If you know me, you know I love the Holidays; and I especially love doing fun holiday crafts with my kids - even if it doesn't turn out how I want it to. So we went to Target (my second home, tied with Starbucks) and searched for any kind of crafts we could find. Now, I will say that Thanksgiving tends to be harder to shop for. I've learned over the years that if you don't grab the Holiday stuff when you first see it, the "good stuff" typically disappears. So don't wait! Whenever you see the Holiday stuff coming out (no matter what Holiday) make sure you snag a few activities to make sure you have plenty of fun things to do.
If your local Target or crafts store doesn't have this turkey making kit, don't fret! I'll show you a couple ways to adopt the activity and "make your own." I was just being lazy and enjoying the done-for-you concept.
Alright lets get this turkey fun started...
Our pack came with three turkeys, but if you're making it yourself you can do as many turkeys as you want. Essentially you will have a few parts to glue/tape together; whether you make it yourself
or you find a pre-made kit.
You will need:
A turkey body
Turkey tail (half circle)
Turkey feathers
Glue or double sided tape
Extras:
Feet (optional)
Googly eyes for fun
Any glitter, sequins etc. that your child may want to decorate with
Markers, colored pencils or crayons for added creativity
We kept our turkeys pretty plain... but there are so many possibilities with this craft. Depending on your child's attention span and creativity, they could pretty much decorate every part of the turkey, how ever they want.
You could have them add designs to each feather, add glitter paint or glue, rhinestones, sequins, you name it! The possibilities are endless. My son just wanted his turkeys to look like the ones on the package, so we left them plain.
Each turkey got two googly eyes, two feet (double sided tape) and three rows of feathers. Create a guide on your half circle (if you can't find a pre-made pack) with three lines and dots for the feather placement. Ours had 9 dots on the outer and innermost lines and 10 dots on the middle line.
The feathers were three different colors based on their size.
A large, medium and small size feather working from out to in.
Each feather had two pieces of double sided tape, one to fold the paper over and create a bubble shape and one to stick to the half circle shape - creating a tail of flared "3D" feathers.
If you are making the activity your self, cut 9 large strips of paper at about an inch wide and about 6 inches long. Cut 10 medium strips of paper at about 3/4 inch wide and 6 inches long. Cut 9 small strips of paper at about 1/2 inch wide and 6 inches long.
The great thing about doing this activity from scratch is that you can customize your "feathers" however you want! You can have all of the colors the same, mix it up, or do a gradient of fall colors like our kit came with. You can also do more feathers or less, depending on the size of your turkey and your desired look. Get creative and make it your own!
Here are a few ideas to help with making your own turkey craft:
You could also just cut out shapes of colored construction paper and make your own turkey. Cut out a "peanut"-type shape for the turkey body, a small peanut shape for the gobbler/wattle, a small triangle for the beak and some feet.
Or use the images above, print and cut them out on a thicker paper to get started. Use a ruler and a pencil to create your strips of paper in your choice of color(s) and have fun!
I hope you and your kids enjoy this craft for Thanksgiving! Let me know how you adapted this craft and what creative works your kids created! I'd love to see pictures of your turkeys.
Happy Thanksgiving lovely!
For each turkey start with:
Turkey body and/or feet
Half circle for feather placement (three lines and dots to guide)
2 googly eyes
9 - 1 by 6 inch strips of dark orange construction paper
10 - 3/4 by 6 inch strips of bright orange construction paper
9 - 1/2 by 6inch strips of burgundy construction paper
Optional:
Markers, colored pencils, crayons
Glitter paint or glue
Rhinestones/sequins
Any extra add-ons you feel like decorating with!
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