Ahhh finally, a breath of relief as school begins its exponential route towards a stressful situation. As you’re at home, or maybe still on campus, there are plenty of crafts to remind you and those around you what you are thankful for. Not only will these serve as memories of your Thanksgiving but they will also be good to look at once finals week begins and you need a little extra reminder of the people who are supporting you throughout your time at Hofstra. No more hand turkeys. I assure you, these DIY crafts are actually doable!
1. Turkey Cups
After making this you’ll probably be brainstorming several random things you can use cups for because how cute!
Supplies: Brown, red, orange and red construction paper, googley eyes, scissors and plastic cups.
Assembly: Cut the red, orange and red construction paper like feathers and set aside. Cut yellow and red construction paper to imitate a turkey’s beak. Cut the brown construction into small circles, attach the beak materials and attach googley eyes with glue. Finally, glue the turkey head to the front of the cup and the feathers to the back!
2. Thankful Pumpkins
This I think is the perfect gift to give to friends because it’s simple, college budget friendly and is sure to get a genuinely flattered reaction!
Supplies: Green and orange construction paper, sharpie and a stapler
Assembly: Cut the orange construction paper into 2-inch strips, write the things you are thankful for with the sharpie, place all the orange construction paper in a circle that fans out with the bottoms all touching at one point and staple, repeat but connecting the loose ends at the top and staple. Cut the green construction paper into small leafs and 2-inch strips and staple all at the top. Lastly, curl the attached 2-inch strips with your fingers to mimic vines.
3. Thumbprint Tree
Perfect for the whole family, or your roommates, this craft can create a very visual representation about these people being influential in how you grow.
Supplies: White canvas, red, orange, yellow, green and brown paint, paint brush.
Assembly: On the white canvas paint a simple tree brown with branches. On those loose branches have various people paint their thumbs either red, orange, yellow or green to create “leaves”.
4. Leaf Garland
Perfect fireplace vibes, that is all.
Supplies: Various colors of felt fabric, sharpie, scissors, glittered letter adhesives and thick string.
Assembly: Using the sharpie draw a basic leaf outline on all of the felt fabric and cut out the leafs. With the glittered letters spell out “Thanksgiving” or “Thankful” and attach every letter to a different leaf. Eventually, tie the string around the leaf stems to spell out your desired phrase.
5. Doily Pumpkins
It really cannot get any simpler, plus you can turn the days leading up to Thanksgiving as a bonding experience to get the pumpkins.
Supplies: Pumpkin, doilies, Modge Podge and paint of your choice.
Assembly: Dip the doilies into your favorite paint colors until fully covered, give them time to dry then use Modge Podge to attach the painted dollies to the pumpkin in a fun design!
6. Ombré Acorns
This is just one of those crafts where it’s sole purpose is to be put in a bowl and assembled for the ‘gram.
Supplies: Acorns, paintbrush, various vibrant paint colors and white paint.
Assembly: Starting from the bottom paint the tips of the acorns and gradually add white as you repeat every two of three levels.
7. Feathered Place Cards
Supplies: White feathers, gold paint, paper luggage tags, sharpie, string and paint brushes.
Assembly: Paint half of the white feathers across the short side gold as well as paint gold polka dots on the luggage tags. Use a Sharpie to write the names of people attending your dinner over the dried luggage tags. Finally use string to attach a single luggage tag to a dried feather.
Feel free to tag @hchofstra on Instagram; we’d love to see your own Thanksgiving Crafts!