How to Make Thanksgiving Keepsake Placemats
A Holiday Craft Project to Bring Kids and Families Together
Nov 11, 2008
Placemats always dress-up a Thanksgiving table. Homemade placemats personalize the holiday dinner in unique ways. Family members of all ages will enjoy working together to make individualized placemats that can be laminated to keep for future family gatherings or given to guests to save as keepsakes.
Plan to use 12 by 18 inch construction paper for the base of the placemats, although sizes can vary. Choose fall colors or colors that represent the individuality of the “artists” creating the mats. Placemats can be laminated at copy service centers such as Kinko’s and Staples, and at many educational supply stores.
Create Individualized Photo Placemats for Family Gatherings
Families can show their Thanksgiving guests just how thankful they are to have them in their lives. Start with a digital or traditional photo of the guest. Family members can use their scrapbooking skills or personal creativity to display the photo on the construction paper. Use stickers, stamps, memorabilia, or other items that speak to the personality of the guest to decorate the border and the area around the photo.
Brainstorm reasons why the family is thankful for each guest. Write or print expressions of gratitude onto small banners, talk bubbles, clouds, pumpkins or other cutouts. Glue one prominent expression of gratitude onto each placemat, or make a collage of expressions for each guest.
Use these personalized photo placemats in lieu of traditional place cards at the dinner table. Guests will love receiving these expressions of gratitude as gifts to take home after the gathering.
Weave Traditional Construction Paper Placemats For the Thanksgiving Table
Woven, construction paper placemats are colorful and easy to make. Choose two, three, or four colors, and cut ten - twelve strips of 12 by 1½ inches for each placemat. Use a contrasting color for the base of the placemat.
Fold the base of the placemat in half. Cut lines from the folded edge to within about 1 – 1½ inches from the open end. Space the cut lines 2 inches apart. Open the base and lay it flat on the table.
Weave the 1½ inch paper strips in and out of the cut lines. Create patterns with the various colors. A dab of glue stick will keep the ends tight to the paper.
More Craft Placemat Ideas for the Holiday Table
Patterned Placemats - Creating patterns challenges children mathematically while encouraging creativity. Patterns can be made with stickers, stamps, or scraps of paper cut into geometric shapes. The patterns can serve as the border, or fill the entire area of the placemat.
Hand Turkey Placemats – A new twist on an old favorite. Show children how to trace their hand, turn the fingers into bright, colorful feathers, add a beak and some eyes to the thumb and legs on the bottom, and voila! they have a turkey. Encourage young artists to create a colorful background or design a patterned border around the turkey.
“Let’s Give Thanks” Collages – Use digital photographs, pictures cut from magazines, or colorful drawings. Cut and arrange the pictures into a collage. Add captions or talk bubbles to express what each family member is thankful for. Encouraging each family member to design his or her own placemat, expressing their own personal gratitude.
Creating homemade Thanksgiving placemats is a craft idea the entire family can participate in and enjoy. Children can exercise their creativity, imagination, even math skills. Expressions of thankfulness keep the focus of this annual holiday on what's important in family life. Be sure to have family artists sign and date the placemats. Laminate them to keep for future family get-togethers or give to guests as mementos.
For another family craft idea read, "How To Make a Greeting Card Gift Box."
