Fun Activities for Your Kids This Thanksgiving

Fun Activities for Your Kids This Thanksgiving

To quote a song from one of my favorite holiday movies, it's "time for all that children call their favorite time of year". This is first big chunk of the school year that most kids will have off, and there is a whole bevy of activities in which to engage them to fuel their holiday spirits.

In my experience, doling out chores during this time off is no way to breed cupfuls of cheer, instead, I recommend Thanksgiving crafts. The result is hours of creativity, fun memories and a little peace and quiet for Mom and Dad.

THANKSGIVING CENTERPIECE One of the best ways to engage the mind of your child and tear them away from their normal routine of television, video games or homework is to get them crafting. Older children may enjoy crafting a Thanksgiving centerpiece using items such as pumpkins, cranberries, colorful leaves, and candles. Below is a great centerpiece idea which I plan to use at my wedding.

What you'll need: - Small Sunflowers (or other fall-colored flower) - Red Dried Cranberries - A large glass vase

This is a very simple centerpiece, but it comes out looking gorgeous. The process for creating the centerpiece is very simple. Fill the glass vase about three quarters (maybe a little more) with cranberries to act as a base. Then place the sunflowers in the vase. Fill the vase with water and voila! You have a glorious thanksgiving centerpiece. Experimenting with different flowers and bases (like cumquats) is where things get interesting and your older children can spend hours selecting the perfect arrangement.

THANKSGIVING PLACEHOLDER A center piece will hold the attention and cater to the skill of an older child, but for young children, you'll need to select a different craft. Here is a great idea for a Thanksgiving placeholder for each of your guests that will keep the little ones busy crafting on their day off.

What you'll need: - Yellow and red felt - Tacky glue - Plastic 'Googily Eyes' - Dark brown pom poms - Pinecones of course - Colorful pipe cleaner - Construction paper and marker

Here are the instructions for assembly: 1.) Cut a little turkey beak and gross-looking red turkey waddle out of the felt. 2.) The Head: With the tacky glue, paste the Googily Eyes, beak and waddle to the brown pom-pom. That's your head. 3.) Wrap a piece of pipe cleaner around the center of the pine cone with the ends pointing toward the bottom. Twist the cleaner around itself and use the left over ends to fashion two turkey feet (make sure you cut enough). 4.) For that signature feathery turkey tail, loop several strands of pipe cleaner around the base of the pinecone and mold the cleaner to stick up and fan out like a peacock. 5.) Glue the head to the tip of the turkey. Wait for it to dry 6.) Cut out small colorful construction paper place settings and wedge them into the ridges of the pinecone.

This will keep the kids busy crafting for hours with a cute turkey placeholder/action figure.. For an extra crafty approach, add paint to the pine cone and turn them into boy or girl turkeys with pink and blue water-based paints.

This article was made possible by easy kid crafts and simple kid crafts blog: thecraftygal

This article was made possible by easy kid crafts and simple kid crafts blog: thecraftygal