What Is A Hand Turkey?

A hand turkey is a popular Thanksgiving craft made by tracing the outline of a person’s hand and turning it into a turkey decoration. To make a hand turkey, you trace your hand with the fingers and thumb spread out to form the shape of a turkey. The palm of the hand becomes the turkey’s body, the thumb becomes the head, and the fingers become the feathers. Hand turkeys are a fun and easy way for kids to get into the Thanksgiving spirit. Some classrooms have hand turkey craft contests around Thanksgiving where students compete to make the best hand turkey decoration. Hand turkeys can be displayed on walls, doors, windows, or the refrigerator as festive Thanksgiving decorations.

Origins

The origins of hand turkey crafts can be traced back to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s. It became a popular children’s craft around Thanksgiving, often made in elementary schools or as part of family craft times.

One of the earliest known examples of instructions for making a hand turkey craft appears in the November 1975 issue of Instructor magazine in an article titled “Hand-in-Turkey.” It provides step-by-step directions for tracing and cutting out a child’s handprint to form the shape of a turkey.

Hand turkeys likely emerged as an easy, fun craft for young children that captured the spirit of Thanksgiving by using their own hand as the turkey shape. The concept of creating turkey images from hand outlines caught on during this era and hand turkeys became a staple elementary school activity for Thanksgiving in the United States.

Sources:

https://simplytodaylife.com/handprint-footprint-turkey-craft/

Making a Hand Turkey

Making a hand turkey is a fun and easy craft that can be done in just a few simple steps. Here is a step-by-step guide to making a basic hand turkey:

1. Trace your hand. Place your hand firmly on a sheet of paper with your fingers spread apart. Trace around the outline of your hand using a pencil. Make sure to press down firmly so you capture the full outline.

2. Cut out the hand outline. Carefully cut out the traced handprint outline. Young kids may need assistance from an adult for this step.

3. Decorate the hand turkey. Use crayons, markers, paint, glitter, googly eyes, feathers, or other craft materials to decorate the hand outline into a turkey. Add details like feathers for the fingers, eyes, a beak, feet, and a wattle.

4. Display your hand turkey. Hang your completed hand turkey on the wall or fridge to display it. You can also glue it onto a paper plate or fold it into a greeting card.

For more detailed instructions and tips, check out this guide: How to Make a Hand Turkey in 7 Easy Steps

Decorating Ideas

There are many creative ways to decorate hand turkeys using different materials. Some popular decorating ideas include:

• Using construction paper, tissue paper, or felt for the turkey’s feathers and wattle (Source). These come in a variety of fun colors and patterns.
• Gluing on googly eyes, pom poms, craft jewels, or sequins for the eyes (Source). Googly eyes add personality.
• Gluing on real feathers for an authentic turkey look (Source). Turkey feathers can often be found at craft stores.
• Adding pipe cleaners for feet or legs (Source). Bend them into shape.
• Using glitter, puffy paint, or stickers to decorate the feathers (Source). This adds sparkle and texture.
• Gluing on pom poms, acorn tops or candy corn for the snood or wattle (Source). Get creative with materials.

The options are endless when decorating hand turkeys. Craft supplies like glitter, feathers, pom poms, and googly eyes can help make each turkey unique and fun.

Displaying Hand Turkeys

Hand turkeys make for festive and sentimental Thanksgiving decorations. Here are some popular ways to display hand turkey crafts:

• Hang them on the fridge or on walls and doorways using magnets or tape.
• Display them on mantles, bookshelves, cabinets, or countertops.
• Decorate table settings by propping hand turkeys against napkin rings or plates.
• Use hand turkeys as centerpieces on the Thanksgiving table.
• Pin them on a Thanksgiving bulletin board or poster board.
• Send them to relatives to display in their homes for Thanksgiving.
• Use them as package decorations or attach them to Thanksgiving greeting cards.

Hand turkeys make great mantelpiece, tabletop, or wall decorations during the Thanksgiving season. They can be proudly displayed as cherished symbols of creativity and family togetherness.

Hand Turkey Contests

Many schools and organizations host hand turkey contests around Thanksgiving time, inviting students or members to submit creative hand turkey art. These contests often have a set of rules and guidelines for entries. Prizes are frequently awarded for categories like “Most Creative” or “Funniest.”

An example is the annual Hand Turkey Contest hosted by the Sweeney Family, open to friends and family members of all ages. Their contest rules specify that the turkey body must be traced from the participant’s hand, and each turkey must be given a name [1]. Prizes are given to the top three turkeys.

