This Gratitude Craft Book is a cute kids craft for Thanksgiving. Our kids are going to have so much fun making these and sharing them with family at dinner.
I Love Thanksgiving. Not as much as Christmas, but I try to. I really do. But let’s face it, no other holiday can compete with receiving gifts and using Santa as an excuse for your kids to do everything happily. But, Thanksgiving is definitely a close second. Not just because I get to stuff my face without judgment (mmmm, pumpkin cheesecake…), but I love reinforcing “being thankful” to my children.
My siblings and I were raised to be grateful for everything we have. From toys to the food on the table, we appreciated it. As I got older, I began to understand that our family did have difficult times, but I am amazed that we never knew it at that time.
Raising kids nowadays seems to only get harder. The electronics are more competitive, the prices are more expensive, and the ages are getting younger to own them all. Whereas I definitely give in to society’s ads for certain items (you can sell me anything), I always ensure that my boys understand how lucky they are.
So every November 1st, we make our own thankful tree. Each day, we add another leaf and write what we’re thankful for. I never tell them what to be thankful for. I just let them speak their little minds and I always love the sincerity in their answers!
This week, I decided to change it up a bit and make an adorable homemade book instead. At first, I was going to just add a few pages and let them write and design it. But wouldn’t you know, my five-year-old asked if every day in November we could add another page up until Thanksgiving. (Mommy win!!!)
We got a head start mainly because they couldn’t decide between writing “Family” and “Cookies,” but we will absolutely be adding to this each day for the month! As fun as this project is, it’s also a magnificent way to start our month of thankfulness!
GRATITUDE CRAFT BOOK FOR THANKSGIVING
Directions:
- Large Paper bags (1 per child)
- Construction paper
- Markers / Crayons
- Glue / Glue stick
- Google eyes
- Safety scissors
- Yarn
- Decorations (I had some Pom poms and glitter leftover from another project. Be creative!)
Instructions:
Step 1: Cut the bottom half of the brown paper bag. I got ours from the grocery store. If yours has some writing on it, you can always glue a piece of construction paper over it. This helps the front and back cover be thicker and more durable. I also cut along the sides to make the bag two separate squares.
Step 2: Have your children cut out one large circle for the turkey’s body and one small circle for his head. Use any color they desire! We chose brown and my three-year-old loved reinforcing his scissor skills.
Step 3: Pick out desired colored paper and cut out feathers for the turkey. Or you can use white paper and have them color each feather.
Step 4: Glue on the body and feathers of the turkey onto the front cover (one of the paper bags). Next, glue on googly eyes and cut out a small beak to add. The possibilities are endless here. You can do a painted hand print turkey instead, draw a turkey, use craft feathers, make pilgrims, etc. Let your children design it the way they envision it.
Step 5: Write on the cover: I’m Thankful For… Then, help your child write one thing they’re thankful for on separate pieces of paper. This is the fun part! Decorate, add some glitter and help them design whatever they described on each page.
Step 6: Once all pages are complete, a hole puncher would really work best. I couldn’t find ours so I used scissors to cut two holes on the left side of each page, as well as the paper bag covers. One on the top, one on the bottom. It doesn’t have to be totally even with the page before it, but the closer the better.
Step 7: Insert the string through each bottom hole starting with the back cover and pulling up to the front cover. Pull it up along the side and through all of the top holes starting with the front cover and going back. Tie a nice bow and cut excess yarn. That’s it! Make sure not to tie a knot in the yarn in case your child wants to add more pages.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Gina
Want more Thanksgiving crafts?
- Kids Craft: Coffee Filter Turkey Craft
- DIY Turkey Craft from Egg Cartons
- Kids Craft: Turkey Canisters
- Kids Craft: Turkey Window Decorations
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