How to Make a DIY Thankful Turkey

Being thankful for what you have is something I really want to be mindful of teaching my kids. We have a giant outdoor chalkboard on our fence and I recently wrote ” I am thankful for…” on the top. Every afternoon when we play outside, the kids and I add more things we are thankful for, you have to see this cuteness.

This post is oringially from 2015, when Maxwell was only 19 months old. The original intro to this tutorial was so cute, I’m leaving it right below.

“Maxwell is only 19 months old, but I figure it doesn’t hurt to start talking about it now! He says “pease” and “tanks”, which is just about the cutest thin I’ve ever heard. Although, I’m beginning to realize that “pease” actually means “give it to me now or I’m going to squeal”. We made a this cute little Thanksgiving craft together and discussed things we are thankful for. Ok, so maybe it wasn’t a true discussion, but I told him how thankful I am that I am his mom, and he babbled to me and said “bus” and “boat” a lot while bringing me his favorite toys.”

Here’s a quick video of the thankful turkey craft tutorial. Read below for more details about how to make the little turkey!

If you’re like me and prefer a step by step with pictures and words. Read on, my friend, for the cutest little turkey craft idea!

Here’s what you need to make a thankful turkey craft

• styrofoam ball
• brown yarn
• toothpicks
• tape
• colored construction paper
• scissors
• wooden drawer pull (or cork)
• 2 google eyes
• scrap of red yarn

How to make a thankful turkey

This little Thanksgiving turkey is super easy to make, and the kids can certainly help or even make one on their own! I love the idea of making one gigantic thankful turkey, and then the whole family could add feathers and he would double as a fun table center peice!

Step 1- Wrap the styrofoam ball

As you can see from the picture, my styrofoam ball is up cycled from an old fake flower arrangement. Wrap the ball in brown yarn. TIP: Secure the beginning peice of yarn with a peice of tape. When the entire ball is covered in yarn, tuck the end peice under other yarn strands.

Step 2- Create turkey face

I used a toothpick and a wooden drawer pull to make the turkey’s head. Tie a small piece of red yarn around the toothpick to make the gobble. Then, glue on two google eyes, and a triangular peice of yellow construction paper to the wooden knob to make the turkey face.

Step 3- Connect the turkey’s head

Stick the wooden knob right on the ball of yarn with the toothpick! If you don’t have a wooden knob, consider just using construction paper or possibly a wine cork!

Step 4- Make feathers

To make the feathers, cut a feather shape out of construction paper, and use tape to secure the feathers to toothpicks. Talk to the the kiddos about what they are thankful for and write each item on a feather.

Step 5- Make a stand

The last step is to add 3 toothpicks to the bottom of the turkey so that she can stand on a flat surface.

I love that you can easily add feathers to your turkey each day or whenever you think of more things. If you have a large family, consider making a few turkeys! Styrofoam balls come in a variety of sizes, so you could also just make one giant turkey!

The thankful turkeys make perfect centerpieces too, and how cute are these placemats? They are made out of brown paper bags and perfect for entertaining kiddos and continuing the thankful conversations at dinner. See the full brown bag thankful placemat tutorial here. Happy November, y’all!