When you think of Thanksgiving, you inevitably think about turkey! And what better way to prepare for the holiday than make your very own puffy pom-pom turkeys. With a few simple supplies that you might already have at home and the help of your little ones hands for the feathers, these fluffy turkeys are a fun way to feel festive together. Plus, these little guys can sit perfectly on your dinner table or happily on a mantle as decoration.

 

Supplies

• Yarn
• Orange pipe cleaners
• Googly eyes
• Colored foam in fall colors like red, orange and yellow
• Hot glue gun or craft glue

 

 

 

 

 Instructions

1. Start by making the pom-pom first. Wind the yarn around your flat hand until all your fingers are covered and the yarn is your desired thickness. The more yarn, the puffier your ball. Carefully pull the yarn off your hand and lay it on top of a long piece of yarn.

2. Place one pipe cleaner across the bundle of yarn going the opposite direction of the piece of yarn. This pipe cleaner will be the base for the turkey legs. Pull up the piece of yarn from both sides and tie it very tightly together several times. It may help to flip the bundle over and tie tightly a few times.

3. Now it’s time to make the pom-pom come to life by cutting the loops. Slide the scissors under the loops and cut all the way around. Fluff the turkey into a ball once all the loops are cut.

4. To finish the feet, bend the long pipe cleaner in the pom-pom ball in half to look like legs. Use another pipe cleaner to form the feet by tri-folding it and then twist the leg pipe cleaner around the feet pipe cleaner to attach. Repeat for the second foot.

5. To create the feathers, have your child place their hand on the colored foam and trace around their hand. Cut out the hand and repeat to make at least three feather hands.

6. Glue the handprints together, while being careful to fan them out slightly to create the look of feathers.

7. Now’s the fun part of bringing the turkey to life with a face. With glue, add the googly eyes to the pom-pom ball, as well as beak and wattle that you cut out of the colored foam.

8. Bend the legs of the turkey to help him take a seat on your desired surface. Gobble gobble and enjoy!

 

Megan Murray Elsener is a Chicago mother of three.