Free Thanksgiving Printables

Photo Credit:  Oana Befort

I can't believe Thanksgiving is only two days away! I feel like we just celebrated Halloween. If you're feeling like the holiday caught you off guard too, here are a few printables to help you with last minute details.

Thank Your Cards (pictured above) - Sincerely, Kinsey 

Place Cards and more - Hank and Hunt

Grateful Mod Party Printables -  Hostess with the Mostess

Food Gift Labels - nickwilljack

Easy Thanksgiving Kid's Table Setting

This may come as a surprise but sometimes I rather just buy a decoration instead of make it. After all the shopping, cleaning and cooking I just want to purchase the final touches for a party.  I've learned I can't make it all.  If you're feeling the same way about Thanksgiving, here's an easy idea for a kid's table setting. 

Often you can buy kid custom placemats but I've found oversized coloring books work just as well.  The main thing is that the paper is a heavy weight and larger in size.  The coloring page above came from a picture frame pad by Melissa & Doug.  I picked up the 40 page pad at Marshalls for $4.  Usually you can find these kinds of coloring pads at discount stores.  I also saw some that were kind of like "Where's Waldo" that one could color as well.

Page from Doodles at Dinner by Deborah Zemke 

The picture above is from a coloring book meant to be used as a place mat.  This paper is actually a little smaller than the picture frame paper but the weight is about the same.  I'm sharing this so you can see there isn't much difference in buying a paper pad designated for place settings vs. a drawing pad.

To finish off the place setting, take a couple colored pencils or crayons and secure them with ribbon.  Then just tuck in a name tag. The colored pencils don't have to be fancy either.  I used these twig pencils because that's what we had laying around the house.  Good old fashioned crayons will work fine.

*Other idea - line the table with craft paper for drawing. This is always a crowd-pleaser. It's not everyday that one gets to draw directly on the table.

For The Kids Table

Photo Credit: Fiskars

Lately I've been seeing a lot of great kid ideas for Thanksgiving. If you need some last minute inspiration, here are a few of my favorites. The directions for making the table setting above can be found on the Fiskars site.

One Charming Party shows you how to make this adorable faux pumpkin pie filled with small toys. Too clever!

Printable Paper Crafts is offering up this Thanksgiving printable set to download for free. Stop by their site to see what else it includes.

Find the how-to for these finger puppets on the Martha Stewart site.

Have any crafty ideas up your sleeves for Thanksgiving? Please share.

Craft: Mini Wreath Place Card Holder

Who's ready for Thanksgiving? Raise your hand. It seems each year the holiday sneaks up on me quicker than the last. I'm not sure if it's because the holidays are so rushed or if I just have more to do each year. Well, to help you get started for holiday planning, I made these cute place card holders. Now all you have to do is plan the rest, table setting, guest list, dinner. . . etc, etc.

Supplies:
Mini Grapevine wreaths - I purchased the wreaths at Michaels for $.49 each. If you're feeling extra crafty you could make them yourself.

Cream Card stock

Moss - you could also use green yarn in replace of the moss.

Fake leaves - you could also use real leaves and seal them with Modge Podge.

Fabric glue - I used Elmer's Fabric and Paper Glue

Brown watercolor

Brown marker

Okay, lets get started . . .

First step, glue a little moss to the bottom of your wreath. I wrapped it from front to back (refer to picture).

Print name out on card stock. I used a font size of 37 points but it will vary depending on the font. I also did a little kerning (completely optional).

Cut out name in the shape of first picture. Fold on dotted lines. Cut ends on solid lines. Your name tag should now look something like the second picture.

Unfold name tag and paint the outer edges with watercolor. Next, run a dark brown maker around the edge. Refold. This will give it a little more depth and age. You can distress the paper more if you want.

Glue name down on wreath (refer to top picture).

Cut out some mini leaves out of a fake fabric leaf. With a fine tip marker, draw some veins on the leaves for a more realistic effect. Don't worry about making them perfect. Leaves don't come in one shape or size.

Now using a pair of tweezers, glue the leaves on the wreath with the fabric glue. Refer to picture for placement. Done.

*Other idea - thread a ribbon on the top back of the wreath to turn it into an ornament. This way, you could send them home with guests as a functional keepsake.

Thanksgiving Paper Craft

I found these cute paper toy patterns at Macula via Paper Kraft. The kid's and I made these today for a rainy day project. Well actually, I made them and the kids watched. It's a relatively easy project but just a little time consuming. I think it took me about an hour to two hours to make. It's kind of hard to gauge because I was doing other things in between making the toys. I would guess if you had a quiet house with no interruptions, you could make them in an hour.

There's a whole set of Thanksgiving themed toy patterns at Macula. All the patterns appear to be free to download. There's also other patterns to choose from. Click here for patterns.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving