Cold winds blow outside, the kitchen smells like cinnamon, and your kids just yelled that they feel bored for the fifth time today. Keeping little hands busy before Thanksgiving dinner often takes serious effort. We gathered simple November crafts for kids that need no artistic experience and very little cleanup.
If you need a quick afternoon project or an easy centerpiece for the dinner table, these projects will keep everyone happy. Older kids in the family might also enjoy these 25 Cozy November Crafts to Keep You Warm and Creative All Month Long. Grab your glue sticks, grab a sweater, and start making memories together.
1. Pinecone turkey craft
Turn backyard pinecones into simple Thanksgiving table decorations. Kids enjoy searching for pinecones in the yard before you even open the glue bottles.
Supplies needed
- Natural pinecones
- Colored felt or construction paper
- Googly eyes and craft glue
Cut paper or felt into feather shapes, then push them between the pinecone scales. Glue a small yellow triangle for the beak and add two googly eyes on top. Pro Tip: Adults can use hot glue to keep the feathers firmly in place through the holidays.
2. Paper plate pumpkin pie
Toddlers can practice cutting and gluing with this slice-of-pie project without making a mess in the kitchen.
Paint an ordinary paper plate using orange washable paint from Crayola. After the paint dries, cut the plate into six triangular slices. Glue a single white cotton ball to the center of each slice to make the whipped cream top.
3. Handprint turkey hat
These paper hats preserve small hand sizes while creating fun dinner attire for the kids’ table on Thanksgiving.
Trace your child’s hand onto four separate pieces of construction paper and cut out the outlines. Next, cut a two-inch-wide brown paper strip to fit around your child’s head. Staple the hand cutouts around the back of the band to make turkey feathers.
4. Leaf salt dough ornaments
Salt dough makes a reliable base for homemade ornaments, letting you save real leaf shapes in hard clay.
Mix two cups of flour, one cup of salt, and one cup of water into a soft dough. Roll the dough flat, press fresh leaves firmly into the surface to leave clear marks, and cut round circles around the prints. Bake the dough at 250°F for two hours, then paint the leaf impressions with acrylic paint.
5. Mason jar fall lanterns
These simple glass lanterns cast warm light across a windowsill or fireplace mantel during chilly November evenings.
Spread clear Mod Podge across the outside of a clean glass jar. Press red, yellow, and orange tissue paper squares onto the wet glue until the paper covers the surface completely. Place a battery-operated LED tea light inside to light up the colored paper safely.
6. Cardboard roll owls
Save empty toilet paper tubes and turn them into small forest birds using basic paint and paper scraps.
Fold the top edge of a cardboard tube inward from both sides to form curved ear tufts. Paint the roll with brown poster paint and let it dry. Glue two large white paper circles with black dots onto the front to build the owl’s eyes.
7. Gratitude tree with paper leaves
This daily activity helps families talk about gratitude throughout the month leading up to Thanksgiving.
8. Apple stamping art
Extra apples from the grocery store make sturdy paint stamps for fast, low-cost print projects.
Slice an apple in half and press the cut side onto a paper towel to remove extra juice. Dip the flat face into red, yellow, or green tempera paint. Press the apple repeatedly onto heavy paper to design customized wrapping paper or place cards for the table.
9. Bubble wrap corn on the cob
Packing materials like bubble wrap recreate the raised texture of corn kernels during paint projects.
Cut bubble wrap into an oval cob shape, then paint the bumpy side with yellow, brown, and orange paint. Press the painted wrap firmly onto cardstock. Finish the artwork by gluing two green paper husks to the base of the cob.
10. Tissue paper suncatchers
Hang these thin paper crafts in low autumn sunlight to catch afternoon light in kitchen windows.
Cut a leaf or pumpkin border out of black paper. Lay the outline onto a sheet of clear contact paper. Children can fill the open middle space by pressing small scraps of colored tissue paper directly onto the sticky surface.
11. Felt acorn garland
This simple garland uses real outdoor materials and helps small children work on fine motor control.
Gather real acorn caps during an afternoon walk outside. Glue small wool pom-poms inside the caps using standard craft glue. Wrap thin jute twine around each acorn stem or glue the caps along the string to hang the finished pieces across a mantel.
12. Clay leaf dishes
Air-dry clay allows kids to make small, usable dishes that work well as holiday gifts for relatives.
