How to Create the Best Kids’ Craft Table for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of those wonderful days when everyone seems to gather in the same place—family in the kitchen, conversations around the table, kids weaving in and out of the rooms, and plenty of waiting while dinner comes together.

For little ones, that waiting can feel especially long.

Instead of turning on the television or handing over a tablet, why not give the kids a Thanksgiving space of their own?

A simple Thanksgiving craft table gives children somewhere special to gather, create, and spend time together while the grown-ups cook and visit.

And it doesn’t have to mean buying piles of new craft supplies or planning complicated projects.

With paper plates, construction paper, washable paint, crayons, and a few things you may already have around the house or backyard, you can create an afternoon of screen-free Thanksgiving fun.

Even better, some of the children’s creations can become part of the celebration. They can make a wreath for the front door, fill a Thankful Tree with family memories, create colorful fall artwork, build a little sailing ship, and make their own Thanksgiving placemat for dinner.

The trick is to set everything up before your guests arrive. Do a little cutting and printing ahead of time, put the supplies where children can reach them, and let the kids move from activity to activity at their own pace.

And remember—you don’t need to make every craft in this post.

Pick and choose the activities that work for your family, the ages of the children coming, and the supplies you already have. Two or three simple projects can create just as much fun as five.

The goal is to make Thanksgiving easier and more enjoyable—not more expensive or complicated.

At Little Dreamers Club, that sounds like a pretty wonderful Thanksgiving afternoon.

Create. Play. Learn.

Set Up Your Thanksgiving Craft Table

The good news is that most of these activities use the same basic craft supplies.

Think of the following as a suggested supply list—not a shopping list. Substitute what you already have whenever possible.

Suggested Supplies

• Assorted construction paper
• White copy paper
• White and colored card stock
• 11 × 17 colored or kraft card stock for placemats
• Regular paper plates
• Small paper plates to use as paint palettes
• Washable markers
• Crayons
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue sticks
• Washable liquid school glue
• Clear tape
• Hole punch
• String, ribbon, yarn, or baker’s twine
• Small sturdy vase, jar, or container
• Clean bare branches or sticks from outside
• Washable finger paints in red, orange, yellow, and green
• Brown washable paint or brown markers
• Paintbrushes
• Jumbo craft sticks, wooden dowels, or sturdy paper straws
• Peel-and-stick fall leaves, foam leaves, paper leaves, or real leaves
• Googly eyes, optional
• Small bowls, cups, or trays for organizing supplies
• Baby wipes or damp paper towels
• Optional fall extras such as pom-poms, buttons, ribbon scraps, acorns, small twigs, stickers, or tissue paper

Use What You Have

A glass jar can become the vase for your Thankful Tree.

Scrap paper can become turkey feathers, fall leaves, or decorations.

Paper straws can replace wooden craft sticks.

Real leaves from the yard can replace purchased fall embellishments.

Brown crayons or markers can take the place of paint.

If you already have peel-and-stick fall leaves tucked into a craft drawer, use them. If you don’t, kids can color and cut paper leaves instead.

You can also add or subtract crafts depending on your supplies, table space, and how much prep you want to do.

For a large family gathering, you might set up every activity.

For a smaller Thanksgiving, choose your favorite two or three.

Either way, the kids still get their own creative destination for the afternoon.

Do a Little Prep Before Guests Arrive

A few minutes of preparation ahead of time will make the craft table much easier to manage on Thanksgiving Day.

You might:

• Cut the centers from paper plates for the wreath
• Print tree-trunk pages
• Cut and hole-punch leaves for the Thankful Tree
• Cut paper plates for younger children’s Mayflowers
• Pre-cut simple turkey body pieces
• Put supplies into small bowls or baskets
• Create a designated spot for wet artwork to dry
• Cut pieces of string or ribbon ahead of time

Older children can do much more of the cutting and assembly themselves, while younger children can concentrate on the fun parts—painting, gluing, decorating, and creating.

Start Together: Make a Fall Welcome Wreath

I love this as the first activity of the day because everyone can contribute to it.

Instead of immediately sending each child to an individual project, gather the kids around one wreath and let them make something together for the whole family.

When it dries, hang it on the front door.

You’ll Need

• 1 sturdy paper plate
• Adult scissors for cutting out the center
• Washable liquid school glue
• Peel-and-stick leaves, foam leaves, paper leaves, or real leaves
• Scraps of red, orange, yellow, and brown paper
• Ribbon or twine
• Optional pom-poms, fall stickers, tissue paper, or buttons
• A few safe nature finds such as small leaves, tiny twigs, or acorns

Before the Kids Begin

Have an adult cut the center from the paper plate to create the wreath shape.

