A Simple Turkey Placemat Craft for a Grateful Thanksgiving

During November, it’s a fun idea to have kids share what they are grateful for. There are tons of fun ways to do this, but one of my favorites is to display them using a turkey. After all, the turkey symbolizes November, am I right? This adorable turkey placemat craft activity lets kids share what they are thankful for and practice their writing skills. The mat can then be turned into a laminated placemat for family dinners. Keep reading to see how fun these are to create with your kids.

What Do I Need to Make a Thankful Turkey Placemat?

You need a downloadable template and some construction paper to create this simple craft. I used various colors to make the turkey’s feathers super colorful. I also used a blue background, but any color works!

Besides cardstock or construction paper, you will need scissors to cut the templates out and some glue to piece everything together. Once the craft is formed, students will use a pencil to write or draw what they are thankful for.

How to Make This Turkey Craft

Making this craft is super simple! Follow these step-by-step directions to make your own or show your kids how to create theirs.

• Print your template pieces onto the colored cardstock.
• Cut out your pieces carefully.
• Glue the feathers and turkey head to the back of the dinner plate.
• Glue the turkey and dinner plate down on the large piece of blue construction paper.
• Attach his feet under the plate.
• Add the napkin, fork, spoon, and knife on the sides of the plate.
• Don’t forget the eyes, beak, and wobble.

Watch this video tutorial to see how it’s done if you are a visual person like me.

Writing Recommendations

If you plan to have your kids write or draw a picture on the dinner plate, I recommend doing that step before gluing everything together. Give the kids their dinner plate to complete the writing or drawing activity before piecing things together. I advise this for two reasons:

1. If they write on the plate once the glue has been put down, it might be mushy, and the pencil won’t show very nicely.
2. Correcting mistakes is not easy if students glue their plates down and then complete the writing. The eraser may not work on the glue spots. Also, young kids tend to make many mistakes and may need multiple plates to get it right.

Coloring Placemat Turkey Page Option

If you have kids that LOVE to color, try printing out the coloring page option for them to decorate. This will take up a little more time, but you get more fine motor skills practice, and kids get to customize them.

Students can even write additional things they are thankful for on the individual feathers before coloring them. If they do this, make sure they know to color them lightly, so their words don’t get covered up.

More Ideas for the Placemat Turkey Craft Activity

Not a teacher and don’t know when to use this craft? Here are a few ideas:

• Have the kids in your family make the crafts on Thanksgiving day. Prep the materials and let them get crafty while dinner is prepared.
• Use it in a Sunday School class or small group with a few kids.
• Print the craft and have your own children share what they are grateful for at home. This is perfect for homeschool families as well.
• Provide this for a Thanksgiving party or get together.
• Pair it with a Thanksgiving read-aloud for kids to teach them about gratitude.

Use this craft year after year to promote gratitude among your children. Invite them to write what they are thankful for and share it with friends and family. It’s perfect for kids of all ages and super easy to complete! Have fun and Happy Thanksgiving.