Three Easy, Fun and Inexpensive Thanksgiving Crafts to Do with Kids
The Internet is filled with almost countless free Thanksgiving images that have terrific potential. They can be used to illustrate the holiday on web pages or blogs, or can be pressed into service for those old-time favorites: Thanksgiving crafts. For example, making craft projects out of antique Thanksgiving cards are no-brainers, because vintage images are versatile and also quite effective when it comes to delivering a message. Because of their age, these images can also be downloaded and used without fear of consequences stemming from copyright infringement.
Doing a quick Web search for “vintage Thanksgiving cards” will produce a large selection of no-cost images from which a lot of craft projects can be made. And if you’re not a fan of vintage, contemporary Thanksgiving images or fall clipart images can also produce great craft projects.
Here are some examples of simple projects virtually kids and teens can make by using free images found on the Web:
* Thankful Garlands *
Crafting Thanksgiving garlands can be as easy as having your guests write all the things they’re grateful for in their lives. Then, just print some vintage Thanksgiving cards and with the help of tiny clothespins, add the vintage cards and the leaves, alternating them onto a long piece of ribbon or yarn. If you don’t have any clothespins, you can use paper clips, colorful clamps you can get at the office supply store or tape to hold everything in place. If you want, you could also use contemporary Thanksgiving clip art instead of the cards to alternate with the leaves. Once finished, drape the garland over a windowsill or a mantelpiece to show off everyone’s good work!
* Handmade Thanksgiving Cards *
Once you’ve gone online and downloaded the image you would like to use, paste it into a word processing or PowerPoint document. You can size the card by adjusting the software’s settings. Place the image on one half of the card, so it can be folded in half after it’s printed. Print the card on card stock as heavy as your printer will allow, fold it and use a little glitter glue to make it sparkle. You can also make your own envelopes or just get some at the dollar store.
* Thanksgiving Place Cards *
Some believe a Thanksgiving dinner table is bare and incomplete without table place cards. Fortunately, you can make them easily with free clip art images or vintage cards. Just download the image or images you want to use and paste them into a table in your word processing program. Make the table two columns by six or eight rows, depending on how tall you want the cards to be. Paste the art into every other cell, making sure there’s enough room on the cards to write people’s names. Then, print the page onto card stock, cut them out using a paper cutter or a ruler and craft knife and just fold them in half. Voila! That’s all it takes. Your holiday table will be that much more festive.
I hope you and your kids enjoy making these simple and fun Thanksgiving crafts and that you have a happy Thanksgiving!