Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids: Thankful Pumpkin

Instead of putting kids on the spot at the Thanksgiving dinner table by asking them what they're thankful for, help them make these pumpkins that capture their thankfulness forever.

These crafts would be fantastic Thanksgiving table decorations. Children can also put them on display in their rooms to remind them what they're thankful for every day of the season.

What you'll need:

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Orange construction paper
• Scissors
• Green construction paper
• Marker
• Glue

Instructions:

1. Using a pencil and ruler, mark off eight 1-inch by 11-inch strips of orange construction paper.

2. Cut the strips along the lines.

3. Using a pencil and ruler, mark off two 1/2-inch strips of green construction paper for the leaves. These strips can be as long as you'd like.

4. Draw and cut out two leaves using the green construction paper.

5. Using the marker, have kids write what they are thankful for on each strip of orange paper, leaving about 1 inch of space on both ends for assembling the pumpkin. If kids can't yet write, adults can help with this step.

6. Arrange the orange strips in a circle, overlapping all the strips in the center. Be sure your kid's writing on each strip faces the same direction so that when the pumpkin is assembled, you won't have to turn the pumpkin to read the strips. Glue the strips, one at a time, so that they overlap securely. Allow to dry.

7. Overlap the orange strips once again on the opposite ends of the strips. Glue them in place, overlapping the ends just as you did in Step 6.

8. Roll the 1/2-inch strips of green paper around the pencil to curl them.

9. Glue the curled strips on top of the pumpkin, then glue the two leaves on top to hide the ends. You can overlap the two leaves, if you'd like.