Do you have siblings or perhaps energetic cousins who never stop bugging you during the holidays? Why not distract them with a fun craft? Here’s a list of my favorite holiday crafts that are sure to keep them busy, ensure they have fun, and serve as perfect little keepsakes as a bonus.

1. Tube Turkey

Materials:

• two brown sheets of 9×12 in. construction paper (or one sheet of brown paper and a toilet paper tube)
• one sheet of red and yellow paper
• a glue stick
• scissors
• a ruler
• a sharpie marker

Directions:

• For starters, hold your construction paper long ways, and measure to about half-way, or as close to 4.5 inches as possible. Use the sharpie to mark your line, and then cut it in half so you have two long strips. Roll one of the paper strips into a tube, and glue it. You should be able to make two tubes this way, so depending on how many people are participating, you will need to use more paper. If you have toilet paper tubes, you can use them instead. 
• Next, work on cutting out feathers for the turkey! You can be as creative as you like, as long as they are close to even in size, and are able to be seen peeking out from behind the turkey. Once you’re done, glue the feathers to the back of the turkey.
• After that, cut out a small triangle for the beak, and glue it on. Then take the sharpie, and draw on the eyes. Now you’re done!

2. Painted Fall Themed Rocks

Materials:

• Some flat rocks
• Paint
• Modge-podge
• Paintbrushes
• a cup of water
• a paper towel

Directions:

• I strongly recommend that you prime the rock first by painting it white so that any sort of paint you use comes out much more vibrant. 
• For this project, you can be as creative as you want! You could paint leaves, turn the rock into a pumpkin, paint it into a turkey, etc. It’s cute, it’s fun, and it keeps everyone entertained!

3. Handprint Turkey

Materials:

• a piece of paper
• brown paint
• a paint brush,
• pencils
• markers.

Directions:

• First, grab a piece of paper and the hand of whoever you’re going to paint to put on the paper
• Next, take the brown paint and a paintbrush and spread the paint on the hand
• Then press their hand down with gentle pressure. You can repeat this process for everyone in the family.
• Wait about 15-25 minutes for it to dry, or you could take a hairdryer to speed it up. 
• Next, use the markers to draw on feathers, legs, and eyes, and a beak for the turkey.
• Lastly, sign the name of whoever’s turkey it is underneath the painting.

4. Thankful Tree

Materials:

• a piece of paper
• a glue stick
• pencils
• brown
• red, green, and yellow construction paper and a sheet of paper for a background
• scissors.

Directions:

• First, draw a tree on the brown construction paper (if you make the tree too small, it’ll be harder to do the craft) and cut it out. 
• Then, use the yellow, green, and red construction paper and draw some leaves. Try to make them as even as possible for better results.
• Once the leaves are drawn and cut out, you and your family members can write something you are thankful for on the leaves.
• Lastly, glue the tree on the sheet of paper you grabbed for the background, and then glue on the leaves. Depending on the size of the tree, you might have some leaves that come out further than the paper, but that’s ok! Embrace the creativity.

5. Pom-Pom Turkey

Materials:

• brown yarn to make pom-poms
• red, yellow, and orange construction paper to cut out feathers
• googly eyes
• hot glue

Directions:

• First, create your pom-pom out of the brown yarn. Repeat this as many times as you need depending on how many people are participating. 
• Next, grab the construction paper and create feathers out of the construction paper. Use at least 10-20 feathers depending on how much color and variety you prefer. 
• Lastly, use the hot glue to glue on the eyes, feathers, and beak. 
• *Warning! Avoid letting young children handle the hot glue gun. No one likes a craft that ends in tears.
• An alternative to a hot glue gun is using a glue stick to glue the feathers together in a fan shape pattern, and then glue it onto the turkey. 

6.  Turkey Puppet

Materials:

• a clothes pin
• googly eyes
• a hot glue gun
• brown, yellow, orange, and red craft feathers

Directions:

• First, take the googly eyes and glue them near the top of the clothes pin.
• Then, grab the feathers and glue them to the back of the clothes pin, and you’re done!
• (Optional: color it brown for a more turkey-like appearance)

7. Fall Lanterns

Materials:

• a glass jar
• a small led candle
• a small string of fairy lights
• various paint colors
• paint brushes
• a water cup

Directions:

• All you need to do is grab a jar, set your area up for painting, and have fun!
• You can paint the jar with fun fall shapes and colors.
• For the best results, don’t use very dark paints and leave some spaces unpainted so the light shines through better.
• Not only will it be a cute decoration for the holidays, but afterwards, it could be used as a night light for kids who are scared of the dark.