Parenting Toddlers

This is really the first year that Peanut has some idea of what Thanksgiving is. She knows that it’s a day we visit family and think about the things we’re thankful for. I think we’ll go to the library this week and try to get a book on the first Thanksgiving. Here are some great craft ideas (stolen, as always, from FamilyFun.com) that are pretty easy for toddlers. The one pictured here might be a little difficult for little ones, but you can offer some help. Here’s what you need:

Yellow and red felt
Tacky glue
Googly eyes
Brown pom-poms
Pinecones
Pipe cleaners

1. For each turkey, cut out a yellow beak and a red wattle from felt. Then glue the beak, wattle, and a pair of googly eyes onto a pom-pom to create the turkey’s head.

2. Glue the pom-pom head to the tip of a pinecone. Allow the glue to dry.

3. Wrap a pipe cleaner around the middle of the turkey’s cone body, starting from the top and twisting it together a few times on the underside. Separate the ends of the pipe cleaner (below the twists) and bend each tip into a 3-toed foot.

4. For the turkey’s tail, individually wrap 3 or 4 pipe cleaners around the back of the pinecone, starting from the underside and twisting them together a few times on the top of the pinecone to secure them. Then loop both ends of each pipe cleaner to shape tail feathers.

I’m all for making crafts from things we already have on hand - we don’t have pipe cleaners or little pom-poms! I should stock up for the winter. Crafts are a good way to pass some time when we can’t go outside. Anyway, here are some crafts that you can do with something that every parent of toddlers has at home: crayons.

Just color and then hang up for decoration. Done. It’s great because toddlers love to color and it fits their attention span.

You can print this out (get the printable here) and use them as templates. Trace them onto construction paper or just a brown bag and then decorate them with crayons or markers - glitter if you want to get fancy. You can then use them for place cards for your Thanksgiving guests. Cute, simple, practical. In my family, we just sit wherever, but I know everyone would think it was too cute if Peanut made place cards.

For this one, you can help your child trace her hand to make a turkey. Then color, and voila, another decoration that’s quick and easy.

You can also involve your child in the baking. Peanut loves to help me bake. I put everything in the measuring cups, and she pours it into the bowls. She loves to know she made something yummy.

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday because my family all got together. I espeically love it now that I have children, and I want to make sure to include Peanut (and the Little Guy when he’s a bit bigger) in it as much as possible. Please feel free to share any other Thanksgiving craft ideas or Thanksgiving traditions with us.