Thanksgiving is a time to sit back and reflect on all the things we are thankful for. Of course, it is always nice to gather with friends and family and enjoy Thanksgiving dinner, but now is a time to truly teach our kids the true meaning of Thanksgiving. This is an easy thankful box to make with your kids. You can set it out each year in November and have your children write what they are thankful for each day on the sticky note, place them inside the turkey, and read them on Thanksgiving day. You could also set it out on Thanksgiving day and pass it around for each guest to write what they are thankful for as well and read them after the meal.
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Materials needed:
- Empty tissue box
- Cardstock paper (in desired colors) I used:
- Brown (I used construction paper for this one and added white cardstock behind it for more stability)
- Orange
- Yellow
- Pink
- Brown paint (you can mix blue, orange and red if you don’t have brown).
- Paint brush
- Elmer’s Glue-All or hot glue gun
- Post-it 2″ x 2″ sticky notes
- Googly eyes
- Scissors
- Bow (optional)
- Free printables (link below)
Free Printables
Directions:
Cut out printable templates.
Trace the turkey body on brown paper.
Trace the diamond (beak) on yellow paper.
Trace the snood on pink or red paper.
Trace the feather twice on desired colored paper (I used orange, pink and yellow).
Layer three colors together and cut at the same time (speeds up cutting process). I used 2 -3 pieces of paper in each color.
Cut out all of the turkey pieces. You need 4 – 5 feathers of each color.
Paint the tissue box brown. Allow to dry. You can also use a blow dryer to speed up the drying process.
Craft table ready to use!
Assembling your Turkey:
Fold the diamond in half to form a beak.
Glue the snood, beak and eyes onto the turkey’s head.
Glue the bow (optional). 🙂
Choose your desired Post-it note color (we used yellow).
Glue the Post-it note pad to the middle of the turkey’s belly.
Gluing the Post-it note pad to the turkey helps to keep it from getting lost throughout the month or day! 😉
Glue the feathers to the back.
Start with the middle feather and work your way out.
Alternate colors for desired look.
You can use as little or as many feathers as you would like.
We glued two layers of feathers starting with the middle and working around.
Add a substantial amount of glue to the back of the turkey body.
Glue to the front of the box.
The completed Turkey box!
Peel off a Post-it note.
Write what you are thankful for.
Place it in the box!
We have decided to write one thing we are thankful for each day and will read them all on Thanksgiving day!
This is a great activity you can easily make with materials you have at home! It’s always great to have fun while teaching our children about the true meaning of the season. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!
