Free Printable Thankful Turkey Craft Template for Kids

Have you been searching for an easy Thanksgiving craft for kids to help teach your children about gratitude? This free thankful turkey craft template will make it easy for you to make a quick paper turkey with thankful feathers at home or in your classroom!

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Can you believe how fast this year has flown by? I’m having a hard time believing that it’s already November, and that December 25 is only six short weeks away!

Here in Canada, we are already thinking about Christmas. (My kids actually asked if we could put up the Christmas tree this weekend, much to my husband’s dismay.) But if you live in the U.S., you still have another holiday to look forward to before you break out the jingle bells and mistletoe… and that holiday is Thanksgiving!

If you like to do crafts with your kids to celebrate Thanskgiving, you’ve probably made a lot of turkey crafts during previous years. But the best Thanksgiving crafts are the ones that teach kids to give thanks and be grateful for what they have.

And that is exactly what this printable turkey cutout will allow you to do! Not only is this easy Thanksgiving craft super cute on its own, but the thankful feathers will help your child express their gratitude for all the things—and people—that make their lives better.

This project would make a great Thanksgiving-themed activity to do at home with your kids, or even in your classroom with your preschool-, kindergarten- or elementary-aged students. All you need to do is download the free template and start crafting!

Required Materials

Here’s what you’ll need to make your very own construction paper turkey craft with thankful feathers:

• My free thankful turkey craft template, which you can download below
• White or beige cardstock (we used beige)
• Construction paper in red, orange, yellow and brown
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Stick of glue
• Liquid school glue
• Googly eyes
• Pencil, crayon, marker or pen (for writing what you’re thankful for on the turkey feathers)

Download the Free Craft Template

{DOWNLOAD LINK}
THANKFUL TURKEY CRAFT TEMPLATE

How to Make a Thankful Turkey Craft (Step-by-Step)

1. Print & Cut Template

Once you have requested and downloaded the template using one of the forms in this article, start by printing out the template on US Letter-sized (8.5 x 11 inches) paper and cardstock.

I printed the first page (turkey body and feathers) on regular white printer paper, and the second page (“I am thankful for…”) on beige cardstock.

Then, use scissors to cut out all four shapes on the first page: the turkey’s body, the feather, the beak and the wattle.

2. Trace Shapes on Construction Paper

Using a pencil and the shapes you cut out during the previous step, trace the various elements that will be used to create your paper turkey onto coloured construction paper:

• Trace the turkey body on brown construction paper (mine was from this set of “multicultural” construction paper, but if ever you have trouble finding some, you can always use cardstock or even just colour in the template using a brown marker or pencil)
• Trace the turkey feathers on yellow, orange and red construction paper (I made three red feathers, two yellow ones and two orange ones)
• Trace the turkey beak on yellow construction paper
• Trace the turkey wattle (the teardrop-shaped skin that hangs from the turkey’s neck) on red construction paper

3. Cut Construction Paper

Once you have finished tracing all the shapes, use scissors to cut along all the lines. You should end up with a turkey body, 7 turkey feathers (3 red, 2 yellow and 2 orange), a turkey beak and a turkey wattle.

4. Glue Turkey Body & Feathers

Position the turkey feathers and body on the sheet of cardstock that says “I am thankful for…” and once you are happy with how they are positioned, use a stick of glue to glue them in place.

5. Add Turkey’s Face

Glue the beak and wattle onto the turkey’s face, and add two googly eyes to complete the look. I used a stick of glue for the beak and wattle, but liquid glue tends to work better for googly eyes.

6. Write on Thankful Feathers

Use a pen or marker to write something that your child is thankful for on each of the turkey’s feathers. (If your child is old enough, encourage them to write the words on all their own!)

If your child has a lot of things to be thankful for, there is some extra space on the template that will allow them to write more words above the turkey. But it isn’t mandatory and the craft will be complete whether or not you do this.

Once your child is done writing all the things they are thankful for, the craft is ready to display! Didn’t it turn out so cute?!

Related Thanksgiving Turkey Crafts

Looking for more easy turkey craft ideas to make with your kids this Thanksgiving? Check out this article:

• Easy Toilet Paper Roll Turkey Craft (with Free Template!)