Your kids will gobble up this easy DIY tutorial (and finally stop bugging you in the kitchen on Thanksgiving).
A Thanksgiving scene thats all too familiar: Youre (still!) toiling away in the hot kitchen with your apron on, trying to whip up a batch of mashed potatoes while putting the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving dessert. No doubt your culinary genius will wow your family, but the kids are NOT cooperating during the last-minute crunch time. Cue the whining: “Moooooooom, Im bored! Why cant I just watch YouTube challenges on my iPad?”
Before you cave in to the mindless tech, try busting out a few sheets of plain white computer paper, plus a pack of washable markers, and challenge your restless crew to create these so-simple DIY hand turkeys — the easiest of the easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids. Weve conveniently mapped out an exact step-by-step tutorial, below. But if you have extra buttons, sequins, feathers, pom-poms, stickers or glitter kicking around the arts-and-crafts closet? Bling out that bird — we sprinkled glitter for the hat buckle and glued on a googly eye for the peeper.
One more genius mom hack: You can transform their masterpieces into placemats to make the perfect Thanksgiving table settings. Simply have each child write their name on their drawing, then nudge them to exercise some independence and set the kids table with pride while theyre at it. Pro tip: You might want to think about upgrading to a thicker card stock for the placemat project. Its more durable and can go the distance from dinner to dessert. Gobble, gobble!
Below, your find step-by-step instructions to make this adorable Thanksgiving craft. You can also follow along in the video above.
Grab a fresh sheet of white computer paper and trace the outline of your hand using a sharp pencil. Tip: You might want to remove bracelets and bling for smoother lines … unlike me!Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Yay! Youve traced your hand. Now draw a line to separate your “feathers” from the body of your turkey.
As Thanksgiving approaches, making turkey hand crafts out of construction paper is a fun way to get kids involved in the holiday festivities. These cute turkey hands can be used as decorations, place cards, or keepsakes. The best part is how easy they are to make with just basic art supplies.
Gather Your Materials
To begin you’ll need
- Construction paper in fall colors like brown, yellow, orange, red, and green
- Scissors
- Glue stick
- Googly eyes or markers (optional)
Brown paper will form the base of your turkey hands Vibrant colors will give you options for colorful feathers. Having the right supplies on hand makes the craft smooth and frustration-free
Trace and Cut Out the Hand Shapes
Start by having kids trace their hands on brown paper. Trace about 5-6 hands with fingers together and thumbs separated to form the turkey shape. Then trace both feet on a larger brown paper for the turkey’s body.
Carefully cut out all the hand and foot shapes. For younger kids, use safety scissors or assist with cutting.
Form the Turkey’s Body
Glue the two foot cutouts together, overlapping the heels to create a single shape for the body. The toes should splay outwards at an angle to resemble a turkey.
Attach the Feather Hands
Take the brown hand cutouts and arrange them in a fanned pattern on the back of the turkey’s body, Glue in place, Clustering the hands gives the look of feathers,
Add Colorful Accents
Now for the fun, creative part! Cut small hand shapes from colored construction paper. Yellow, orange, red, and green work nicely. Glue these “feathers” throughout the brown hands. The colors make your turkey pop!
Finish with Facial Features
Glue on googly eyes or draw a simple face. Add an orange beak and red wattle (dangling skin under the beak). With just a few accents, your turkey comes to life!
And that’s it – you have an adorable hand turkey craft! These make great keepsakes for kids to remember each Thanksgiving. Let their creativity shine by making new designs every year.
Extra Craft Ideas
If you want to expand on the hand turkey activity, here are some additional ideas:
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Make a whole turkey family with different sizes of handprints for mom, dad, and babies.
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Create a Thanksgiving banner by gluing hand turkeys onto a long strip of paper.
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Use fall leaves, feathers, or other natural materials instead of paper for the feathers.
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Make matching turkey hands into napkin rings or place cards.
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Laminate the finished turkeys so they last longer as decorations.
Developmental Benefits of Crafting
Beyond just being fun, making hand turkeys has many developmental benefits for kids:
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Promotes creativity and self-expression through designing their turkey.
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Practices fine motor skills by cutting, tracing, and gluing.
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Teaches about Thanksgiving traditions and symbols.
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Fosters attention to detail.
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Allows practice following step-by-step instructions.
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Creates a keepsake craft to remember each year.
So break out the construction paper and let your kids’ imaginations soar! Crafting turkey hands is an activity that kids of all ages can enjoy. Your refrigerator will be filled with adorable turkey creations before you know it.
Draw wings and feet.
Using makers, draw a wing on the body of the turkey and two little turkey legs with toes.
Color in the lines.
Or dont! We traced our “turkey” in brown marker, then used crayons to have fun with the feathers. Blue? You betcha!Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
How To Make A Paper Turkey Craft For Preschoolers
FAQ
How to make a hand turkey with construction paper?
Trace your child’s hands six times on fall-colored construction paper. Cut and glue them to a large sheet of white construction paper. Trace your child’s feet two times on brown construction paper. Cut and glue them in the center of your child’s hands for the turkey’s body. Add extra features with construction paper.
How to make a turkey out of a paper sack?
- Stuff your turkey as you normally would.
- Open one brown paper bag inside another one.
- Butter the inside of the inside bag real well.
- Put the turkey (in bag) into the roasting rack (rack being inside of roasting pan).
- Bake at 325 F.
- THAT IS IT!
How do you make a Turkey with construction paper?
Cut out the construction paper turkey pattern, then trace onto brown card stock and cut out the turkey’s body. Trace child’s hand four times onto your choice of fall-colored construction paper or card stock. Cut out the hands and glue onto the turkey body – two hands on each side.
How do you make a handprint Turkey?
If you’re younger and aren’t sure how to create one, the steps are simple. You can create your turkey by using construction paper or by using finger paint. If you follow the techniques and get creative, you can make a handprint and footprint turkey that you can be proud of. Trace your feet on a piece of construction paper.
How do you make a Turkey shape?
Trace Hands – Have your child trace both of their hands on a piece of brown construction paper. Make sure to trace with fingers together and thumbs separated to form the turkey shape. Trace about 5-6 hands. Trace Feet – Next, have your child trace both of their feet on a larger piece of brown construction paper.
How do you make a Turkey with paper hands?
You can use liquid glue or a glue stick. Glue the paper hands onto the back of the body of the turkey. Arrange the hands behind the turkey to get a feeling for what it will look like once it’s done. Stack your traced out hands on an angle and glue them together so that the feathers look like they are spread out.
How do you make a Turkey look cartoon?
Cut two eyes out of white paper, using your black marker to draw in the pupils. Make bigger eyes to give your turkey a more cartoon look. Using orange paper, cut out a triangle for its beak. Finally, using red construction paper cut out a wattle.
How many construction paper turkeys are there?
These 11 construction paper turkeys are cute and easy. They are the perfect Thanksgiving craft for kids of all ages! We’ve searched Pinterest for some fun and simple turkey crafts that are perfect for kids. Especially the preschoolers and kindergarteners.