Thanksgiving (Turkey Handprint) Kids Table

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I have been reflecting on the progression of our Thanksgivings over the years. This used to be the one holiday that my entire side of the family came together. We spent several days at my mom’s house baking, taking walks through the almond orchards in her town, playing games, bike riding, watching movies, and preparing for the big feast on Thanksgiving Day. When my mom passed away, 6 years ago, everything about this beloved holiday changed. We started getting together with my family the weekend after Thanksgiving for a non traditional meal, which has still made for some really fun memories, but some years, we have found ourselves at home on Thanksgiving Day, just the 5 of us.

I love to create memories that my kids will look back on with joy when they have families of their own, so on those quiet Thanksgivings we started a new tradition. I purchased a roll of brown craft paper and used it as our table cloth. I grabbed a large bowl from the kitchen to use as a template to trace circles for each member of our family and put a bucket of markers in the middle of the table. At some point in the day, before our big feast, we all sit down and make “turkey handprints” in the circles and then write the things we are thankful for. The circles then become our dinner place settings. #CommissionsEarned

On Thanksgiving, like many families, we take some time to share what we are thankful for. This interactive table setting, provides plenty of content for a wonderful conversation about gratitude and gives each member of the family a chance to put their creativity on display.

You can even add to this activity by including some fun holiday stickers for the kids, as well as a beautiful thankful sticker to place along the center of your table. #CommissionsEarned

For more fun Thanksgiving ideas, check out these blogposts:

Thanksgiving Turkey Place Cards

Thanksgiving Cakes and Cupcakes

Fall Leaf Cupcakes

Thankful Tree

Breakfast Turkey

Advertisement

Thanksgiving Turkey Place Cards

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday.  I love the food, the family time, and all the yummy desserts.  Involving the kids in the preparations makes the anticipation even greater.  Each year, I give my kids an activity to do before we pack up and make the trip to visit family for Thanksgiving.  We made these place cards several years ago, and I have to say, they are still one of my favorites.  To make these cute turkey place cards for your Thanksgiving table you will need card stock in plain colors, scrapbooking paper in various fall prints for the feathers, and buttons or googly eyes.  Cut out rectangles of card stock and fold in half for the cards, cut out the basic turkey shape, small orange triangles for beaks, red squiggly gobbles, and feathers in various prints.  Hand out glue sticks and let your kids get creative with the design of their turkeys.  Leave some room on one side to place the names.  I just printed a list of names off of the computer and then backed them with dark brown card stock to make them pop.  These little place cards looked perfect on our Thanksgiving table, and my kids were very proud of their creations! #CommissionsEarned

My daughter and I recently added a tutorial for you to enjoy and you can find another fun kid friendly Thanksgiving idea by clicking on my most recent blogpost Thanksgiving (Turkey Handprint) Kids Table.  Happy Thanksgiving!

img_4330