Some companies also sponsor hand turkey contests for fun around the holidays. The home service company Shower Door Experts hosts a contest offering prizes for the top 10 turkeys, with rules requiring hand tracing and naming the turkey [2].

The creative agency Rule29 has held an annual “By a Show of Hands” hand turkey competition since 2008. It is open to all ages and attracts both amateur and professional artists. Winners are selected by the employees, with small prizes awarded [3].

Hand Turkey Templates

Using hand turkey templates can make creating hand turkeys much easier. Free printable hand turkey templates are widely available online to download and print. These templates have the basic turkey body parts drawn in, with blank spaces for tracing hands. Some common hand turkey template formats include:

• Full turkey body template – Trace the child’s entire hand for the turkey’s body and feathers.
• Turkey head and wings – Trace thumbs for wings and spread fingers for the head.
• Build-a-turkey template – Individual templates for the turkey’s body, head, wings, legs and other embellishments to cut out and assemble.

Printable templates allow accuracy and consistency in hand turkey crafts. Parents can find and print templates for free online at sites like Printabulls. These templates are available in black and white or color, and different sizes. There are also templates designed specifically for preschool and kindergarten kids with larger spaces for little hands and fingers.

Using a hand turkey template makes the craft simple enough for young kids to do independently. Parents can help by printing the templates and preparing the art supplies. Then kids can trace their own hand to make a turkey masterpiece for Thanksgiving.

Hand Turkey Craft Variations

While the traditional hand turkey involves tracing a child’s hand and decorating it like a turkey, there are many other creative ways to make hand print turkeys. Here are some fun variations on the classic hand turkey craft:

• Foot turkeys – Instead of using their hands, have kids trace their feet and decorate them as turkeys. The long shape of the foot makes a funny looking turkey body. (https://www.pinterest.com/erikaag06/hand-turkey/)
• Thumb turkeys – For a miniature turkey, have kids trace and decorate their thumbs. Add googly eyes, a beak, and feathers to turn their thumbs into tiny turkeys.
• Landscape turkeys – Turn the hand sideways to make a landscape scene with a turkey. Fingers can become trees, hills, etc. Get creative with the background.
• Add real feathers – Glue on real turkey feathers to make the hand turkeys more realistic and textured.
• 3D turkeys – Mount the hand cutouts onto a popsicle stick or cardboard to make a 3D turkey that stands up.
• Decorate both sides – Most hand turkeys are decorated on the palm side, but you can decorate both sides for a fun surprise.
• Multiple hands – Connect several hand cutouts together to make a large turkey, turkey family, or even a whole flock of turkeys.

So instead of just making a simple hand turkey, encourage kids to explore different ways to use their handprints and footprints to create unique turkeys with personality. Get the whole family involved and see who can come up with the most creative turkey variation.

Hand Turkey Craft for Kids

Making hand turkey crafts provides many benefits for young children and helps them develop important skills.

Fine motor skills are improved as kids carefully trace around their hands and cut out the handprint shape. Eye-hand coordination is also practiced. Dexterity improves as children color in the details with crayons or markers.

Following step-by-step instructions to complete the craft promotes focus and concentration. Listening and comprehension skills are utilized as the craft steps are explained.

Making a hand turkey allows for creativity and self-expression as kids personalize their turkey’s feathers, eyes, beak, wattle, and other features. Getting to choose colors and decorations boosts autonomy.

As a holiday-themed craft, hand turkeys help teach children about Thanksgiving traditions and symbols. Talking about turkeys and being thankful as they craft enhances concept learning.

Displaying completed hand turkeys develops pride and self-confidence. Sharing them with family builds connections. Overall, this multimedia craft provides a fun, engaging activity for little learners.

Conclusion

In summary, hand turkeys are a fun and popular Thanksgiving tradition. They involve tracing the outline of your hand and decorating it to look like a turkey. It’s a simple craft that people of all ages can participate in. Hand turkeys likely originated in the 1960s or 1970s as a classroom activity, and they continue to be a staple art project for many families and schools around Thanksgiving. From simple traced outlines to intricate collages, there are endless creative ways to make unique hand turkeys. Displaying them around the house or entering contests are great ways to show off your turkey art. Hand turkeys have become symbolic of Thanksgiving because of their nostalgic value and ability to bring people together in a simple, creative way.