Thanksgiving crafts are a must in November! Perfect for little ones who want to be part of the holiday but aren’t quite ready to help in the kitchen.
There’s something about a table covered in half-cut turkey shapes that makes the whole month feel more festive! You with me?
And because as a mom, caregiver or teacher of a 2, 3 or 4 year olds, you need to have options for one of those days, this list of easy thanksgiving crafts for toddlers is sorted by mess level, from zero-cleanup to a touch of paint and/or glue. So you can pick based on how much time and patience you have!
Scroll to whichever section fits, no judgment either way. 🙂
If Thanksgiving crafting gets you in the mood for the rest of fall, don’t stop here — there’s a whole lineup of fall sensory activities and fall nature crafts to work through before the season’s out.
Or if you need a no-mess kind of day, this mess-free fall crafts post is the place to be!
Mess-Free Thanksgiving Crafts
Start here if you want mess-free thanksgiving crafts with no drying time, no paint, and nothing sticky or messy that ends up on the carpet.
Turkey Headband Craft
A wearable turkey headband your toddler can strut around in all afternoon, that’ll keep them busy while you’re prepping for the celebrations.
A fun cut, glue and assemble craft – click the link below for the free printable template.
Get the template at Simple Everyday Mom
Thanksgiving Bookmarks to Color
Print, color, cut, laminate if you’re feeling fancy — these turkey, pumpkin, and leaf bookmarks are as low-effort as this list gets.
Good for using up five spare minutes before dinner, or for slipping into a Thanksgiving-themed goodie bag.
Get the free printable at Rediscovered Families
Free Turkey Coloring Page
When you need something in five minutes flat, this is it — print, hand over crayons, done.
A simple craft that you can also use as a place card at your Thanksgiving table or why not give as a gift to someone special.
Get the free printable at Mommy Evolution
Low-Mess Thanksgiving Crafts
This next batch of fun creative toddler activities may use a glue stick – but are PVA glue and paint free, meaning minimal clean up. (Well that’s the theory – anything’s possible with a 2 or 3 year old involved, right?!)
Pinecone Calico Corn Craft
Got a load of pinecones needing a purpose? Push pompoms into the gaps to build up “kernels,” then create a simple Indian corn top, either with crepe paper or rafia.
There are two different sets of directions, one for toddlers and one for older kids and adults. So everyone can get involved!
See the full tutorial at Buggy and Buddy
Turkey Handprint Craft with Photo
For this one, you trace your toddler’s hand onto card stock for a cute paint-free handprint craft. It’s a genuinely mess-free toddler craft that will make a lovely keepsake this Thanksgiving.
Add a photo of your little one – fun to complete every year and see how quick they grow. Sob!
See the full tutorial at The Soccer Mom Blog
Free Printable Turkey Leaf Craft
Real or faux leaves stand in for feathers on a printable turkey template — a fun creative activity to follow a walk outside to collect leaves first.
Get the template at Simple Everyday Mom
Thanksgiving Turkey Craft With Free Printable
A sweet and simple Thanksgiving craft that involves some very simple cutting, ideal for toddlers and preschoolers.
Either before or after cutting, kids can color, and then finish by assembling with the help of a glue stick.
Get the free printable at Simply Full of Delight
Cornucopia Thanksgiving Kids Craft
Color a set of printable fruits and vegetables, cut them out, and glue them into a paper cornucopia — a nice change of pace from yet another turkey.
If you want to skip the cutting and gluing, simply use it as a coloring page.
Get the free template at A Little Pinch of Perfect
Free Build a Turkey Printable
Another cut-and-paste turkey but slightly more advanced scissor skills required, perfect for older toddlers and those starting out at school.
Get the free printable at Natasha LH
Torn Paper Turkey Craft
Kids tear colored paper into scraps and glue them onto a paper plate base as feathers — good for fine motor skill development. And toddlers love the destructive nature of the tearing!
See the full tutorial at Living Life and Learning
Pilgrim Photo Craft
Your toddler’s photo gets slotted into a printable pilgrim template to make a personalized keepsake figure — sweet for a Thanksgiving table display or a card to grandparents.
Get the template at Simple Everyday Mom
Stuffed Paper Bag Turkey Craft
A paper bag gets stuffed and decorated into a plump little turkey using a free printable template — a fun one because it actually stands up on its own once it’s done.
Get the template at Simple Everyday Mom
Turkey Name Craft
Kids color and cut a turkey, then spell their name across the feathers — ideal for toddlers starting to recognize the letter in thsir name.
Get the template at Simple Everyday Mom
Gratitude Wreath Craft
A simple wreath built around gratitude — a lovely one to talk through with your toddler as you assemble it, even if the conversation is mostly one-sided at this age.
See the full tutorial at Lightly Sketched
Handprint Candy Corn Turkey Craft
A twist on the classic handprint turkey — trace your toddlers hand, then they can glue on real candy corn as the colorful feathers. That’s if they can regrain from eating it!
See the full tutorial at Mommy Evolution
Pom Pom Turkey Craft
Pom poms, felt, and googly eyes come together into a fluffy little turkey — just swap the hot glue gun the tutorial calls for with tacky glue, and have an adult pre-cut the felt pieces so your toddler’s job is purely placing and gluing.
See the full tutorial at The Soccer Mom Blog
Dollar Tree Wood Slice Turkey Craft
A wood slice from the dollar store becomes a turkey body, with faux fall leaves fanned out as feathers — an adorable Thanksgiving craft toddlers dan help with that’d also make a lovely rustic decoration.