Roll out air-dry clay until it reaches a quarter-inch thickness. Press a large leaf vein-side down into the smooth surface, then trace around the edges using a butter knife. Place the cut clay leaf inside a small bowl so the edges curve upward as it dries over 24 hours before adding paint.
13. Turkey feather name craft
Preschoolers can practice spelling their names while cutting and assembling paper turkeys.
Cut a round paper shape for the turkey body along with several paper feathers. Use a dark marker to write one letter of your child’s name onto each feather. Ask your child to glue the feathers behind the body in the right order to spell out their name.
14. Kid-safe cinnamon stick candles
These simple centerpiece displays smell like cinnamon without using open flames.
Place a thick rubber band around an LED pillar candle. Slide whole cinnamon sticks upright beneath the rubber band until they cover the sides of the candle completely. Tie a piece of burlap ribbon over the rubber band to hide it and hold the sticks firm.
15. Paper bag turkey puppets
Brown paper lunch sacks quickly become hand puppets for entertaining younger kids while dinner cooks.
Stock up on supplies at stores like Michaels so you can jump into crafts on rainy afternoons. Glue a paper turkey head onto the folded bottom flap of a paper sack. Attach paper feathers to the rear side of the bag so your child can slip a hand inside to control the puppet.
16. Popsicle stick scarecrow
Craft sticks easily turn into scarecrow faces to hang on refrigerators or doors.
Glue seven wooden craft sticks side-by-side onto cardstock. Glue another stick diagonally across the upper portion to make the brim of a hat. Paint the top hat brown, draw facial features below the brim with markers, and glue strands of raffia underneath for straw hair.
17. Pumpkin pie scented playdough
Making playdough at home costs very little and gives kids a quick sensory project on cold days.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour & 1 cup salt
- 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil & 1.5 cups boiling water
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice & orange food coloring
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, pour in the oil, food coloring, and boiling water, then knead the mixture until smooth. The spice mixture leaves a warm baking scent behind as kids play.
18. Yarn-wrapped cardboard apples
Wrapping yarn around thick cardstock helps preschoolers strengthen hand muscles while using up leftover yarn scraps.
Cut apple shapes out of heavy corrugated cardboard. Cut shallow notches around the outer edge of each cutout. Hand your child red or green yarn and let them wrap the string around the shape repeatedly until it covers the cardboard base.
19. Coffee filter Thanksgiving turkeys
Water and washable markers blend together on coffee filters to create soft, colorful tail feathers.
Let kids draw across a flat coffee filter using washable markers. Spray the paper lightly with water so the colors bleed into each other. Once the paper dries, fold the filter in half and clip or glue it behind a wooden clothespin painted like a turkey.
20. Acorn monsters
Turn items gathered on walks into funny creatures with simple paint application.
Paint real acorns with pastel acrylic paints. Glue tiny googly eyes onto the caps and draw faces or teeth with fine paint markers. (If older teenagers want a fun music project while younger siblings paint acorns, look through these 17 Stray Kids Crafts That Will Make Your Heart Flutter).
21. Fall leaf crown
Kids can wear their outdoor finds with a simple headband project. You can also explore project ideas over at PBS Kids for extra ideas on screen-free afternoons.
Measure a strip of brown cardstock around your child’s head for size. Gather colorful leaves outside or grab artificial fabric leaves. Glue or staple the leaves along the headband, then secure the ends together to complete the crown.
22. Dried cranberry and popcorn garland
This traditional garland doubles as a snack string for backyard birds during late autumn.
Thread a blunt needle with heavy cotton thread or dental floss. Help your child alternate between pushing through fresh cranberries and plain popped popcorn. Hang the finished strands on outdoor branches for local birds to eat as winter arrives.
23. Pilgrim hat paper cups
These decorated paper cups double as snack holders for the kids’ Thanksgiving dinner table.
Paint upside-down paper cups black and let the paint dry. Glue a wide black paper ring around the bottom edge to build the hat brim. Attach a small yellow paper square to front as a buckle, then fill the open cup top with popcorn or snack mix.
Wrapping up your November crafting fun
November gives families time to slow down, stay warm indoors, and spend time together. These fall projects pass the time while teaching motor skills, encouraging daily gratitude, and producing small keepsakes you can keep for years.
You do not need costly craft items or hours of prep time to get started. Pick two or three projects from this list, clear the kitchen table, and enjoy making things together. Which craft will your family tackle first?