Turkey Thanksgiving Handprint Crafts

Turkey Thanksgiving handprint crafts with special poems are fun gifts to make and receive each year, even for each holiday.  Looking at our precious turkey Thanksgiving handprint crafts over time reminds us just how small our children and grandchildren once were…and, sadly, how quickly they grow.  Here are two turkey handprint crafts for your children to make for grandparents, aunts, uncles, dad, mom, or any special someone that might share the holiday with them.

TURKEY THANKSGIVING HANDPRINT CRAFTS #1

Our granddaughter, Emily, gave this attractive turkey handprint craft with a poem to us one Thanksgiving when she was just five years old. (Sorry, it isn’t a better picture – it was before I had my iphone and ipad.) Or, you can make a simpler Thanksgiving handprint craft with paint similar to the picture at the top of this post.Thanksgiving handprint crafts

This is how she made her turkey handprint craft with help from her teacher:

  • Using a sheet of red construction paper or cardstock, trace your child’s hand for the base of the turkey’s body and tail. Trace her hand two more times using different colors to add colorful feathers on the tail. Cut these out and glue together.
  • Cut out a brown circle the size of your child’s palm and glue onto the base of the feathers for the turkey’s body.
  • Add a smaller brown circle for the head as shown in the photo.
  • Decorate the turkey’s face using googly eyes, an orange beak, and a red wattle. (The male turkey has a red fleshy wattle hanging from its neck and a red-pink growth on its head called a carbuncle.)
  • Glue the turkey handprint craft to an 8 x 10-1/2 inch sheet of construction paper (as shown) and place the poem either at the front or the back. (Half the poem can be placed on the left and the other half on the right.) To preserve the Thanksgiving Turkey handprint poem gift craft, either laminate it or insert it into a frame.

TURKEY THANKSGIVING HANDPRINT CRAFTS #2

Another turkey Thanksgiving handprint you may like toThanksgiving handprint crafts make with your child or grandchild is this version from DLT-kids.com (from their site, you can print templates for this adorable turkey):

Materials:

  • paper (for handprints) – brown or orange construction paper works well
  • pencil or marker
  • scissors
  • glue
  • printer and paper
  • something to color with

Instructions:

  1. Print out the template of choice.
  2. Color the template pieces (if using the B&W version)
  3. Cut out the template pieces (young children may need help with this step)
  4. Trace the child’s hands on another piece of paper and cut out (two handprints) — brown construction paper works well (or you can color a piece of white paper)
  5. Glue the turkey together:
  • Glue the head (circle) to the body (teardrop shape)
  • Glue the face onto the head
  • Glue the tuft of feathers to the top of the head.
  • Glue the handprint wings on the back of the body
  • Glue the tail to the back of the body
  • Glue the feet onto the bottom of the body
  • Glue the flower on a wing or beside the neck

THANKSGIVING HANDPRINT CRAFTS POEM #1

Thanksgiving Handprint Poem

The Turkey is a funny bird…
its head goes bobble-bobble,
while its tail goes wobble-wobble,
and all he knows is just one word…
and that is gobble-gobble!

THANKSGIVING HANDPRINT CRAFTS POEM #2

Thanksgiving Answer

In school today,
We had to think
Of what we’re thankful for.

And for a kid
As small as me,
That was quite a chore.

I scrunched my eyes.
I thought real hard.
I stared down at my shoe.

And then I thought,
“Oh, wait! I know,
What I’m thankful for is
YOU!”

Love,

Author: Jamie Stogner