12 Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas Kids Can Help Create

Thanksgiving. The prelude to Christmas. The  Holidays are in full swing right around the week or two before Thanksgiving. When I was a kid I wanted to to be a part of the Holiday so bad. My parents did a good job at including us in the baking of the meal as much as they could but some times little hands can make things more difficult and stressful for the chefs. 

With a little planning you can involve kids of any age as you plan for your Thanksgiving Holiday. Browse through my list of top picks for Thanksgiving Decor that kids can help with and you might find yourself inspired to try something new that your kids will remember for years. I tried to keep everything as simple as possible because… well it is just easier that way! Enjoy!

Those Tiny Toes Turkey Placecards

Make your own place settings with paper plates or bowls, leaves and markers and/or crayons. 

http://thosetinytoes.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-turkeys-with-your-little.html

Little hands make the cutest turkeys and keepsakes for you and/or your guests should they choose to take them home. If you don't want to deal with the mess of paint find a brown stamp pad with washable ink.

http://thosetinytoes.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanksgiving-turkeys-with-your-little.html

Personalized "So Thankfiul" Tablerunners from Shutterfly $35.99
This would take some planning in advance. Let your kids help you choose their favorite pictures from the year and order a table runner for your Thanksgiving Table. This would be a great conversation piece and something your family could enjoy all month long. For all of you creative types out there I'm sure you could fashion something like this yourself with photo transfers. This would also make a great hostess gift if you are visiting family for the holiday. Grandma would LOVE it am I right?

http://www.shutterfly.com/home-decor/table-runners?esch=1

DIY Corkboard Leaf Trivets
Make leaves of all shapes and sizes to adorn your table. They look festive and do double duty as potholders. You can purchase cork at any craft store or even your local Walmart. Not talented enough to draw the leaves on the cork? Print off leaves from your computer and trace the ones you like. Cut them out and you are done.

http://www.marthastewart.com

Flaming Foliage Candle Holders
Send the kids on a scavenger hunt for leaves of all colors. Modge Podge or glue them to containers of your choosing for a fun fall centerpiece. You can find glass jars of all kinds at the dollar store if you don't have anything lying around to use.

http://www.marthastewart.com

Ship Shape Centerpiece

I LOVE this. So creative. My family always had nuts and treat cups around the holidays. Rather than making individual ones for each guest make a few of these large ships and place them along your table. Any square base you have would work. Add the sail from felt or paper, and place a bbq skewer along the back to hold it up straight. You could easily tailor this based on the supplies you have on hand. Fill with your favorite treats.

http://www.hgtv.com/entertaining/20-thanksgiving-centerpieces/pictures/index.html

Grateful Tree

Send the kids on a hunt for branches that can be placed in a vase. Have them cut out leaves of all shapes and colors and glue them to the branches. You can either leave them plain as seen here or kids and adults can write what they are thankful for on each leaf and then attach it to the tree.

http://www.hgtv.com/entertaining/20-thanksgiving-centerpieces/pictures/index.html

Country Living- Simple is Best

This table is elegant to me because of its simplicity. Its so easy to get caught up in making everything a huge ordeal adding much more than is needed. Here a simple branch on the plate adds color, is from nature, and the kids can be kept busy in the yard finding sticks that would work while you finish cooking. (For Sanitary reasons you may want to make sure you know where the kids found their sticks.)

http://www.countryliving.com/

Better Homes and Gardens-Lovely Leaves

If you are not loving the idea of putting sticks on plates see if the kids can find sticks with color on them and simply put them in a vase. The final product is gorgeous and it requires very little effort on your part.

http://www.bhg.com/thanksgiving/indoor-decorating/centerpiece-and-tabletop-decoration-ideas-fall

Turkey Basket

Simply add feathers and a wooden spoon to your roll or bread basket. It is sure to leave everyone smiling.

http://spoonful.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-table-decorations-gallery

Turkey Fingerprint Place Cards
Little fingerprints make the cutest turkeys. Similar to the handprint turkey mentioned above this little guy will have each guest chuckling as they find their place at your table. Simply add each guests name to the bottom of the card.

http://spoonful.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-table-decorations-gallery

