Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and what better way to celebrate the season than by making some delightful and creative turkey craft ideas?
This festive holiday gives you the perfect opportunity to get the whole family together and work on crafting projects that transform everyday materials into charming turkey decorations.
Not to mention they give your kids a great way to pass the time and hone their art skills during the holidays!
In this article, we’re going to explore turkey craft ideas for every skill level and age group.
37 Turkey Craft Ideas
From adorable handprint turkeys that preserve memories to elegant turkey creations that will wow your Thanksgiving guests, these crafts will make Thanksgiving extra special with touches that come from the heart.
Let’s get started!
1. Finger-Painted Turkey
Here’s something delightful and easy to create for all ages!
Your kids can use their fingers to paint the turkey’s brown body, colorful feathers, and yellow beak.
2. Pinecone Turkey
Using faux or real pinecones to serve as a turkey’s body is a great way to teach your kids to use natural materials.
Let them decorate the pinecone with a turkey head and feathers cut out of paper or cardstock.
3. Paper Plate Turkey Mask
Whether for a school play or story time at home, this turkey mask is a crafty must-have for all Thanksgiving festivities!
To recreate it, cut a black paper plate in half, cut circles out of the plate for the eyes, and add a beak and feathers made of colored or patterned paper.
4. Felt Turkey
Felt is a favorite among crafters due to its tactile quality, and it’s perfect for creating DIY turkey toys that toddlers will love!
Just cut out a turkey shape from brown felt and feathers from blue, yellow, red, and green felt, then complete the turkey craft with an orange felt beak and orange felt legs.
5. Clothespin and Feather Turkey
If your kids are tired of using the same old construction paper for crafts, they can try their hand at these new materials.
All they have to do is paint a clothespin brown and attach bright-colored paper feathers and a cardboard turkey head with drawn-on features to it.
6. Cupcake Liner Turkey
For a fun crafting project that doesn’t take a whole afternoon to make, try this idea.
Get your kids to cut out a turkey shape from a large brown cupcake liner, then let them use colorful cupcake liners for the feathers.
7. Turkey Wind Sock
Create a turkey wind sock using an old toilet paper roll and colorful streamers!
You and your kids will have a blast decorating this craft with paper eyes and a paper beak and hanging it up outdoors.
8. Candy Corn Turkey
Still dealing with leftover candy corn from Halloween? Use them to create turkey feathers!
Just glue them onto a turkey painted on white paper or cut out of construction paper, and voilà: you’ve got a sweet, creative turkey craft.
9. Wooden Spoon Turkey Puppets
Little ones who love staging plays at home will enjoy creating these wooden spoon puppets!
The top part of the spoon can be painted brown or covered with brown construction paper and adorned with eyes and feathers, while the stem of the spoon can be used to move the puppets with ease.
10. Paper Bag Turkeys
Yes, even a simple paper bag can be transformed into a turkey!
Little ones can draw eyes, a beak, and belly feathers on the brown paper bag, while artsy older kids can cut out tail feathers from construction paper in different colors.
11. Turkey Wreath With Autumn Leaves
Put together a unique, whimsical fall wreath using real autumn leaves and cutout silhouettes of turkeys.
Hang it on the door for a festive, handcrafted decoration!
12. Popsicle Stick Turkey Coasters
Want to craft something you can actually use? Look no further than these popsicle stick coasters! Glue sticks together to form square coasters, then paint a turkey face on each one.
Add card stock feathers painted in bright colors for a lovely addition to your Thanksgiving feast!
13. Polymer or Air-Dry Clay Turkey
A fun project for both older kids and adults, this craft involves shaping polymer or air-dry clay into turkeys.
Remember to add details like feathers and eyes before letting it dry.
14. Turkey Napkin Rings
Both decorative and functional, these turkey napkin rings can make your holiday dining experience all the more special.
Plus, you can make these using cutout cardboard rings or toilet paper rolls and construction paper — no expensive materials needed.
15. Egg Carton Turkey
Another eco-friendly craft, this one involves painting a brown egg carton cup and embellishing it with funny eyes, a beak, and cute feathers.
A fun way to recycle and create!
16. Garland With Construction Paper Turkeys
Nothing livens up your mantel like a garland!
And this one — featuring a construction paper turkey with its colorful feathers spread out — is simple, cheerful, and easy to make.
17. Turkey Footprint Art
Something as simple as creating these footprint turkeys makes for a delightful activity. This can serve as both Thanksgiving decor and a treasured keepsake!
Your kids can apply brown paint to their feet to create a brown footprint that forms the turkey’s body and paste colorful feathers on its head afterward.
18. Turkey Origami
This is the ideal turkey craft for kids with advanced art skills.
They’ll enjoy folding colored paper into turkey shapes and showcasing their creations on your dining or coffee table.
