job for the big day: making the place cards. Fold small cards, let kids write each guest name and draw a tiny turkey on the front, or glue a mini paper feather fan to the side. Guests always love finding a handmade card at their seat, and kids feel proud seeing their work on the table. Pair them with the pine cone turkeys for a centerpiece that the whole family made together. Who sits next to whom at your table?

You will need: Cardstock, scissors, markers, mini paper feathers, glue stick and a list of guest names.

How to make it: 1. Cut and fold small tent cards. 2. Write a guest name on each one. 3. Draw or glue a tiny turkey on the front. 4. Set one at each place on the table.

Painted Rock Turkeys for the Garden

Smooth, flat rocks make a sturdy canvas for little painters. Kids paint a brown turkey body in the middle and colorful feathers around it, then add eyes with a marker. Once dry, a coat of clear sealer keeps the colors bright outdoors. Line them up along the garden path, give them to neighbors or hide them for others to find. They last long after Thanksgiving, which makes them a sweet keepsake. Where would you hide yours?

You will need: Smooth flat rocks, acrylic paint, small brushes, paint pens or markers and clear outdoor sealer (grown up use).

How to make it: 1. Wash and dry the rocks. 2. Paint a brown body and colorful feathers. 3. Add eyes and a beak with a paint pen. 4. Let a grown up seal them once dry.