Rock Out for Thanksgiving: Name Card Craft

Thanksgiving may be weeks away, but that doesn’t mean your little pilgrim can’t begin to create some holiday crafts.  We found this cute idea where you use rocks from your garden as a Thanksgiving name card craft – get a head start (we know how choosing seats at the dinner table can be daunting during the holidays!).

Plymouth Rocks
Instead of using paper place cards, coat stones in brightly colored tempera paint and glue on alphabet pasta letters.

Items Needed:

• number of rocks to equal your # of family members and/or guests
• colored tempera paint (found at your local hardware store)
• bag of pasta letters (at your local grocery store)
• Elmer’s Glue

 Directions:

1. Find rocks in your garden (however many are in your family or your party)
2. Wash the rocks and dry them thoroughly
3. Paint the entire rock the color of your choice with tempera paint
4. Glue on alphabet letters to spell out your family names (i.e. dad, mom, Charly, Ella, etc.)
5. Allow to dry on newspaper inside the house
6. Set the table! 🙂

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Peter, Peter Pumpkin Bird Feeder – For kids!

Fall is here and pumpkins are everywhere! With rain coming our way, what is a fun project – we love the idea of a pumpkin bird feeder.  Here is what you can do as a family that will make a nice outdoor decoration…

1. Go to any local grocery store or nursery and pick up a small pumpkin (3-5 lbs.)
2. Buy regular bird seeds/supplement at a local pet store
3. Cut a 3- to 5- pound pumpkin in half
4. Scoop out the seeds, but leave a ½-inch thick wall
5. Cut a ½-inch-deep groove in the rim for pumpkin seeds
6. For perches, poke holes and insert twigs from your yard
7. To hang, knot two lengths of twine together in the center; tack knot to feeder bottom
8. Fill with birdseed
9. Hang anywhere from your porch to a tree in your front yard and enjoy!

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Give Thanks for Napkin Rings!!!

Preparing for that perfect Thanksgiving meal? Include your little ones by making one-of-a-kind napkin rings for a truly special touch.  These ‘mini-masterpieces’ can be used for years to come or shared with guests as the reminder of a memorable day.

source: bhg.com

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:

• Paper towel tubes
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Construction paper
• Craft glue
• Craft supplies (markers, paint, paintbrush, ribbon, beads, feathers, etc.)

Measure and cut the tubes so each ring measures 2 inches in length. Be sure to make enough so everyone coming to dinner has a napkin ring. Cut the same number of 2-inch-wide colored paper strips. Glue the paper strips to the tubes.Now decide how you want to decorate your napkin rings. You could make each different or create a variety of looks. Use markers, paint, ribbon, beads, and feathers to decorate the rings. Here is a great chance to be really creative and fanciful.

DECORATING IDEAS:

source: familyfun.go.com

• Draw a turkey, autumn leaves, pumpkins, pilgrims, Native American headdresses or something fanciful on construction paper, then cut it out and glue it to the ring.
• Draw pictures of each family member to create their own personalized napkin ring or use a photo of each person attending and use it as the face of a turkey, pumpkin or pilgrim that you have glued to the ring.
• Leave a space on your design for names and you’ve turned it into a place card.  

 

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Get Ready for Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving is approaching – construct some really cute decorations and create excitement by making your children part of the preparations.  Kids love creating art – and what better way to ‘Give Thanks” than to be surrounded by your little darling’s masterpieces! 

This idea is quick, easy and fun!

SUPPLIES:

• Construction paper in Fall colors (brown, red, orange, yellow)
• Pencil or Pen
• Scissors
• Glue
• Googly eyes and orange pipe cleaners (optional – but really fun)
• Most importantly…Your kids!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Trace around you child’s feet using brown construction paper and cut them out. The two pieces will be the turkey’s body.
2. Trace around your child’s hands using red, orange, and yellow construction paper and cut them out. These 6 pieces will be the turkey’s feathers.
3. Glue the two footprints together to make the turkey’s body by overlapping the heels (forming the head) and the balls of the footprints spread out (forming the body) – think ‘triangle.’
4. Cut out a round red wattle (small circle) and orange beak (smaller triangle.) Glue the wattle, beak (triangle in the circle facing down,) and googly (or paper) eyes to the turkey’s head.
5. Make two legs from paper and glue them to the back of the body (or use the pipe cleaners and tape them to the back of the body.)
6. Glue the handprint “feathers” to the back of the turkey (spreading them from the base to the top and back down the other side.)
7. Decorate your house with these adorable turkeys!  Make sure to put your child’s name and age on the back of the turkey for a fabulous keepsake.  Gobble – Gobble!!!

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