8 Thanksgiving Crafts for Toddlers and Preschoolers

Thanksgiving is great for slowing down and spending time with family—even better if it involves making something meaningful with your hands. Crafting with my boys, ages 2 and 5, is one of my favorite things to do during the holidays, and the season’s festive vibe makes it even more fun to create something together. These moments are about more than glue sticks and googly eyes: They’re a chance to practice gratitude, spark creativity and make sweet keepsakes.

If you’re interested in discovering Thanksgiving crafts for toddlers this season, we’ve found quite a few projects to help little ones work on fine motor skills while exploring colors, textures and shapes. Whether you’re making handprint turkeys or a photo keepsake, these simple projects are as rewarding as they are adorable. Ahead, check out our favorite toddler and preschool Thanksgiving craft ideas to try this year.

Pipe Cleaner-Matching Turkey Game

It wouldn’t be a list of Thanksgiving crafts for toddlers without some silly-looking turkeys—or an educational activity. This craft idea from Mandisa Watts, founder of Happy Toddler Playtime, includes a mix of bright colors, fun textures and just the right amount of challenge for little hands. Let your toddler practice fine motor skills as they build their own feathered friend.

Materials:

• Brown, red, and orange construction paper
• Colorful straws
• Puffy pipe cleaners
• Googly eyes
• Glue (or a glue gun for grownups)
• Scissors

Instructions: Cut out a turkey body from brown construction paper and add eyes, a beak and a little red wattle. Snip colorful straws into short “feathers.” Help your child glue the straws all around the turkey. Once dry, insert the pipe cleaners for a bright, feathery fan. (For added educational fun, have your toddler match the pipe cleaner color to the straw color!) For more details and ideas, check out Happy Toddler Playtime.

Finger-Painted Fall Tree

For a fall-themed craft, we love this simple, finger-painted tree from Mackenzie Hyland, a blogger and mom of two in Utah. Kiddos will love exploring colors—and parents will love that it’s mess-free. “It’s fun for little hands, and you also get a cute keepsake,” shares Hyland.

Materials:

• Cardstock
• Paint in fall leaf colors
• Resealable plastic bag
• Masking tape

Instructions: Draw and cut out the top of a tree. Add red, orange and yellow paint dots to it. Place it inside a resealable plastic bag. Tape the bag to a flat surface. Let your little one play and explore! Then, remove the treetop from the bag, let dry and add to a tree stump. For more details and ideas, check out Mackenzie Hyland’s page.

Footprint Turkey

Looking for a twist on the classic handprint turkey? Use your toddler’s foot instead! This clever spin from blogger Brittany Uranich turns little footprints into festive turkeys —it’s the perfect Thanksgiving memento to pull out every fall.

Materials:

• Brown, red, orange and yellow construction paper
• Washable paint (brown for the footprint)
• Googly eyes
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Marker or crayon

Instructions: Paint the bottom of your toddler’s foot with brown washable paint and gently press it onto a sheet of paper (heel at the top for the turkey’s head). Once it dries, cut out and glue on colorful construction paper feathers. Add googly eyes, a beak and a red wattle to bring your turkey to life. For more details and ideas, check out Brittany Uranich’s page.

Oreo Turkey Cookies

Looking for edible preschool Thanksgiving craft ideas? This easy Thanksgiving craft by Maegan Brown, founder of The Baker Mama and mom of four, turns a few simple ingredients into a sweet little turkey. It’s quick to assemble, fun for toddlers to help with and makes a delicious pre- or post-turkey snack. “[It’s] the perfect Thanksgiving treat to keep kiddos’ fingers busy while the feast is being made!” says Brown. (Bonus: If you’ve got lots of candy corn left over from Halloween, here’s your chance to use it!)

Ingredients:

• 18 Golden Double Stuf Oreo sandwich cookies
• 1/4 cup candy eyeballs
• 1 cup harvest and regular candy corn mix
• 1/2 cup white cookie icing
• 36 pretzel sticks

Instructions: Use one Oreo as the turkey’s body. Attach two candy eyeballs and one candy corn (as the nose), using white cookie icing to “glue” them in place. Press four additional pieces of candy corn, pointy side down, into the creme at the top of the cookie to create colorful feathers. Then, add pretzels as legs. For more details and ideas, check out The Baker Mama.

Fall Leaf Turkey

This sweet, nature-inspired turkey craft from blogger Sarah Elizabeth uses real fall leaves for the feathers, making each creation completely unique. It’s a perfect outdoor-to-indoor activity for toddlers that’ll have them collecting leaves, gluing them on—and watching their turkey come to life.

Materials:

• Real fall leaves in assorted colors and sizes
• Brown, red and orange construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Glue stick
• Scissors

Instructions: Arrange and glue the fall leaves in a fan shape on your base paper to form the turkey’s feathers. Cut a simple turkey body from brown construction paper and glue it on top of the leaves. Add googly eyes. Cut a beak and wattle with orange and red construction paper. For more details and ideas, check out Sarah Elizabeth’s page.

Popsicle Stick Turkey

Need a quick, fun Thanksgiving craft that you can make with materials you likely already have on hand? Made with construction paper and a popsicle stick, this colorful turkey craft from Seasons with Sydney doubles as a little puppet for your toddler to use for imaginative play.

Materials:

• Construction paper
• Popsicle sticks
• Googly eyes
• Glue stick

Instructions: Cut construction paper into various strips of approximately 1.5-inch width. Fold each paper strip back and forth like an accordion. Cut a circle from the brown construction paper for the turkey’s body. Glue a popsicle stick to the back of it. Glue the individual strips as feathers to the back of the turkey’s body. Add googly eyes, a wattle and beak. For more details and ideas, check out Seasons with Sydney.

Photo Keepsake Turkey with Watercolor Feathers

We love the opportunity to make a keepsake that captures a precious moment in your little one’s life. This adorable Thanksgiving craft idea from Lauren Carlson, founder of Joy of Creative Play and mom of three, features a printed photo of your toddler and watercolor wings for a creative holiday twist.

Materials:

• Printed photo of your toddler
• Turkey feather template from Lauren Carlson of Joy of Creative Play
• Watercolors
• Paint brush
• Glue stick

Instructions: Download and print the turkey feather template. Have your toddler use watercolors to paint the turkey’s wings, let dry. Cut out a printed photo of your toddler and glue to the turkey wings. Then, cut out and display! For more details and ideas, check out Joy of Creative Play.

Blow Up the Turkey

This crafty, silly STEM-style activity from Michelle, founder of 7 Days of Play and mom of four, turns a cheap disposable glove, a cup and a straw into a puffed-up turkey that’s sure to make little ones laugh. It’s an interactive, low-mess Thanksgiving craft for toddlers and preschoolers.

Materials:

• Printable turkey template (download from 7 Days of Play)
• Disposable glove
• Solo cup
• Straw
• Glue or tape

Instructions: Print and cut out the turkey template pieces from the downloadable file. Glue the turkey head and feathers to the fingers of the glove (thumb for the head). Fit the glove over the cup so the wrist opening is secured around the cup’s rim. Cut a small hole in the solo cup and insert the straw through the cup. Let your toddler blow gently through the straw to inflate the glove, making the turkey “puff up” and come to life! For more details and ideas, check out 7 Days of Play.

Which of these Thanksgiving crafts for toddlers will you try first? With a Thanksgiving craft for every kid’s interest, your little ones are sure to find something fun to do this Turkey Day. Don’t forget to make some space on your walls and shelves to display all of these masterpieces!