Thanksgiving Decorations for Children to Make

The younger members of the family like to be involved in the holiday preparations, but having them help in the kitchen is not a good idea. So, in order to make them feel like they are a part of the celebrations, let time make the decorations. Make sure they start early enough to have the decorations finished in time. These make good family decorations to work on, at least at the beginning, before you have to worry about getting the food ready. Once you get them started and they get the hang of it, they will take over and in all probability make enough decorations for five houses, but after all, the days are getting shorter, there is no going out after dinner any more and once the homework is done, you need something to keep little hands busy.

One material that I use myself and is also great for children is plastic canvas. You can get it in almost any color and it is not expensive at all. For these you will need plastic canvas in any fall color or white, yarn in fall colors and one of those plastic sewing needles that are used to sew knitted pieces together, it is safe for children to use and the eye of the needle is big enough for the yarn to fit through easily.

Older children can be put to work making place mats. This is a bigger decoration and the younger ones may not have the patience to see it through to the end. Take one whole sheet of plastic canvas and let them weave the different colors of yarn through the holes. Or teach them to do half cross stitch, the Continental Stitch, the same stitch uses in needlepoint and they can create quite a masterpiece. If they are weaving the yarn, you can leave a decorative fringe on the ends. This eliminates the need to tuck in a lot of loose ends and makes for a neater looking decoration. Let them use their imagination That is half the fun.