Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts

'Thanksgiving day' or simply 'Thanksgiving', falls on every fourth Thursday in the month of November every year. It is a tradition in the US, and was first emphasized upon back in 1863, dating back to when the Pilgrims of Plymouth colony celebrated this feast, thanking God for providing food to 53 pilgrims, and 90 Native Americans, who were able to survive and withstand a harsh winter, in New England at the time. Abraham Lincoln was the one who declared that this day be made a national holiday.

The feast was a widespread of food ranging from shellfish to duck, swans and turkey, to berries and vegetables like dried Indian corn, beans and squash. Turkey is usually strongly associated with this day, with a huge serving of the whole bird set in the center of dining tables all over America, where the head of household carves out beautifully roasted turkey, with stuffing containing different spices, herbs and veggies. Kids and adults alike find it fun and engaging to put together Thanksgiving arts and crafts, which a family affair that is quite enjoyable.

Thanksgiving Arts and Crafts for Children

You'll find here a very arty array of ideas that you can play out during your arts and crafts session.

Grateful Art Box Creation
These boxes are made so that you can drop in it, everyday, a little folded piece of paper, stating what it is you're thankful for (at any given time of the day). You can sit down and write these secretly and plop them into the box. On Thanksgiving you can then read out everyone's drop-in grateful comments, and truly act on what Thanksgiving is all about, being grateful and thankful for all things good and bad, for that is what makes us who we are, evolving into better, mature beings as we progress everyday. So here's how you can get started on this little grateful box.

What You'll Need:

• Empty cereal box
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Colorful craft paper (autumn colors, in either red, orange or yellow)
• Black craft paper (2 sheets)
• Acrylic paint, or crayons (depending upon the toddler / child)

Method:

The first thing you need to do, is cut off the top flaps of the box, leaving it exposed so that you can drop in your comments. Then glue around the box with colored craft paper, by first applying glue over one side of the craft paper, and then applying pressure as you stick it on. After the whole box is covered in one color, then start on your black craft paper cut outs. You can snip these out into random geometrical shapes, or even eagles or fish. Using white acrylic paint, you can put in details like the eyes and outline the different shapes, to make it more intricate in its look. Remember that before you stick on these cut outs onto the box, to leave the mid section of one side empty so that you can use paint to write the words 'Grateful Drop-In Comments'. After you finish gluing on your little art cutouts, you can use other paints and colors of the crayons, to decorate the box in Thanksgiving art work, or even stick on cutouts like turkeys, cornucopia with fruits and flowers spilling out, and so on, to make it more colorful and unique.

Cornucopia Painting
You can put different shapes and colors of fruits and flowers, and arrange them in a spilling cascade from the cornucopia. This is simple to make, and can be hung up on the wall for emphasis on Thanksgiving day.

What You'll Need:

• Cardboard cutout (depending upon how big your artwork is)
• Colorful craft paper
• Glue stick
• Black acrylic paint / black crayon
• Paper mache (preferably any brown shade)
• Scissors
• Knitting thread

Method:

First start on your cut outs of the fruits and flowers; you can always use a picture book for reference. Once you have your cutouts ready, start out on the cornucopia. As you know, this mimics a horn-like appearance, where the other end tapers in a curvy cone fashion. Using the paper mache, carefully cut out such a structure, taking help from a picture, or trace the outline of one, since paper mache is very thin and an image behind it can easily be traced. Use three layers of this cutout, to make it more dense, and not look so transparent. Once you have your cornucopia, paste it down on a craft paper with any kind of colored background you'd like, depicting autumn colors. Then paste on your fruits and flower cutouts, in a like I said, cascading spill. Using the black acrylic paint / crayon, add detailing to the flowers and fruits. Once you're done, place them on the cardboard cutout that is the same size as your chart / drawing paper, and affix this on the wall using knitting thread. Punch two holes four inches apart from each other, and insert this thread, tying the ends securely to form a closed loop. You can then hang these anywhere you'd like.

Suspended Turkey
This quintessential craft idea, is a fun way of suspending a turkey, from a height, while it dangles about midair. Let's look at how you can do this.

What You'll Need:

• Cardboard cutout
• Orange, brown, red and yellow craft paper
• Glue stick
• A pair of wiggly eyes
• Scissors
• Long knitting thread
• Felt tip pen / crayon (black)

Method:

Cut out your brown craft paper, in the shape of a turkey's body minus the feathers, taking help from an image for guidance. Stick this onto the cardboard, and punch deep slits along the outline of the turkey. Continuously do that, until the cardboard comes off in the shape of the turkey's body. Paste the same color of the turkey craft paper cutout on the other side as well. Cut strips of the orange and yellow craft paper, and when sticking these, bend one end at a 90 degree angle, so that one tip has a small L-shaped protrusion sticking out. Do this for all the colored strips of yellow and orange, in roughly 20 strips each for a medium turkey, and more for a larger cutout. Stick these once-inch bends in a peacock feather-like fashion, going around the turkey's base so that they stick out like feathers. Make sure the strips aren't too long, or they'll droop, and make them slightly thick, and tapered at the ends, that is, pointy. You can later highlight the feathers using a black felt tip pen or crayons. After you stick on the feathers, then make a small heart-shaped cutout of the caruncle, which is the red portion affixed atop the turkey's head and chin. Stick these on as well. Lastly, make a cutout of the bill, in orange color, and stick this where the mouth would go. The last thing to go on are the wiggly eyes. Punch a hole at the center of the turkey's back, and tie the knit string in the same way as the previous idea, and suspend it from where you'd like.

Making these Thanksgiving arts and crafts is a great way of getting the entire family involved in preparing for Thanksgiving day. You can decorate the place with artwork of all sorts, that speak of Thanksgiving, and have a really good time in knowing you made it special, with family and friends alike. Have a happy Thanksgiving!