Thanksgiving is coming up, and that means spending time with family and friends. If you’re looking for ways to keep your teens busy and entertained, why not try some fun Thanksgiving crafts? From cards to floral arrangements, we’ve got you covered. So get out your crafting supplies and get started!
If you have teenagers in the house, you probably know how hard it is to get them to participate in family time. It’s not that they don’t love spending time with you – they’re just in a stage of life where friends are their entire world! It’s understandable, but family time is important too.
If you’ve been brainstorming ways to get your teens to come home and spend time with the family, you’ve come to the right place! Teens need a creative outlet, and there’s no better way to get that than by helping them do some crafts during their time off from school and work.
You could even invite their friends to come along! Some of my favorite memories from my teenage years include sitting on the porch with my friends making bracelets, crafting cute cards, and listening to our favorite songs on repeat. Plus, I got to spend time with my family while doing it! It was a win-win situation for my parents and me, so I made it a point to continue the tradition with my own kids.
Getting your teens (and kids of all ages) to participate in a craft night might feel like pulling teeth at first, but I promise it’s worth it. Check out these easy Thanksgiving crafts for teens that are sure to get them in the holiday spirit!
Craft Supplies to Have on Hand:
First off, you’ll want to get some craft supplies. Here are a few to start out with to make your fun Thanksgiving crafts:
- Scrapbook paper
- Craft paper
- Different colors of crayons
- Hot glue
- String
- Beads
- Fall leaves
- Fall flowers
- Place cards
- Tissue paper
- pipe cleaners
- Paper bags
- Coffee filter (for a coffee filter wreath)
- Paper pumpkin for card decorating
- Watercolor or acrylic paints
- Paper plates
Thanksgiving Wreath
Sit down with your teen and make a beautiful Thanksgiving wreath for your front porch or bedroom door. Bonus points if you take them with you to the craft store to get all the supplies! There are lots of fun ideas on Pinterest. The Dollar Tree is our favorite place to go for inexpensive DIY wreath supplies.
What you need:
These are just some general supplies you may want to get:
- Wreath form
- Fake fall flowers
- Ribbon
- Glue gun
- Foam cutouts
- Fake Leaves
While you’re creating the wreath, take some time to talk with your teen and get to know each other better. It’s a great way to bond and you get a great piece of home decor at the end!
Plus, it’s the perfect opportunity for creativity. This is one of our favorite festive thanksgiving crafts for the holiday season.
Thankful Tree
This is a super easy, but really sweet craft that your teen can make – and it’s perfect for the Thanksgiving season.
What You Need:
- Construction paper
- Markers
- Scissors.
Instructions:
- Once you have all the supplies, sit down with your teen and help them cut out leaves from the construction paper.
- Once they have a decent amount of leaves, help them write things they’re thankful for on each leaf.
- After they’re done writing, they can put the leaves on a poster board or bulletin board to create their very own thankful tree!
This is fun for young children as well. You might also enjoy making our Cricut Thankful Tree, which you can use year after year!
Thankful Tray
This is a great tray to have for the Thanksgiving season, and it’s simple enough for teens to do on their own. You check out the full tutorial here
What You Need:
Greeting Cards
Greeting cards are always a fun craft to make, and there are so many different ways to make them! You can get really creative with this one and make some really beautiful cards, especially if you have a Cricut machine.
If you want to make things a little easier, you can buy a pack of blank cards and have your teen decorate them however they want. This is a great way to get their creative juices flowing! Encourage them to write “thank you” notes in the cards and deliver them to their loved ones. This is one of my personal favorite Thanksgiving crafts!
Flower Arrangements
If your teen is into flowers, this is the perfect craft for them! They can make a beautiful arrangement for your Thanksgiving dinner table or as a gift for someone else.
If you don’t have any fake flowers around the house, you can always head to the dollar store or craft store to pick some up. Or you could get real flowers and leaves from your local grocery store! This is a great opportunity for your older kids to show off their creativity.