See the full tutorial at Rock Painting Guide
Mayflower Handprint Craft
A painted handprint becomes the sail on a little paper Mayflower boat — another one with a built-in history angle if you want to talk about the first Thanksgiving.
Get the tutorial at Simple Everyday Mom
Colorful Family Turkey Handprint Craft
Get all the kids plus mom and dad to create their own handprint turkey using cardstock, clothespins and googly eyes. The result: a colorful family of turkeys to decorate your table this Thanksgiving.
Get the tutorial at One Simple Party
Coffee Filter Turkey Craft
Color a coffee filter with washable markers, spritz it with water, and watch the colors bleed and blend — genuinely satisfying process art, even if it needs proper drying time before assembly.
See the full tutorial at Beth Ann Averill
Toddler-Friendly Thanksgiving Crafts That Are A Little Messier
These ones have a little more mess potential, so they’re best saved for a day when you’ve got a bit more time and a washable table underneath.
Dried Bean Indian Corn Craft
Print and cut out the free template, paint glue over the corn part and let your toddler add dried beans — older ones may enjoy creating patterns, but let them create as they please! This simple Thanksgiving craft is part process art and part craft.
(Keep a close eye on little ones that like to put things in their mouth – those beans are a potential choke hazard.)
Get the free template at All Kids Network
Paper Plate Turkey Craft
A paper plate cut in half becomes sponge-painted feathers, assembled behind a construction-paper turkey body with googly eyes and a waddle.
A lovely bit of process art, followed by simple assembly – a cute turkey craft for Thanksgiving that toddlers are sure to enjoy
See the full tutorial at Mommy Evolution
Turkey Handprint Craft For Kids
Here’s a classic turkey craft for toddlers: a painted handprint turned into a turkey with feathers and a googly eye to create the face.
Get the tutorial at This Tiny Blue House
Thankful Jar
Cover a mason jar in torn tissue paper using liquid starch or thinned glue brushed on with a paintbrush, then add a few tissue-paper leaf shapes on top.
Once it’s dry, it’s time to ask your toddler what they’re thankful for. Jot it down on a slip of paper and put it in the jar. Even a two-word answer like “my dog” or “pancakes” counts, and it’s a sweet one to read back next year!
See the full tutorial at Buggy and Buddy
Pine Cone Turkeys
A painted pine cone gets a pompom head, googly eyes, and a fanned feather tail — a lovely one to pair with a nature walk to collect the pine cones first.
See the full tutorial at XOXO Bella
Handprint Pilgrim Art
A handprint turned into a pilgrim character rather than a turkey — a nice bit of variety, and an easy way into a little Thanksgiving history chat.
See the original post on Instagram
Thanksgiving Hand & Footprint Art With Free Poem Printable
A sweet toddler craft for Thanksgiving, using the prints of your little ones hands and feet. Pair it with the free printable poem, and you’ve got a gorgeous keepsake to mark the season.
Get the free printable at Mama of Minis
Thanksgiving Toilet Paper Roll Turkey Craft
An empty toilet paper roll becomes the turkey body, while colorful construction paper is turned into feathers.
Ask your toddler to talk about the things they love – write one on each feather. A lovely way for them to express their gratitude at this special time of year.
See the full tutorial at Honey and Lime
Thanksgiving Paper Plate Mayflower Craft
A paper plate becomes the hull of the Mayflower, decorated with circle stickers and topped with a paper and craft stick sale. What a fun way to bring the ship into craft time alongside the turkeys.
See the full tutorial at A Little Pinch of Perfect
Turkey Paper Plate Mask
A wearable turkey mask that uses a painted paper plate with feathers, beak, and wattle made from construction paper. A simple craft, ideal for toddlers to get stuck into.
See the full tutorial at The Purple Yarn
Easy Handprint Turkey Craft
A simple painted handprint turkey using multiple feather colors — this could be tricky with the littlest ones, in which case choose one color for all the feathers. Whatever keeps your crafting session easy and fun!
See the full tutorial at Thanksgiving Mommy
Paper Plate Pilgrim
A painted paper plate becomes a pilgrim’s face, topped with a construction-paper hat and hair — a fun history tie-in to round out the more painted end of this list of toddler-friendly Thanksgiving crafts.
See the full tutorial at Education.com
Turkey Toilet Paper Roll Craft (Free Template)
Another turkey toilet paper roll craft, this one uses a free template to create 3 layers of vibrant turkey feathers.
The result: a cute turkey that stands up – I love it’s llittle face!
See the full tutorial at Mommy Evolution
Paper Plate Turkey Craft
Here’s another fun paper plate turkey ideal for kids of the toddler age. An adult will be needed to assist in the cutting out, but 2, 3 and 4 year olds can get stuck into the painting and assembly.
See the full tutorial at Living Life and Learning
Ready For Some Thanksgiving Crafting?
If you have a little person at your feet and want to get creative during this special time of year, you should now be armed with plenty of ideas – to fit whatever kind of day you’re having! There are super easy toddler crafts plus those which require a little more time or have a bit more potential for mess.
Here are some more Fall crafts to see your through the season:
- 25 Fun & Easy Fall Leaf Crafts for Kids
- 35+ Quick & Easy Fall Crafts For Toddlers
- 25 Simple Fall Learning Activities For Toddlers
And bookmark these festive blog favorites – Christmas is just around the corner!
