Super-Easy, Last-Minute Ways to Make Thanksgiving Adorable

– Posted in: Holidays, Okay That's Funny, Things To Do with Kids, Uncategorized

Super-easy, last-minute Thanksgiving decorations from stuff in your house So if you’re anything like me (lame), you didn’t go on Pinterest a month ago, look for Thanksgiving decorations, and use a variety of multi-media projects to make Turkey day look like some Norman Rockwell-esque picture out of Martha Stewart magazine. No, you got to Tuesday, or maybe even Thursday, and said, “Oh crap, it sure would be good to do something Thanksgiving-y. Ummmm…”

Lucky for you, I have a really crafty brother-in-law (read “gay and would be working for Martha if he weren’t a doctor”). All you need to rescue Thanksgiving is:

  • 18×12 inch construction paper — at the minimum black, brown, yellow, orange, and white.
  • Ribbon
  • Scissors
  • Tape
  • Some type of root vegetable (or whatever) — we used parsnips, but really you could do this with anything.
  • Straight pins
  • Peppercorns (or, worst case scenario, black marker)

Super-Cute Pilgram Hats

  • Fold a piece of 18×12 inch paper along the long side, about a fourth of the way up.
  • On the corners with the folds, make holes and tie ribbon — thicker and softer is better.
  • On the opposite long side, make two cuts. Go about a fourth of the way down, and make the cuts so that the center section is just a bit smaller than the two side sections.

Paper Pilgrim Hat

  • Bend the middle flap the opposite direction of the first fold
  • Bring the top edges of the other flaps toward each other.

How to make a paper Pilgrim Hat

  • Tape the edges. Make a paper pilgrim hat for Thanksgiving

Native American Headbands

Do I really even need to explain this one?

Native American Thanksgiving Paper Headband

  • Cut strips of brown paper — 1 to 2 inches wide.
  • Measure so it fits around head snuggly and tape. Sometimes you’ll need to stick several together.
  • Cut out feathers from various colored paper.
  • Cut “fringe” into the sides of the feathers.
  • Tape to headband.

Thanksgiving paper Native American headband

Pilgrim Parsnips

So you thought you needed gourds, pumpkins, or fancy vegetables to make your table nice? Pfft.

  • Decide what you want to decorate. We did parsnips, but you could stick these little pilgrim hats on just about anything.
  • Cut a little circle of black paper with a hole in the center — this will be the brim. Make the center hole big enough so the parsnip will fit through it.
  • Cut a strip of black paper, about an inch wide. Make it into a cylinder that’s slightly wider than the center hole. Tape.
  • Wrap a smaller strip of white paper around the bottom. Tape.
  • Cut a small square (slightly wider than the white strip) out of yellow paper and draw a black square in the middle of it. Tape it to the white strip.
  • Put the circle on first and then the cylinder. Voila! Hat.
  • Cut a strip of black paper, wrap it around the parsnip, and secure it with a pin so the ends cross in the front.
  • Make eyes with pepper corns.

Parsnip Pilgrims

I am sorry to report that after we stripped out founding root vegetables of their Puritan garb, they showed a deeper, more sinister side of their personalities. It’s always disturbing to find out the dark truth about historical events. All I can suggest is, maybe try this with sweet potatoes instead?

KKK Parsnips

 

Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

 

7 Comments… add one

Poppy November 26, 2013, 10:12 pm

My son would totally dig the bonnet. Hopefully he’ll be a doctor, too.

Vinma November 27, 2013, 4:29 am

This is really cool! So easy to make too 🙂 Certainly can be done last minute. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂

Cheryl S. November 27, 2013, 6:51 am

Poppy, awesome! Love that. Made me smile. And Tammy? Puhleaze. I’m making cornbread. From scratch, and not the sweet kind. No pilgrims. No Native Americans. No gourds. You might have to relinquish the WORST part of your title if you keep getting all Martha-y on us.

Rae Buchanan November 27, 2013, 7:58 am

So very, very cute, I love the parsnip pilgrims!! Your brother-in-law is multi-talented! Happy Thanksgiving Tammy!
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Elle November 27, 2013, 3:47 pm

I love those parsnips, they’re adorable. Have I said your site looks amazing!!!
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Cher November 27, 2013, 4:32 pm

So cute – Love the models! I remember sporting each of these hats back in the day! (for the record, I’m “lame”, too!)
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Elaine Schoch December 1, 2013, 7:11 pm

Cute! Can your brother-in-law share some Christmas ideas too. =)
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