Felt Ball Garlands
Felt ball garlands are so cute and festive – and they’re really easy to make!
What You Need:
- String
- Felt balls (Etsy has lots of great felt balls and even garland kits!)
- Needle and thread.
Instructions:
- Once you have all the supplies, sit down with your teen and help them thread the needle.
- Then they can start stringing the felt balls on the thread until they have a garland that’s as long as they want it!
This is a great craft for teens who want to add a little holiday cheer to their bedroom. You can do this with pine cones as well.
Thanksgiving Recipe Cards
If your teen loves to cook or bake, this is the perfect craft for them! They can make their own recipe cards for all their favorite Thanksgiving dishes. This is also a great opportunity for them to get creative with the design of the cards.
Plus, they’ll be super happy to have those recipes when they go off on their own in a few years! Cooking is one of our favorite Thanksgiving activities at my house, and it’s even better when we can get the whole family involved.
Alternatively, you could help your teen gather favorite family recipes to compile into an actual cookbook using The Family Cookbook Project. I did this recently for my husband’s grandmother’s recipes, and it turned out great! It’s a great way to connect with your family, too!
Festive Custom Sweatshirts
This is an especially fun and easy craft if you have a Cricut machine. If you don’t have one, you can always use iron-on transfers.
What You Need
- Blank sweatshirt
- Iron on vinyl in festive Thanksgiving colors.
Instructions:
- Once you have all the supplies, sit down with your teen and help them design their custom sweatshirt.
- They can add whatever they want – from leaves to turkeys to pumpkins!
- Once they’re done designing, they can iron on the design and wear their new sweatshirt all season long.
Car Fresheners
This is such a fun and easy craft that your teen is sure to love!
What You Need:
- Cardstock
- Wooden dowels
- Ribbon
- Essential oils.
Instructions:
- Cut out out desired shape from the cardstock.
- Then add a few drops of essential oil to the cardstock and insert the wooden dowel.
- Finally, can tie a piece of ribbon around the top of the dowel and hang it in the car!
This is a great way to keep their car smelling fresh all season long. If your teen is still in middle school, you might want to hold off on this one for a little while.
Watercolor Canvas
This is a beautiful and simple craft that your teen is sure to love.
What You Need:
- Blank canvas
- Watercolors
- Brushes
Instructions:
- Once you have all the supplies, sit down with your teen and help them choose their colors. They can either go for a traditional Thanksgiving palette or get creative with their own unique color scheme!
- After they’ve decided on their colors, they can start painting their masterpiece.
This is a great way for them to show off their artistic side! You could even use it as Thanksgiving table decor.
Crayon Melt Pumpkins
This is such a fun and easy craft that your teen is sure to love!
What You Need:
- Crayons
- Hot glue gun
- Hair dryer
- Mini pumpkins
Instructions:
- After they’ve decided on their colors, they can start melting the crayons onto the pumpkins.
- This is a great way to add some festive color to your home!
This is a fun one for elementary school children too, but they’ll need some extra supervision. Bonus points if you go to the pumpkin patch to pick out the pumpkins as a family!
Friendship Bracelets
This is a great craft for teens who want to show their friends how much they care!
What You Need:
- String
- Beads
- Thread
Directions:
- Once you have all the supplies, sit down with your teen and help them thread the needle.
- Then they can start stringing the beads on the thread until they have a bracelet that’s as long as they want it!
- They can make as many bracelets as they want – one for each of their friends!
These are just a few of the many DIY Thanksgiving crafts that your teen is sure to love. So get creative and have fun! What are some of your favorite simple ideas for crafts and art projects? Add to our list of Thanksgiving crafts in the comments!
We hope you enjoyed these Thanksgiving crafts for teens! If you did, please let us know in the comments. We’d love to hear what you think and see your finished products. Happy crafting!
Leave a Reply