Are you looking for a fun and creative activity for the fall and Thanksgiving holidays? Try making a Thanksgiving Dinner Paper Plate Craft with your little ones!
From turkey and mashed potatoes to cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie, each element of the feast is lovingly crafted onto a simple paper plate.
To make your life easier, I made a template with two options available—a pre-colored template or one ready for coloring—this craft allows children to personalize their creations while learning about the traditions and significance of Thanksgiving.
Beyond the craft itself, this activity provides an excellent opportunity to introduce children to the essence of Thanksgiving: gratitude and the importance of sharing a delicious meal with loved ones.
I encourage you to have thoughtful discussions and prompt your little ones to explore some of the reasons they are thankful for!
Related: Paper Plate Turkey Craft
Tools & Materials
- Printer
- Template (download at the end of the article; you don’t need to subscribe!)
- 9-inch paper plate
- Scissors
- White cardstock
- Brown Paint (optional)
- Glue
- Foam Dots (optional)
- Colors, markers (optional)
As with all of my crafts, you can make them as easy or difficult as you want. To save time, print the colored template, and for a more extended activity, print the coloring version.
Super tip: If you don’t have paper plates, use white cardstock and cut 6 and 8-9-inch circles.
Step 1 – Print Thanksgiving Dinner Template
Print the template pages that best fit you (at the end of this tutorial).
I choose to print the colored version.
Step 2 – Paint
To make a dinner and a dessert plate, we’ll be using two 9-inch paper plates.
If you’re using the same paper plates as mine, you’ll notice a 6-inch circle for us to cut along. If you’re using different plates, you can measure a 6-inch circle on white cardstock to follow along.
Tip: You can cut your dessert plate before or after you paint it.
You don’t necessarily have to paint the plate, after all some plates are white, right? I painted it because I feel the activity would’ve been relatively short without it.
It’s truly up to you; you know your child better!
Step 3 – Cut Template
While your plates are drying, go ahead and cut all the pieces of the template you’d like to glue on your Thanksgiving dinner craft.
I tried to include as many options as I could:
- Turkey
- Mashed potatoes and gravy
- Corn
- Bun
- Stuffing
- Green beans
- Broccoli
- Cranberry sauce
- Pumpkin Pie
Since there are quite a few pieces to cut, your child may need some help! When the plates are done drying, cut the inner circle of one of them to make the dessert plate.
Step 4 – Glue
It’s time to glue our yummy Thanksgiving meal!
There are many goodies to glue on the plate; you can try to fit them all in the plate before you glue them so you make sure everything fits.
I like to start with the big pieces, in this case, the turkey leg and mashed potatoes.
Now, I don’t know how often you craft with your little ones, but if you love crafting, I recommend you get double-sided foam dots. They are super cheap, but they add a 3D pop effect to all your crafts that regular glue can’t achieve.
Kids love using them because they add extra beauty and instill a love for crafting. Always ensure you’re always supervising when crafting with children three and younger.
If you don’t have them, you can also use glue! I used foam dots on the gravy, bun, and broccoli.
Once you finish gluing all the pieces for the dinner plate, glue the pumpkin on the smaller plate.
Yum yum! Your craft is complete.
Make sure to read the next section for some question ideas to ask your children while you do this activity with them.
Question Ideas
Here’s a list of questions you can ask your child while doing this activity.
- Are you excited for Thanksgiving Day?
- What are you thankful for?
- Do you know what this holiday is all about? If not, proceed to tell them some of the history behind it.
- What do you like the best about this meal?
- What are you curious to try?
- Instead of asking what you don’t like, ask something like: What are you learning to like?
- This meal has pumpkin pie for dessert. Is there another type of pie you would like instead?
- Do you prefer Thanksgiving or Christmas?
Download Template!
As I mentioned, here’s the Thanksgiving meal template for your craft! Click the image or yellow button to open, save, or print the PDF.
Oh!
Just so you know, I also have a library full of free SVG files and Printables for all my subscribers, a.k.a. Daydreamers. You can see a preview right here or get access by filling out this form.
Paper Plate Thanksgiving Dinner Craft
Follow our easy guide to making a paper plate Thanksgiving meal, which includes a list of materials and step-by-step instructions. This is a great DIY craft for kids during fall and Thanksgiving Day,
Materials
- Template
- 9-inch paper plates
- White cardstock
- Brown Paint (Optional)
- Colors, markers (optional)
Tools
- Scissors
- Glue
- Paint Brush (Optional)
- Foam Dots (Optional)
- Printer
Instructions
- Download the Template
- To make a dinner and a dessert plate, we'll be using two 9-inch paper plates.
- Paint paper plates brown (or your favorite color) and let them dry.
- Cut the template pieces for your Thanksgiving feast.
- When the plates are done drying, cut the inner circle of one of them to make the dessert plate.
- There are many goodies to glue on the plate; you can try to fit them all in the plate before you glue them so you make sure everything fits.
- Glue bigger pieces first and then fit smaller ones around.
- Foam dots (optional) can be used to add a pop-up effect to some of the elements. I use them on the gravy, bun, and broccoli.
- Engage your kids with questions that relate to Thanksgiving.
You May Like These…
I hope you enjoyed crafting a yummy Thanksgiving feast with your little people. If you enjoyed that activity, I’m sure you would also love some of the following.
- Paper Plate Snow Globes with 5 different scenes!
- Paper Plate Baby Chick Craft
- Turkey Headband Craft
- Build a Salad Craft
- Build a Fish Tank
- Paper Plate Cow Craft
Happy Crafting!
