Paper Plate Turkey Craft for Kids

Bring some color to your Thanksgiving crafting with this fun and easy paper plate turkey craft! With a painted paper plate, colorful paper feathers, and a few simple details, you can turn basic craft supplies into a cheerful turkey decoration.

The best part of this Thanksgiving turkey craft is creating the colorful feather tail. Kids can mix different colors, add their own patterns, and arrange the feathers however they like. It’s a simple project that encourages creativity while making a cute piece of seasonal artwork.

This paper plate turkey craft for kids is perfect for preschoolers, kindergarteners, classroom Thanksgiving activities, or a fun craft to make at home.

Let’s get started!

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What You’ll Need

Paper plate
Brown paint
Paintbrush
Brown construction paper
Yellow construction paper
Orange construction paper
Green construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Pencil
Googly eyes
White marker

How to Make a Paper Plate Turkey

Step 1: Paint the paper plate

Start with a plain paper plate and place it on your work surface. Take a brown paint and a paint brush.

Using a paintbrush, paint the entire front of the paper plate with brown paint. Try to spread the paint evenly so that the plate is completely covered.

Once you’re done, leave the paper plate aside and let the paint dry completely before continuing.

Step 2: Make the first feather

While the paper plate is drying, take a piece of yellow construction paper.

Draw a simple feather shape using a pencil. Make it slightly curved with a pointed end.

Carefully cut it out with scissors.

This will be used as a template for creating the colorful feathers around the turkey.

Step 3: Cut out more colorful feathers

Use the first feather as a guide to make several more feathers from different colors of construction paper.

Create a mixture of yellow, orange, green, and red feathers. You can make them similar in size or vary them slightly to give the turkey’s tail a fuller and more playful appearance.

Once you have enough feathers, keep them ready for decorating the turkey.

Step 4: Decorate the feathers

Before attaching the feathers to the paper plate, add some fun patterns to them.

Using a white marker, draw simple lines, dots, stripes, or other designs on some of the colored feathers. You can decorate every feather or leave a few plain for contrast.

There’s no particular pattern you need to follow, so let the kids get creative and make their own colorful feather designs.

Step 5: Arrange the feathers, glue them, and add the face

Now bring all the pieces together to create your turkey.

Arrange the colorful feathers around the back of the red paper plate so they fan outward, creating a full feathered tail. Move the feathers around until you’re happy with the colors and arrangement.

Once everything looks right, glue the feathers securely to the back of the paper plate. Make sure they are close enough together to create a nice, full tail.

Next, it’s time to give your turkey a face. Glue two googly eyes near the upper center of the red paper plate.

Cut a small triangle from yellow or orange construction paper and glue it underneath the eyes to make the beak. Then add a small red paper piece below the beak to complete the turkey’s face.

Press all the pieces down gently and allow the glue to set.

Step 6: Add the feet

To finish the turkey’s body, take yellow or orange construction paper and cut out two simple feet.

Give each foot a few little toes and glue them underneath the paper plate, positioning one on each side.

Make sure they are securely attached and allow the glue to dry.

Step 7: Complete your paper plate turkey

Take a final look at your craft and make sure everything is firmly attached.

Let the paint and glue dry completely before moving the turkey.

Your colorful paper plate turkey craft is now ready to display!

Final Words

A simple paper plate can turn into a fun Thanksgiving decoration with just a little paint, paper, and creativity. The colorful feathers make this turkey craft for kids especially fun because children can choose their own colors and patterns.

This craft is a great addition to a Thanksgiving classroom activity, preschool art project, or a creative afternoon at home. You can also make several turkeys with different feather combinations and create a whole Thanksgiving display.

We hope you enjoyed making this cheerful paper plate turkey craft and giving it your own creative touch.

Happy crafting and Happy Thanksgiving!