Don’t get me wrong, I love love love a sophisticated Thanksgiving tablescape, set with pumpkins, leaves, candles, and gorgeous autumnal tones. But my favorite table to set on this holiday (and let’s face it, every holiday) is the kids’ table. There, I can play with color and the place settings in a more lively, whimsical way.
You have a lot to do, I know, so don’t go TOO nutso. I think if you can tackle these three parts of the table, you’ll have it made: the centerpiece, placemats or a tablecloth, and, obviously you can’t have a Thanksgiving table without place cards. (I say that because place cards are in my top five favorite things in the world to craft.)
So here’s how my kids’ table is going to look this year, and believe it or not, I did all my craft shopping at Paper Mart. Beyond bags, boxes, and bows, they have an awesome selection of craft supplies (Did you know that?).
SERVING TRAY PLACECARDS
What you need:
—Acrylic Paint
—Paintbrush
—Black Construction Paper
—White Paint Pen
—Glue Dot
Make It!
1. Paint as many trays as you have little guests and let them dry.
2. Cut black construction paper to fit inside tray, and write names with a white paint pen.
3. Once the trays are dry, attach name card to the center of the tray with a glue dot.
PAPER PLACEMATS and CUTE CUTLERY
What You Need:
—Colored Corrugated Paper Sheets
—Bamboo cutlery
—Hot-Glue Gun
—Scissors
—Ruler
Make It!
1. Cut the paper into 13-inch by 18-inch rectangles.
2. Cut two pieces of 13-inch trim and two pieces of 18-inch trim per placemat.
3. Attach trim to the edges with glue gun. (Your kids can definitely make these, just use white glue instead of a hot-glue gun.)
4. Cut three circles of trim and attach to the end of each utensil with hot glue. (You can substitute glue dots or white glue here so the kids can get involved.)
TURKEY CENTERPIECES
What you Need:
—Two balls of yarn in contrasting colors
—Two small white pom poms & two smaller black pom poms
—Scraps of orange and yellow felt
—Acrylic Paint
—Paintbrush
—9-inch Metallic Cake Circle (Or just buy this set. It’s way more affordable and you get bonus goodies!)
—Exacto Knife
—Ruler
—Scissors
—Hot-Glue Gun
—Pencil
How to Make It:
1. Draw three even pie-shaped sections on the cake circle and cut them with an exacto knife
2. Use two paint colors in the same family to cover the cardboard side of two sections, then paint vertical orange stripes that line up with the scallops on the third piece.
3. While the paint is drying, create two pom-poms of contrasting colors for the head and body. To Make Pom-Poms: Wrap yarn around four fingers, for the head wrap around two – the more you wrap the fuller the pom pom. Once the bundle is about an inch thick on either side of your hand, slide the yarn off your fingers and tie a tight knot around the center with a separate piece of yarn. Use scissors to cut through the loops on each side and fluff it out – trim the edges until it looks round.
4. Glue little black pom-poms onto white pom-poms to create eyes, then glue them on the head pom-pom. Glue on a small triangle of yellow felt for a beak and attach a bright orange or red tear drop shape on the side for a waddle. (We used pieces of the circles felt trim for the beak and waddle!) Hot-glue the head to the body.
5. Once dry, glue the three painted cake circle pieces together so that they overlap slightly with the striped piece in the middle. Finally, cut off the point on the bottom piece (to help it stand) and hot glue the body in the center.
Want my advice? Kill two birds with one stone…visit Paper Mart to stock up on your holiday wrapping supplies now (you’ll thank me in 4 weeks!) and while you’re there, grab a few extra items to add some pop and play to your kids’ Thanksgiving table.
Photography and creative direction by Amanda Kingloff. Craft assistance by Clare Yaghjian.
This post is in partnership with Paper Mart, where you can shop for wrapping supplies, craft goodies, and cardboard turkey feathers.