Thanksgiving Activities for Kids

Out of the dozens of cardboard tube crafts we’ve made over the years, we’ve never made a turkey. Go figure.

So, this was the year to correct things (and use of that supply of cardboard tubes we’ve accumulated) and make a cute and very colorful Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft.

Let’s grab some supplies and get crafting! And, once you’re done with your turkey, check out all of our Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids for more holiday fun with your kids.

Disclosure: There are Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links in this article which means, at no additional cost to you, we could receive compensation for our recommendations. You can read our full disclosure policy on our Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies Needed:

2 empty cardboard tubes
Scissors
Red, orange, green, yellow, and brown craft paint
Glue
Googly Eyes
Scrap of yellow paper

How to make your Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft

To start, we need to cut up our cardboard tubes. Cut one tube in half. We’ll only use one of the halves for our turkey, so set the extra half aside.

Cut the other cardboard tube lengthwise into four different sections.

Paint your half tube brown and your lengthwise sections in red, orange, yellow, and green.

After your paint is dry, cut fringes in the top of each color section.

Then, cut each of the sections in half lengthwise. You’ll have eight different fringed pieces for your tail.

Alternate the colors and arrange your fringed section into a fan-shape.

You’ll want it to be in the shape of a half circle.

Glue your tail pieces together. Start with the first piece, and use a quarter-size spot of glue to glue each piece down.

Glue piece by piece until you have your fan shape complete.

Hold tight for awhile to let the glue dry. Then, take a clothespin (or any type of clip) and clip the glued section to hold it tight while the glue dries. It can take awhile for the glue to dry since this is such a thick piece.

While you’re waiting for your tail to dry, complete the turkey’s face.

Glue two googly eyes and a small triangle of yellow for the beak.

Finally, take your tail (which will be a bit heavy) and glue it to the back of your turkey. Use your clothespin to help hold the two pieces together until they dry.

Note: If you would like to avoid the drying time, you can use a hot-glue gun for this project. It will dry a lot faster and you won’t need to use the clothespin as a clamp. If your kids are old enough to use a hot-glue gun, I would use this instead of the white glue to cut back on waiting times.

Once everything is dry, your super-cute and colorful turkey craft is ready for display.

If you enjoyed this Cardboard Tube Turkey Craft, the above photo is perfect for sharing on Facebook or you can save the photo below on Pinterest.

You may also like one of these Thanksgiving activities for kids:

Cardboard Tube Pilgrim Hat Craft

Turkey Suncatcher Craft

Fun Cranberry Activities for Kids

Sensory Bottle Turkeys at Fun-A-Day

Recommended Resources for Thanksgiving Crafts

If you’re looking for easy crafts, I love the limited addition Thanksgiving Box from Green Kid Crafts. It comes with all the supplies and instructions you need to make some cute Thanksgiving Crafts. We’re big fans of Green Kid Crafts boxes. They’re fun, easy, and contain only natural and sustainable materials. And, if you’re not interested in their Thanksgiving Box, there are plenty of other art and STEM boxes (including a monthly subscription) to choose from.

Find the Thanksgiving Box here.

Check out all the other boxes here.

We’ve made so many turkey crafts over the years. They’re so cute and so much fun.

But, there are other fun things you can do for Thanksgiving, like this cute Cardboard Tube Pilgrim Hat Craft.

So grab a few supplies and let’s get crafting. And, once you’re done, check out all of our Thanksgiving crafts for kids for more fun.

Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate and other affiliate links. Please see my Disclosure Page for more details.

Supplies needed:

Empty toilet paper roll tube
Black craft paint
Black, brown, and yellow construction paper
Glue
Scissors

How to make your Pilgrim Hat craft

First, you’ll want to cut your cardboard tube in half. We’ll only be using 1/2 of the tube for our craft, so you’ll be able to make two pilgrim hats out of one toilet paper tube.

Use your black paint to paint your entire half of the tube.

While your paint is drying, cut a circle from your black construction paper.

Your circle needs to be larger than the cardboard tube because this will be the rim of  your hat. I found that tracing one of our drinking glasses was the perfect size for my hat.

Next, cut a strip from your brown paper. It needs to be long enough to go all the way around your cardboard tube. My strip was 6-1/2 inches long and was the perfect length.

Also cut a square from your yellow paper and a smaller square from your brown paper. This will be the buckle.

Glue the smaller brown piece in the middle of your yellow square.

Once your black paint is dry, it’s time to attach your rim to your hat.

Find the middle of your black circle and poke a hole in it. Also, place your cardboard tube in the middle of the circle and trace a light circle around it. Cut from the center of the circle to your traced circle. Fold up your wedges.

Use your wedges to attach your rim to the inside of your cardboard tube with glue.

Press down and let it dry before you move on.

Finally, glue your brown strip around your hat.

Attach the yellow buckle to your brown strip.

Let everything dry and then it’s ready to play with!

This Pilgrim Hat craft is so cute to display. You could make a whole batch and use them as Thanksgiving place cards, just write the names on the hat with white chalk. We also found that these hats were the perfect size for our Beanie Boos collection!

If you enjoyed this pilgrim hat craft, the above photo is perfect for sharing on Facebook. Or, you can save the photo below on Pinterest.

You may also like one of these Thanksgiving activities:

Acorn Gratitude Banner

Turkey Suncatcher

Printable Thanksgiving Word Searches for Kids

Moveable Mayflower Ship Paper Plate Craft from Crafts on Sea

Countdown to Christmas

If you’re anything like me, I know you’re looking for fun family activities to do this Christmas. But, not just anything. I’m not looking for elaborate and I’m definitely not looking for something that would require a million trips to the craft store.

That’s why I just love Countdown to Christmas – 24 Activities, Crafts, and Recipes to Countdown to Christmas by Cerys Parker from Rainy Day Mum. The activities are simple (you won’t find anything elaborate) and definitely fun. They’re perfect for families. And, they’re perfect for the advent season.

This fabulous resource for Christmas family fun can be purchased here. Take a peek, you’ll love it!