19. Turkey Place Cards for Thanksgiving
Add a personal touch to your Thanksgiving table by creating small turkeys from construction paper to use as place cards.
Personalize each one with your guests' names to make them feel special!
20. Turkey With Colored Wax Paper
Crumpled pieces of yellow, orange, and red wax paper surround this cutout turkey and serve as the “feathers” in this craft.
A vibrant and textured artwork that little hands can easily create!
21. Turkey Hat With Feathers
These colorful turkey hats are super fun to make with easily accessible materials like cardboard for the hat and colored paper for adorable feathers.
Plus, your kids will get a kick out of wearing their creations at the Thanksgiving table.
22. Turkey Bookmark
Combining creativity and practicality, this craft involves adding a turkey head to a cardstock bookmark.
Not only will this encourage your little ones’ creativity, but it can also make reading more fun!
23. Turkey With Hand Cutout Feathers
Your kids can make a unique, meaningful turkey craft by tracing their hands on colored paper and cutting them out to use as feathers.
Help them attach these hand-shaped feathers with glue or tape to a turkey body crafted from paper.
24. Mason Jar Turkey
Turn a mason jar into a turkey by painting it dark brown and hot-gluing paper eyes onto the surface!
Add a paper beak and paper feathers, and place a tealight candle inside for festive ambient lighting.
25. Turkey Painted Rocks
One of the best ways to get your kids engaged in crafting is by making the activity more dynamic!
With this craft, you can challenge them to get moving and find rocks in your yard, on which they can paint turkeys.
26. Glittery Turkey
For a shiny and dazzling craft, cut a turkey out of glitter paper.
You can use regular patterned paper for the feathers and decorate them with a generous dusting of glitter. Don’t forget to add big eyes to complete the look!
27. Yarn-Wrapped Cardboard Turkey
Help your little ones develop their fine motor skills with this craft!
It involves wrapping different yarn colors around a turkey shape cut out of cardboard.
28. Paper Turkey With Buttons
If your kids want to make their cutout paper turkeys stand out, they can use a handful of yellow, orange, and red buttons to decorate the feathers!
This adds a tactile element to their craft.
29. Turkey Pom-Poms
Pom-pom crafts are always fun to make, and you can create turkeys out of these fuzzy little balls too!
Pick a brown pom-pom and use felt eyes, felt beaks, and vibrant feathers to make it resemble a turkey.
30. Terracotta Pot Turkey
The color of a terracotta pot makes it the perfect base for a turkey craft.
On its surface, your kids can paint classic turkey features. Afterward, you can use the painted pot to hold a peeking cardboard flower in classic turkey feather colors!
31. Turkey Silhouette
Worried that your turkey crafts for Thanksgiving will look tacky?
Go for an elegant minimalist craft like this turkey silhouette cut out of black paper. Embellish it with black tail feathers for a hint of flair.
32. Turkey Paper Fan Decorations
To make this craft, fold orange and yellow paper fans, then attach a turkey body silhouette to the middle of the fans.
You can also use craft paper with different colors and patterns for the fans to achieve a dynamic look.
33. Turkey Painted Gourds
Put a whimsical twist on your fall decor by transforming small gourds into unique turkeys!
Just paint turkey features like eyes, beaks, and feathers on each gourd for a fun conversation starter. You can also paste cutout card stock feathers for a fun silhouette.
34. Wood Slice Turkey
For something rustic and imaginative, create this turkey craft!
Just use a wood slice for the turkey’s face and attach googly eyes, a beak, and colorful feathers from colorful construction paper.
35. Coffee Filter Turkey
What’s the perfect household item to use for colorful turkey feathers? The answer might surprise you: coffee filters!
You can dye these in various colors and attach them to a coffee-stained paper circle on a stick adorned with eyes and a beak for a bright, cheerful decoration.
36. Turkey Chalkboard Art
If you don’t have plenty of crafting materials on hand, your kids can draw turkeys on a chalkboard instead!
They can use chalk in various colors and change the turkey designs every day, giving each kid a chance to show off their art skills. Perfect for an interactive holiday decoration!
37. Toilet Paper Roll Turkey
Create a cute, eye-catching turkey craft out of a simple toilet paper roll by painting it and adorning it with colorful paper feathers.
You can wrap ribbons around the roll so the craft looks even more exquisite!
Try These Simple Crafting Projects for a Memorable Thanksgiving!
We hope these turkey craft ideas have inspired you to get crafting!
Whether you’ve gotten excited by the prospect of creating a flock of feathered friends or found the perfect project to entertain the kids, these turkey crafts will make your Thanksgiving celebration one for the books.
So why not get started on one of the turkey craft ideas we’ve featured above? Remember to have fun, enjoy the process, and make precious memories crafting with the most important people in your life.
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