You only need some paper and basic craft supplies to make these placemats, but if you’d like to make them more durable and help them stand up to spills, you can cover them with clear contact paper.
To personalize these paper Thanksgiving placemats, you can write the names of the guests on them, so that they also serve as place cards.
Turkey Handprint Placemat
This classic paper turkey uses the child’s handprints for the tail feathers, making it a great keepsake craft. While younger kids will need help tracing and cutting out the paper hands, older kids can trace their own hands, or pair up with a sibling or friend and take turns tracing each other. You can make all the tail feathers the same, or use a variety of colors.
Supplies You’ll Need:
- two sheets of colored paper for tail feathers
- one sheet of contrasting paper for background
- scrap of brown or orange paper for body
- pencil
- scissors
- markers or crayons
- glue
- clear contact paper (optional)
How to Make the Turkey Handprint Placemat:
- Place both of the child’s hands on one piece of colored paper. Spread the fingers so that the hands will be easier to trace, and the handprints will look like feathers.
- Trace both of the child’s hands, then cut out the paper hands. Do the same on a second sheet of paper.
- Draw a simple turkey head and body on a scrap of brown or orange paper. It should look like a bowling pin with a circle on top.
- Cut out the turkey body. Draw a face on the turkey.
- Arrange the handprint feathers on the background paper. Place the turkey body on top, in the center of the feathers.
- Glue the feathers and turkey body to the placemat.
- Cover the placemat with clear contact paper (optional).
Pilgrims Feast Placemat
Kids can commemorate the original Thanksgiving feast with this cute Pilgrim placemat. You can either have the kids draw their own Pilgrims, or you can download and print adorable paper Pilgrim dolls and clothes from Making Friends. You can print the Pilgrims and clothes in black and white and let the kids color them, or you can print them in color for younger children.
Supplies You’ll Need:
- one sheet of background paper
- paper Pilgrims and clothes (optional)
- white drawing paper (optional)
- scraps of colored paper (optional)
- markers or crayons
- scissors
- glue
- clear contact paper (optional)
How to Make the Pilgrims Feast Placemat:
- Download and print two to three paper Pilgrims and their clothes, or have the kids draw their own Pilgrims and clothes on plain white paper.
- Cut out the Pilgrims. Cut out the clothes, if needed, and glue the outfits to the Pilgrims.
- Make a table and food, such as pumpkins, turkey, and corn, out of scraps of colored paper, or draw a table and food in the center of the placemat using crayons or markers.
- Position the Pilgrims and table on the placemat and glue them in place.
- Cover the placemat with clear contact paper (optional).
Once the kids have made turkey handprint and Pilgrim placemats, you may want to make additional Thanksgiving placemat paper crafts, so that you can have a Thanksgiving placemat for each guest.
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