Turkey Nut Holder

From a cut up egg carton you'll need to add feathers and google eyes to your little turkeys. Markers will color the bottom of the turkey brown and the beak yellow. A red pipe cleaner adds the gobbler. Names on a toothpick are optional.

http://spoonful.com/thanksgiving/thanksgiving-table-decorations-gallery

DIY Nutty Boats from Walnuts

These boats are so easy to make, kids love them, and you need items that you probably already have on hand. I have used these for several different occasions: Birthday parties, Pirate themed parties, just for fun on a rainy day, I'm church to talk about Noah and the Ark, and around Thanksgiving for the ships that the pilgrims were in. You chose what you want to use it for and I'll show you how to make it. 

This is the way that has worked for me, change it if you have different supplies or different needs. If you are doing it for a larger group I highly suggest doing some of the prep work beforehand so all you have to do is assemble.

Supplies:

Walnuts-one half for each boat

Nut cracker

Scrap paper

Hot glue gun and glue

Markers or crayons

Scissors

Water in a tub, bin, sink, sandbox, etc.

How To:

Crack the walnut and scrape out the nut inside.

Glue the toothpick to the bottom of half of the walnut shell.

Cut small squares from the paper to create sails.

Have children decorate their sail.

Slightly bend the paper and run the toothpick up the middle so it forms a sail. (I like to have extra sails for each child because if their boat happens to tip in the water and get wet they will want another one.)

Take your boats to water and have fun! 

Make sure children are always supervised around water!

Autumn Decor to last September through November

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. The smells, the colors, and the excitement of the holidays. But rather then decorate over and over during such a busy season sometimes it is nice to be able to make Fall/Autumn touches to your home and have them last for 3 full months rather than a few weeks. So a few ideas to help get you through the Autumn season. Of course you can add in Halloween decor for the month of October but take it down and you are still left with fall colors that will work for November.

• I bought I small sprig of leaves from a local craft store for $1.50. However, it did not look like this when I bought it. It was much smaller and a little sad looking. I found some fake leaves and added a few more to the ones already there. I also found a few pinecones from the local park and glued them on to add more visual interest to it. Finally I added a burlap ribbon from my scrap box and stepped back to a finished product. I chose to hang it in my kitchen but it could be placed on a mantel, in a wreath, or anywhere you choose.

• A leaf garland from the Dollar Store adds color and interest. Two face pumpkins from Walmart were 1.00 each and also add color and a festive touch.

• Pinecones, another 1.00 garland, a glass jar, and a candle holder complete the mantel. A thank you note adds a personal touch.

Thanksgiving Home Decor

Find Time for Turkey.....Or Pie!

Home decor is a hobby, passion, and even a career for many. While I enjoy it all year long there is something about the holidays that leaves me wanting to fill every nook in my home with soft light, warmth, and the detailed touches of the current holiday. These small touches can be surprisingly simple and with minimal effort on your part will refresh your home to add that bit of holiday homey feel you've been waiting for all year long. 

Bring natural elements indoors with warm color palettes, a variety of textures, and shapes aplenty. Here is to helping you find simple decor ideas for the big day so you'll have plenty of time to focus on delicious food, family, and the inviting home you created.

•  Nothing says fall like pumpkins. Real or fake, orange or white, pick your pumpkin, find a sprig of fall color to add to the top or place around the base.  Use on side tables, as a centerpiece, or add to any lonely corner of your kitchen or living areas.

• This pumpkin was used for Halloween and then painted white to be used for Thanksgiving. 

• Wheat left in the sun drenched fields of summer is the perfect visual feast to add to your Thanksgiving table. Gather a bundle from a field or side of the road, cut the base as you would a fresh bouquet of flowers and finish with a sleek ribbon with a bit of sheen which will emphasize the rough texture of your roadside find. (Wheat bundles can also be purchased from craft and home decor stores.)

• Greet your family and friends with a simple berry wreath. No fuss added please and thank you. Create eye catching appeal by choosing a ribbon with a simple texture and a rich autumn hue.

•  A simple vine saves oh so much time. Add a leaf garland to end tables, cupboard tops, bookshelves and incorporate it into your existing items. Wrap garlands or real branches in, around, and through items as you see fit. The pop of color adds that little extra touch.

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. ;)