Thankful Turkey

Thankful Turkey
Rating:
No votes yet
Supervision:
1 adult per 5 children
You will need:
  1. Gourd or pumpkin
  2. Glue dots (hot glue does not work on pumpkins' waxy surfaces)
  3. Googly eyes
  4. Pom-poms
  5. Construction paper
  6. Markers (only permanent can be used on a pumpkin's surface!)
  7. Our feather template (downloadable below) (optional)
  8. Scissors
  9. Skewers, toothpicks, or pipe cleaners (about 4 inches long)
  10. Tape
  11. Hammer
  12. A thin nail
Intro:

This Thankful Turkey craft is a two-parter! Before your gathering of friends and family, you can take a leftover pumpkin or gourd to make a featherless turkey. Then, once everyone's there, together you can write what you give thanks for. Each note of thanks becomes a feather, and your beautifully-plumed turkey will make a heartfelt and fun centerpiece for the table!

Step 1:

We begin by prepping a featherless turkey! Select a large pom-pom to be your turkey's head. Place it on top of a glue dot. Peel the glue dot off (with the pom-pom still attached) and place it on the stem or top of your pumpkin where you would like the turkey head to be. (This technique of applying something to the glue dot BEFORE pulling it from its paper backing really helps to keep it from sticking to your fingers!)

Step 2:

Just as you did with the pom-pom, stick each of your googly eyes on to a glue dot. Peel the glue dot off (with the eye attached) and place it on the pom-pom.

Step 3:

Cut out a beak and wattle from construction paper. Apply a glue dot to both items and glue them on the pumpkin.

Step 4:

Now that you have a wonderful turkey head, it's time to decorate! With a Sharpie or other permanent marker (only permanent will work on the pumpkin's surface!), you can draw feathers on your turkey's chest, sides, and back.

Step 5:

To finish prepping your Thankful Turkey for your gathering, you need to make a few pilot holes in the turkey's backside. This step should be for adults only! Taking your thin nail and hammer, tap the nail into the pumpkin. Make a shallow hole, then remove the nail. Repeat until you have enough holes so that each feather can fit into one!

Step 6:

There's one last thing you need to get ready: the feathers! Using our free template, trace and cut out a series of paper feathers on your construction paper. You can either trace a feather or teardrop shape, or fold your paper in half and trace a half-teardrop shape away from the crease so that when you cut it out, it's perfectly symmetrical. (Just like making Valentine's hearts!)

Step 7:

This next part you do when all of your friends and family are present. Encourage everyone to think of something they're thankful for, and write it down on one of your construction-paper feathers.

Step 8:

Take the written-on feathers and glue or tape them to a toothpick, skewer, or pipe cleaner. Make sure that about 2 inches of the skewer sticks down below the feather. If your skewers or pipe cleaners are longer than 4 inches, just cut them with scissors ahead of time.

Step 9:

Insert your feathers into the holes you made with the nail ahead of time.

Step 10:

The more thanks you give, the more feathers you make, the more beautiful your turkey is! Be sure to display it prominently so everyone can see what you're thankful for!

, ,
Craft Variations:

Here are a few of my examples.

Rating:
No votes yet
Supervision:
1 adult per 5 children
You will need:
  1. Gourd or pumpkin
  2. Glue dots (hot glue does not work on pumpkins' waxy surfaces)
  3. Googly eyes
  4. Pom-poms
  5. Construction paper
  6. Markers (only permanent can be used on a pumpkin's surface!)
  7. Our feather template (downloadable below) (optional)
  8. Scissors
  9. Skewers, toothpicks, or pipe cleaners (about 4 inches long)
  10. Tape
  11. Hammer
  12. A thin nail
Difficulty:
Attention, please! (a few rules to follow)
Prep Time:
20 minutes or more
Time Length:
15 - 30 minutes
Intro:

This Thankful Turkey craft is a two-parter! Before your gathering of friends and family, you can take a leftover pumpkin or gourd to make a featherless turkey. Then, once everyone's there, together you can write what you give thanks for. Each note of thanks becomes a feather, and your beautifully-plumed turkey will make a heartfelt and fun centerpiece for the table!

Step 1:

We begin by prepping a featherless turkey! Select a large pom-pom to be your turkey's head. Place it on top of a glue dot. Peel the glue dot off (with the pom-pom still attached) and place it on the stem or top of your pumpkin where you would like the turkey head to be. (This technique of applying something to the glue dot BEFORE pulling it from its paper backing really helps to keep it from sticking to your fingers!)

Step 2:

Just as you did with the pom-pom, stick each of your googly eyes on to a glue dot. Peel the glue dot off (with the eye attached) and place it on the pom-pom.

Step 3:

Cut out a beak and wattle from construction paper. Apply a glue dot to both items and glue them on the pumpkin.

Step 4:

Now that you have a wonderful turkey head, it's time to decorate! With a Sharpie or other permanent marker (only permanent will work on the pumpkin's surface!), you can draw feathers on your turkey's chest, sides, and back.

Step 5:

To finish prepping your Thankful Turkey for your gathering, you need to make a few pilot holes in the turkey's backside. This step should be for adults only! Taking your thin nail and hammer, tap the nail into the pumpkin. Make a shallow hole, then remove the nail. Repeat until you have enough holes so that each feather can fit into one!

Step 6:

There's one last thing you need to get ready: the feathers! Using our free template, trace and cut out a series of paper feathers on your construction paper. You can either trace a feather or teardrop shape, or fold your paper in half and trace a half-teardrop shape away from the crease so that when you cut it out, it's perfectly symmetrical. (Just like making Valentine's hearts!)

Step 7:

This next part you do when all of your friends and family are present. Encourage everyone to think of something they're thankful for, and write it down on one of your construction-paper feathers.

Step 8:

Take the written-on feathers and glue or tape them to a toothpick, skewer, or pipe cleaner. Make sure that about 2 inches of the skewer sticks down below the feather. If your skewers or pipe cleaners are longer than 4 inches, just cut them with scissors ahead of time.

Step 9:

Insert your feathers into the holes you made with the nail ahead of time.

Step 10:

The more thanks you give, the more feathers you make, the more beautiful your turkey is! Be sure to display it prominently so everyone can see what you're thankful for!

Craft Variations:

Here are a few of my examples.

, ,
PDF Download:
Thankful turkey feather template.pdf
Materials:
  1. Gourd or pumpkin
  2. Glue dots (hot glue does not work on pumpkins' waxy surfaces)
  3. Googly eyes
  4. Pom-poms
  5. Construction paper
  6. Markers (only permanent can be used on a pumpkin's surface!)
  7. Our feather template (downloadable below) (optional)
  8. Scissors
  9. Skewers, toothpicks, or pipe cleaners (about 4 inches long)
  10. Tape
  11. Hammer
  12. A thin nail

Sophie's Tip of the Week

If you're doing an outdoor party, be prepared for wind! Make sure you have things to secure tables, paper goods, and invest in those trick candles that won't blow out in the in a gust!