Fun Torn Paper Turkey Craft Idea For Thanksgiving

This Torn Paper Turkey Craft is a fun and simple activity that gets kids excited about the Thanksgiving holiday while they explore texture and color and create adorable turkeys for the festivities.

I have been in mega crafting mode lately, and I have a flurry of fun craft ideas for the holidays to share with you over the next few weeks! I kicked it off this year with this fun Apple Suncatcher and quickly added this cute Acorn Handprint Craft (one of my favorites!).

In past years, I don’t think I gave Thanksgiving enough love, because it really is one of my favorite holidays. But this cute turkey craft is the newest addition to my collection of Thanksgiving activities for kids.

Don’t miss any of our cute Thanksgiving crafts! If you’re looking for more ideas, be sure to check out our:

• Paper Bag Pilgrim Turkey Craft
• Paper Plate Pumpkin Fairy House
• Easy Paper Bag Turkey Craft
• Paper Plate Turkey Craft

Torn paper crafts, like this Torn Paper Candy Corn, are not only super fun, but they’re also cute projects that are great for kids of all ages! 

Your kiddos will have a blast making this torn paper turkey craft because it’s like putting together a puzzle—tear colorful paper into pieces and glue them onto the free template you can download.

Why You’ll Love This Torn Paper Turkey Craft

• Fun and learning at the same time – Kids of all ages can improve their skills, and the payoff of the final product makes the effort worth it!
• Fine motor skills development – Cutting, tearing, and gluing are tasks that require hand-eye coordination,
• Helps kids learn patience – Do you have a kid that’s a bit of a perfectionist or hard on themselves? This type of activity is very forgiving, but takes time and patience!
• Easy craft to add to your day – If you already have crafting supplies on hand, these little turkeys are a great way to fill time if you need a last-minute addition to your upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations!

Supplies Needed

With a few basic supplies, your little ones can create their own colorful paper turkeys to show off proudly!

• Construction paper – I used Thanksgiving colors (or fall colors) like red, orange, yellow, and brown construction paper.
• Markers –
• Paper plate –
• Double-sided tape – This is a great mess-free way to put this craft together, but using a glue stick or school glue is also great!
• Scissors – If you are making this craft with young children, consider using safety scissors. They’ll work great for everything you need to do!
• Turkey template – You can always freehand this craft, but feel free to download our free template to make it easier.

How To Make A Torn Paper Turkey Craft

1. Cut the paper plate into half
2. Prepare the paper squares – Cut or tear red, brown, orange, and yellow paper into squares, then attach them to the paper (feel free to use the photos as a guide).
3. Make the turkey’s body – Cut the turkey template, trace the pieces on their corresponding colored paper, then assemble them one by one.
4. Attach the turkey’s body to the plate feathers – Once you have assembled the turkey, attach it to the paper plate.

Torn Paper Turkey Craft Pro Tips

This Torn Paper Turkey Craft is a wonderful way to keep little hands busy and celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving. It’s easy enough for toddlers but engaging enough for older kids to enjoy too.

• Pre-cut or Pre-tear – For younger kids, you may want to pre-tear the paper into smaller pieces to help save time.
• If you are making this torn paper turkey in a classroom setting, write each child’s name on the back of the turkey so you can know who made each turkey.
• Although I used Thanksgiving-themed colors in this craft, feel free to use any color you want. Rainbow turkey? Why not!

Download The Free Turkey Template

This craft can definitely be free-drawn, but if you want to make it easy or give your kids more independence, you can grab our free template.

Torn Paper Turkey Craft Variations To Try

This adorable turkey craft has some flexibility. Here are some ideas for variations you can make.

• Instead of centering this craft on a paper plate, put it on a fun piece of scrapbook paper. I recommend tracing the shape of half of a paper plate to guide you on where to put the colored paper squares.

• Go crazy! Experiment with different ways to lay out the “turkey’s feathers.” Try lining up the colors vertically instead of horizontally. Or don’t worry about lining up the squares at all and let them overlap (young children may have a hard time lining up the squares).

• Play with different shades of paper! Instead of just doing one shade of each color, do two or more. For example, use darker pieces of brown paper and lighter brown pieces of paper.

• Expand the feathers area! I made the turkey’s feathers with four rows of different colors. Feel free to make more rows and give your little turkey even more feathers!

• Experiment with using different types of paper! I love the idea of making turkey feathers with tissue paper, cardstock, glitter paper, or even scrapbook paper. Wouldn’t the turkey’s body look adorable with scrapbook paper or some sparkly glitter paper?

• Googly Eyes! If you’d rather use large googly eyes instead of making eyes, it would be so cute and make your turkey look silly!

This adorable turkey sun catcher is a great Thanksgiving craft. Make as many as you want and display them proudly for everyone to see!

More Thanksgiving Fun

This craft is so much fun for kids of any age. If you like it, check out these other great kids’ activities and free printables for the season too!

• Disguise A Turkey Cut And Color Paper Craft
• Free Thanksgiving Coloring Pages
• Thanksgiving Bingo Game Printable For Kids
• Free Random Acts of Kindness Bingo Printable

Pin For Later!