Thanksgiving Table Decorations-Kids

Remember Thanksgiving

Remember Thanksgiving? That holiday sandwiched in between finding the right costume, candy, school parties, sugar loaded children, and Santa Claus, Christmas Cards, endless hours of shopping and again sugar loaded children? Don't get me wrong I absolutely love and look forward each year to  Halloween, Christmas, and everything that goes with each of them. However, Thanksgiving is one of my favorite times of year. The buzz of Halloween has ended and the excitement for Christmas is just beginning. The last of the colored leaves dance across the streets in the wind, extended family makes plans to get together, delicious food, treats, and smells coming from every home you find yourself in. But most important its a bit more quiet then the Holidays that surround it and it tends to be a time to think about what matters in life and a time to be grateful and express it for things both big and small in your life.

So before you begin your mile long "to do" list for this holiday; the cooking, the meal planning, the grocery shopping, and the mountain of dishes take a minute or two for a breather this month and create some Thanksgiving traditions with your little Turkeys before the rushing through Thanksgiving and moving on to the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season. You'll be pleasantly surprised you did.

Turkey to Try #1

UnbeLEAFably Easy Turkeys for your Thanksgiving Table Decor

Let those little hands who want to help in the kitchen make these place holders for all of your guests. They are simple to make and can be made with items that are most likely already in your house. (I love making things work with items you already have.)  Turkeys can also be used for centerpieces on the table if you don't want to make one for everyone.

Needed Supplies

• Paper Bowls
• Markers/Crayons
• Glue, Glue Dots, and/or Tape
• Leaves from your yard or nearby park (you can also purchase leaf packs from the dollar store)
• Scissors

Step 1-Cut off the rim of the bowl.

Step 2- Children decorate their Turkey face/body as they would like. Add names if you would like to use them as place holders.

Step 3- Add the leaves. Expiriment with the glue. Depending on what type of leaves you are using you might find tape a bit more helpful.

The turkey on the left is made with real leaves from the yard. The turkey on the right is made with dollar store fake leaves. Grandma turkey wouldn't be complete without a "leaf bow" in her hair.

Step 4-Enjoy! These cute little Turkeys will add some color and personality to your table. Kids will love making them, and relatives will love being able to take their turkey home with them.

Turkey #2 

The Classic Turkey Handprint

I loved making these as a kid and I love seeing them now. I think one of the reasons I enjoy them so much is because their little hands are so cute and they get a little bigger each year. I used a small hand so it was hard to get the full handprint. These make a great centerpiece, or place cards, or you could frame them or put them on the fridge for decoration in the month of November. It would be fun to have your kids make them each year and keep them so you can see the handprints get just a bit bigger each year. I have put mine in the center of my table for the month of November. They are just fun to see. Adds a personal touch to regular fall decor on the table.

Directions: We've all made these. Use paint if you'd like to make a print (seen here) or use markers and crayons to trace the shape of the hand. Once you are done add a beak, eyes, a gobbler, and feet. Some kids may want to add feathers and their name to the bottom. If you are keeping them. Make sure to put each child's name on the front or back and the year.

Turkey #3

Toothpick Turkeys

My mom always put little cups by our place at the Thanksgiving table. She would let us fill it with little treats as we set the table. Usually dinner mints or a mixture of nuts and M&M's. The cups would be emptied several times before dinner even started. We would all sneak around the table while her back was turned taking one piece from each cup so she wouldn't notice they disappearing. She always knew and we'd get scolded for eating too much and being full before dinner was even out. 

Directions: So for me these little dessert cups would be in the house for Thanksgiving. Add colored toothpicks to the back with hot glue or a piece of masking tape and let the kids draw faces and/or names on the front. And there you have it little treat cups for each place setting and you most likely had the items to make them in your kitchen. You could also use small paper cups if you wanted and real feathers instead of toothpicks.

Back of the cup-I added an extra line of hot glue on top of the toothpicks once they were on.

 Turkey #4 & #5
Turkey Shoot and Grateful Turkey
I promise you kids will be drawn to this like crazy. Draw a turkey on a piece of poster board and purchase a cheap bow and arrow set from Walmart/Target/Dollar Store. Get the one with rubber circle suction cups on the end so no one gets hurt. Set up the turkey and let children take turns trying to aim at different parts of the turkey. You can also leave this up all month and use it for Turkey #5. A Grateful Turkey. Have your children make feathers and each day attach a feather to the Grateful Turkey that says what they are thankful for.

And there you have it. Five turkeys to make for some Thanksgiving fun! Look around your kitchen and house to see what you already have that will work for turkeys. Your findings might surprise you. Have a Happy Thanksgiving. Gobble till you Wobble. ;)