How To Make Hand Turkeys For Kids?

Hand turkeys are a fun and creative Thanksgiving craft that kids of all ages can make. They involve tracing a child’s hand on paper and turning the tracing into the shape of a turkey. The thumb becomes the turkey’s head, while thefingers become the feathers of the body. Decorating the turkey handprint is an enjoyable way for kids to get into the Thanksgiving spirit.

Hand turkeys have become a popular Thanksgiving tradition because they allow kids to express their creativity and make their own unique turkey artwork. The craft is simple enough that even very young children can participate with minimal assistance. Plus, displaying the finished hand turkeys makes for great Thanksgiving decorations for the home or classroom.

With just some paper, pens/markers, and a bit of creativity, hand turkeys make for an easy, festive craft that kids will be excited to create. The whole family can even make them together as a fun bonding activity leading up to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Materials Needed

To make hand turkey crafts, you will need some basic supplies like:

Construction paper in various colors like brown, red, orange, yellow for the turkey’s body and feathers (Simply Today Life). Choose colors your kids will enjoy. Browns and tans work well for a more realistic turkey body, while brighter colors are fun for colorful feathers.

Googly eyes to attach for the turkey’s silly expression (Crayola). Make sure you have large googly eyes, approximately 1 inch in diameter.

Glue like Elmer’s Glue or a hot glue gun for an adult to attach the eyes and feathers (Crayola). Avoid dangerous hot glue with young kids.

Scissors for cutting out the traced handprint turkey body and construction paper feathers.

Markers, crayons, or other coloring supplies for decorating your turkey after assembling it.

Trace Your Child’s Hand

Have your child place their hand flat on a piece of paper with their fingers spread apart. Make sure their fingers are far enough apart so you can trace around each one. Then take a pencil and carefully trace around the outline of their hand, going slowly around the fingers and palm [1]. Make sure you trace all the way around so you capture the full hand shape. Press lightly so you can erase any mistakes. Once done tracing, lift their hand up to reveal the handprint underneath.

Cut Out the Handprint

Once the handprint has been traced, the fun part begins! Have kids carefully cut out their traced handprint on the construction paper using safety scissors. Make sure handprints are cut out evenly around the edges. Depending on their age and dexterity, adults may need to assist with the cutting. For younger children, it can help to cut out the shape beforehand and have them decorate it. Safety should be the number one priority.

As a reminder, the American Society for Handcare provides some useful tips on knife and scissor safety for parents and kids in their articles “How to Carve a Turkey: 4 Safety Tips” (source) and “5 turkey carving safety tips” (source). Following proper safety practices will ensure an enjoyable crafting experience.

Add Feather Details

To add some feather detailing you can glue colorful construction paper feathers or real turkey feathers onto your child’s hand traced fingers. This will make the fingers look like a turkey’s feathered tail. According to Creative Footprint Turkey Craft with Feathers for Preschoolers, using construction paper feathers is a fun way for preschoolers to make their hand turkeys more feathered. Easy Turkey Feather Crafts to DIY This Thanksgiving also suggests using feathers of different colors like brown turkey feathers to decorate handprint turkeys.

To glue on the feathers, simply put a dab of craft glue on the backside of each feather near the quill and press it onto the fingertips of the traced handprint. Let dry completely before displaying or moving the hand turkey. Make sure the feathers extend beyond the end of the fingers to look like an actual turkey’s tail feathers.

Create the Head

The next step is to create the turkey’s head and neck from your child’s palm print. Take the area where your child’s palm was placed and fold it inwards to form the shape of the turkey’s head. You want to fold in the pad of the palm to create the rounded head shape. The rest of the palm then becomes the turkey’s neck.

Make sure not to fold the palm area completely in half, as you want the head and neck to be proportional to the size of the hand. Folding just a portion of the palm area into the head shape will look the most natural. Take your time shaping the head and neck until you have a nice rounded head that flows into a slightly tapered neck.

Once you have the palm area folded to your liking to create the turkey’s head and neck, you can move on to adding the facial features.

Add Facial Features

Adding facial features like eyes, a beak, and a wattle will really bring your turkey handprint to life. Here are some ideas for turkey face features:

Glue on googly eyes to make your turkey look playful and cute. Choose large googly eyes and position them above the thumb and pinky finger to form the turkey’s eyes. Apply a strong craft glue or hot glue to the backs of the googly eyes before pressing them onto your turkey handprint.

Draw an orange triangle beak between the thumb and index finger using an orange marker. Make the beak large enough to extend past the fingertips. Outline the beak in black marker if desired.

Draw or paint a red wattle (the flap of skin under a turkey’s beak) under the beak using a red marker or paint. Make it a teardrop or comma shape.

Get creative with other facial features too! You can add colorful tufts of feather hair, eyebrows, or even a pilgrim hat.

Get Creative with Decorations

Once the facial features are added, the fun really begins. Let your child’s imagination run wild as they decorate their turkey further. Some ideas include:

• Add hats – Cut shapes out of construction paper like pilgrim hats or use markers to draw fun hats.
• Make bowties – Cut a bowtie shape from colored paper or draw one with markers.
• Add glasses – Use pipe cleaners or construction paper to make fun glasses.
• Collage with cutouts – Cut shapes from magazines,colored paper, or even stickers and collage them onto the hand turkey.
• Googly eyes – Glue on googly eyes for a funny touch.

Encourage kids to get creative with colors and textures. Add feathers, pom poms, rickrack, sparkles, or anything else imaginative. The turkey’s personality can be customized however they like with unique decorations.

Write What Your Child is Thankful For

Have your kids write what they are thankful for on the back of their hand turkey. This is a great opportunity to remind children about gratitude and blessings. Get them thinking about the people, experiences, or things they appreciate in their life. Help younger children write their list of thankfulness.

Some ideas for what kids can write:

• Family
• Friends
• Pets
• Favorite toys or games
• School
• Nature
• Favorite foods
• God or faith

Let the kids get creative and decorative with their gratitude list! Have them color, draw, or decorate the back of the hand turkey however they’d like. Make it into a banner, collage, or poem. Add stickers, glitter, or cut out pictures to customize it.

Displaying the thankfulness turkeys is a heartwarming way to remind children what matters most. It also makes for a special Thanksgiving decoration for your home or classroom.

Display Your Masterpieces

Once your hand turkeys are complete, it’s time to proudly display them! Hang them up around the house or anywhere else you’ll see them often. The refrigerator is the perfect spot to show off your child’s work while also reminding them what they’re thankful for this Thanksgiving when getting snacks.

Get creative with how you display the hand turkeys. Hang them from ribbons, attach them to index cards to stand up, or decorate a bulletin board with them. You can also make a garland by punching holes in the hands and stringing them together. Not only is this a fun activity for kids, but they’ll be excited to see their masterpieces showcased.

You can find inspiration for creative ways to display hand turkeys from sources like Pinterest. Show off your child’s creativity and give them a confidence boost by proudly presenting their handmade turkeys throughout your home.