Choose three or four decorating materials and place each one in a small bowl.

Keeping the choices manageable makes it easier for younger children to participate.

No peel-and-stick leaves?

Kids can color, cut, and glue paper leaves instead.

How to Make It

1. Add the glue.
Spread a little washable liquid glue over one section of the paper-plate ring.

2. Start decorating.
Add leaves, paper scraps, pom-poms, or other fall materials.

3. Build another layer.
Add a little more glue and layer additional decorations on top.

4. Add some nature.
Tuck in a few lightweight outdoor finds such as leaves or tiny twigs.

5. Let it dry.
Set the wreath somewhere safe while everyone moves on to another craft.

6. Hang it up.
Once dry, add ribbon or twine and hang the children’s creation on the front door.

If several children are attending, give everyone a section to decorate.

By the time the wreath is finished, every child has added something to the family’s Thanksgiving welcome.

Craft inspiration: Fall Wreath Making Station for Toddlers from Toddler Approved.

Create a Family Thankful Tree

Next, create something that can stay at the center of the craft table throughout the afternoon.

Go outside and gather several thin, bare branches and arrange them in a sturdy vase, jar, or container.

Then set out colorful paper leaves for children—and grown-ups—to add throughout the day.

You’ll Need

• Bare branches
• Vase, jar, or sturdy container
• Red, orange, and yellow construction paper or card stock
• Scissors
• Hole punch
• Ribbon, string, yarn, or baker’s twine
• Washable markers or crayons

Prepare the Leaves

Cut simple leaf shapes from fall-colored paper.

You can:

• Trace a real leaf
• Trace around a leaf-shaped cookie cutter
• Draw your own simple leaf
• Use pre-cut paper leaves

Punch a small hole near the top of each leaf and add a short loop of string or ribbon.

For little children, prepare the leaves completely before guests arrive.

Add Your Thankful Leaves

Invite each child to write or draw something they are thankful for.

Children who aren’t writing yet can draw a picture or tell an older child or grown-up what they would like written.

Then hang each leaf from one of the branches.

Throughout the afternoon, the bare branches slowly turn into a colorful Thankful Tree filled with family memories.

And invite the grown-ups to add a leaf too.

Save the Leaves

When Thanksgiving is over, don’t throw them away.

Remove the leaves and save them in an envelope or small bag labeled with the year.

Years from now, those little messages can become wonderful reminders of what mattered to everyone at that particular Thanksgiving.

Tradition inspiration: Meg Cox’s Thankfulness Tree tradition.

1. Thumbprint Fall Tree

Now the individual crafting can begin.

This colorful fall tree is especially nice for younger children because there’s no complicated cutting or assembly required.

Before guests arrive, print a simple tree trunk onto card stock for each child.

You’ll Need

• Pre-printed tree trunk on card stock
• Washable finger paints in red, orange, yellow, and green
• Small paper plates for the paint colors
• Baby wipes or damp paper towels

How to Make It

1. Choose a color.
Place small amounts of paint onto individual paper plates.

2. Add the leaves.
Have children dip one fingertip lightly into the paint and press fingerprints around the branches.

3. Layer the fall colors.
Continue with red, orange, yellow, and green until the tree looks just the way they want it.

Some children may cover every branch. Others may create a few leaves drifting toward the ground.

There is no wrong way to make a fall tree.

4. Let it dry.
Place completed artwork in your designated drying area while the kids move on to another activity.

Little Learning Moment

Finger painting isn’t just fun.

Carefully placing those tiny fingerprint leaves also encourages fine-motor control and hand-eye coordination.

Need a Tree Template?

Little Ladoo offers a free tree-without-leaves template through an email signup that works nicely for this project.

Craft inspiration: Finger Painted Fall Tree by Madhumitha at Little Ladoo.

2. Paper Plate Mayflower

For children who want something a little more construction-oriented, add a simple Paper Plate Mayflower station.

The original inspiration for this craft is fairly involved, so we’ve simplified the idea to make it more practical for a busy Thanksgiving gathering.

You’ll Need

• Paper plate
• Brown washable paint or brown markers
• Paintbrush
• White copy paper for the sails
• Jumbo craft sticks, sturdy paper straws, or wooden dowels
• Scissors
• Glue or tape
• Black marker

Make It Easier for Younger Children

Have an adult cut the paper plates and prepare some sails before guests arrive.

That way little crafters can concentrate on painting, decorating, and assembling their ships.

How to Make It

1. Make the hull.
Cut a paper plate in half to create the ship’s body.

2. Add some color.
Paint or color the hull brown.

Kids can add darker brown lines to make their ship look like it’s built from wooden planks.

