Three Turkey Crafts for Thanksgiving~ By Heather Young

Thanksgiving is tomorrow! You have most likely traced your hand to draw a turkey for Thanksgiving.  This craft goes back to those little fun times, only with a new twist.  You can create various types of turkeys, but in this article, I am only including how-to steps on three.

Drawn Turkey:
 

For this craft, you will need:

Pencil

White paper

Hand

Something to color it with if you wish (colored pencils, crayons, paints, etc…)

1. Just as you probably did when you were little, you can trace your hand with a pencil onto the paper.  Place your hand flat fingers spread out) onto the paper and trace around it.

2.Add a beak, eye, legs, and whatever other accessories you wish to adorn your turkey with.

3. Now comes the hard part, or really, the easy part. Think of at least four things you are thankful for.  I say four because that is how many wings your turkey most likely has. Think of how God has blessed you. I know, it’s hard to choose four! In the turkey’s wings, write them down.

4. You may want to color the turkey to make it more pretty and realistic.

Cut-out Turkey:

 

For this craft, you will need:

Pencil

Paper (brown construction paper is recommended)

Fall colors of construction paper (red, orange, yellow, etc…)

Hand

Scissors

Glue

1. Place your hand flat (fingers spread out) on the brown construction paper and trace around it with the pencil.

2. Cut out the outline you just drew.

3. Trace around at least one of the fingers (wings) onto each of the different colors of construction paper.

4. Cut out the fingers (wings) you just drew on the fall colors of construction paper.  You may also want to cut out a beak and legs.

5. Glue the various colors onto the different wings.  Likewise, glue the beak and legs on.  The turkey also needs an eye drawn in.

6. Inside the wings, write out at least four things you are thankful for, as explained in the craft above.

Last but not least, the Apple Turkey:

For this craft, you will need:

Apple (any kind will do, although red apples resemble actual turkey color more than say green)

Toothpicks

Popsicle sticks (colored recommended)

Soft treats (marshmallows, raisins, gumdrops, etc…)

Paper towel or plate

Googly eyes and glue (suggested)

1 candy corn (suggested)

Sharpie®

1. Using the Sharpie®, write out things you are thankful for on the Popsicle sticks.

2. Take the stem out of the apple and place the apple sideways on the paper towel or plate.

3. Stick the toothpicks and Popsicle sticks into the apple, so that they look somewhat like wings.  Also, be sure to stick a Popsicle stick into where the stem of the apple was; this will be the neck and head of the “apple turkey.”

4. Glue the googly eyes onto the head of the turkey, one on each side.  Or, if you’d rather, you can just draw eyes with the Sharpie®.  Also, stick the candy corn onto the end of the Popsicle stick head for the beak.

5. Skewer the soft treats onto the toothpicks.  This will make for a sweet treat with the apple.

6. Don’t forget to stick two toothpicks into the bottom of the apple for the legs of the turkey!

Note for Apple Turkey: You can complete these steps pretty much in any order just as long as you write on the Popsicle sticks before you stick them into the apple.

These crafts can be fun little things to do for Thanksgiving. Even little crafts like these can help us remember the true meaning of Thanksgiving. Giving thanks. Not just to God, but to the people around you. For the little moments in life that keep us going. For our blessings.

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