It’s Thanksgiving morning, and your kids are bored.  Although it’s an afternoon filled with family, friends, eating, and talking, the morning most likely is filled with peeling, chopping, baking, boiling, table setting, and cleaning.  While the kids may want to help with this list of to-dos, they are bound to want alternate entertainment.

Anything with a screen may seem like an optimal choice, but why not amuse your children with an easy craft?  Just purchase the needed items, and you will have amusement and decorations in one package!  (Please note, younger children may need some guidance or direction with these crafts.)

Turkey Place Card Holders- Courtesy of Mary Lyon, author of The Frazzled Working Woman’s Practical Guide to Motherhood

• 1 throwaway CD
• 1 sheet of “fun foam” from a craft store
• 1 small pinecone
• 1 almond
• 1 long brown nut or brazil nut
• 2 small white beans
• 2 pipe cleaners, one red and one yellow
• 1 black marker
• 1 small bag of unsalted, shelled pumpkin seeds
• 2 or 3 tablespoons of unpopped popcorn
• 1 pair of scissors
• 1 medium-heat glue gun
• 1 bottle of regular white glue

Step One: Place, and glue the CD, SHINY SIDE UP, on the “fun foam.” Then trim around it to cut off the extra.

Step Two: Fold the yellow pipe cleaner in half. Then, fold each half in three smaller folds, to make two bird feet. Make the middle fold of each set of three – slightly bigger than the folds on either side of it, for a longer middle toe. Then glue it to the base of the pinecone, so the feet stick out from underneath.

Step Three: Determine where the larger brown nut should be – to make the body of the little turkey. With your thumb, push in several of the “petals” of the pine cone in the front, centered above where the feet stick out, to accommodate that large nut. This is where the body should be. Then glue the nut in place. Let the glue “set.”

Step Four: Cut a piece about 1-½ inches long from the red pipe cleaner. Bend it in half. That’s the wattle. Glue it on, on the top of the large brown nut, so the loop hangs down in the front a little bit. Let the glue “set.”

Step Five: Figure out the best side of the almond, and where you want the eyes to go. Then glue each small white bean in place for the eyes. Let the glue “set.” Then, carefully mark in dark pupils onto the white beans, completing the eyes.

Step Six: Glue the almond turkey head in place, on top o the ends of the red pipe cleaner wattle. Let the glue “set.”

Step Seven: Drizzle a line of white glue around the outer edge of the CD. Arrange the shelled pumpkin seeds on it, so they’re glued into place there. Let the glue dry.

Turkey Tabletop Decorations- Courtesy of Fave Crafts

Materials:

• 1 Cocoa EZ Felt Sheet, 12 x 18
• 1 Red Soft Felt Sheet, 9 x 12
• 1 Tangerine Soft Felt Sheet, 9 x 12
• 4  3/8-inch Diameter Google Eyes
• Fabric Glue
• Scissors

Step One: Trace around your child’s hand onto a piece of Cocoa EZ Felt twice.

Step Two: Cut out hands from EZ Felt Sheet.

Step Three: Cut corresponding slits on each felt hand. One hand will have a slit going from the middle finger to the center of the palm. On the other hand, the slit goes from the bottom of the palm to the center point of the hand.

Step Four: Glue google eyes onto the thumbs of the hands. This will be your turkey’s head.

Step Five: Cut 8 Feather Shapes each from the Red and Orange Soft Felt Sheets. Also cut an oval shape from the Red Felt.

Step Six: Glue feathers and oval to the turkey like shown above. Repeat for the other side. You will have to recut the slit from Step 3 on one of the hands.

Step Seven: Slip together.

If you’re looking for more Thanksgiving craft ideas, check out this article at Your Parenting Info.

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