3. Add the windows.
Draw several small circles along the hull for windows or portholes.

4. Make the sails.
Cut rectangles or simple sail shapes from white copy paper.

Copy paper works nicely here because it is lightweight and curves naturally around the mast.

5. Make the mast.
Attach the sail to a jumbo craft stick, sturdy paper straw, or wooden dowel.

6. Put it together.
Glue or tape the mast securely behind the paper-plate hull.

7. Add your own details.
Children can draw passengers, waves, clouds, birds, or anything else they imagine for their voyage.

Little Learning Moment

The Mayflower crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1620 carrying more than 100 passengers.

Ask your child:

What do you think would have been the hardest part of spending weeks traveling across the ocean on a sailing ship?

This activity can also provide an opportunity for an age-appropriate conversation about both the English settlers and the Indigenous peoples who were already living in the region.

Craft inspiration: FirstPalette’s Mayflower or Pirate Ship.

3. Make a Handprint Turkey Placemat

This craft does double duty.

First the kids create a colorful handprint turkey.

Then the finished turkey becomes the centerpiece of their own Thanksgiving placemat for dinner.

And because those feathers are made from their own handprints, it becomes a sweet keepsake too.

You’ll Need

• Brown, tan, red, yellow, orange, green, and other colored construction paper or card stock
• Pencil
• Child-safe scissors
• Glue stick
• Washable liquid glue, if needed for heavier pieces
• Googly eyes or paper eyes, optional
• Black marker
• One piece of 11 × 17 colored or kraft card stock for each child
• Crayons and washable markers
• Optional fall stickers or paper leaves

Make the Turkey

Cut:

• One large brown oval for the body
• One smaller brown circle for the head
• One tan oval for the belly
• One small yellow triangle for the beak
• One red teardrop shape for the snood
• Two small yellow feet

For younger children, prepare these shapes ahead of time.

Glue the head, belly, eyes, beak, snood, and feet together.

Make the Handprint Feathers

Trace the child’s hand onto several different colors of construction paper.

Make three or four handprints—or more if your turkey needs an especially impressive tail.

Cut the handprints out and fan them behind the turkey.

Glue the turkey body on top.

And make sure to write the child’s name and the year on the back.

Those hands won’t stay that little for long.

Turn It Into a Placemat

Glue the finished turkey onto one side of an 11 × 17 sheet of colored or kraft card stock.

Then let the kids decorate the rest of their placemat.

They might add:

• Their name
• Paper leaves
• Pumpkins or acorns
• Favorite Thanksgiving foods
• Fall doodles
• Stickers
• A colorful border
• Something they are thankful for

For younger children, add this original Little Dreamers Club Thanksgiving poem beside their turkey:

Little Thanksgiving Turkey

Little turkey, bright and proud,
Fan your feathers, gobble loud!
Thankful hearts and family near,
Make Thanksgiving special here.

When it’s time to eat, move the finished placemats from the craft table to the Thanksgiving table.

Now the kids get to eat dinner on something they created themselves.

Craft inspiration: Simple Everyday Mom’s Handprint Turkey Craft for Kids.

Let the Kids Move at Their Own Pace

A Thanksgiving craft table doesn’t need a schedule.

One child might spend five minutes making fingerprint leaves and half an hour decorating a placemat.

Another may only want to build the Mayflower.

Someone else may spend most of the afternoon adding leaves to the Thankful Tree.

That’s perfectly fine.

The goal isn’t for every child to leave with five identical crafts.

It’s to create a welcoming little corner where cousins, siblings, and friends can sit together, make something, talk, laugh, and enjoy being part of Thanksgiving.

Keep the supplies accessible, have wipes nearby, and don’t worry too much about a little paint or glue.

Those are usually signs that something fun is happening.

Make It Part of the Thanksgiving Memory

By the end of the afternoon, your house may look a little different.

There’s a child-made wreath hanging on the front door.

The Thankful Tree is covered with colorful messages.

Fingerprint trees are drying nearby.

Little sailing ships are ready for imaginary adventures.

And each child has a handmade turkey placemat waiting at their seat.

More importantly, the kids spent part of Thanksgiving creating together instead of simply waiting for the grown-ups to finish cooking—or disappearing in front of a screen.

You don’t need every project.

You don’t need perfect supplies.

And you certainly don’t need to spend a lot of money.

Choose a few ideas that work for your family, use what you already have, and let the kids take it from there.

Sometimes the simplest family traditions are the ones children remember.

At Little Dreamers Club, we think a Thanksgiving filled with a little less screen time and a little more creating, playing, learning, and being together sounds pretty wonderful.

Create. Play. Learn.