12 DIY Thanksgiving Table Decorations Kids Can Make

A few years ago I spent far too much on a Thanksgiving centerpiece from a shop. It was lovely. Nobody mentioned it once. Not one person. The next year my kids made one out of a stick, a jar of pebbles and a bunch of paper leaves with their handwriting on them, and every single guest picked it up to read. I haven’t bought a centerpiece since.

So these are DIY Thanksgiving table decorations kids can make for the main table, the one the grown-ups sit at. They’re cheap, most of them use things you’ve already got, and there’s a free printable pack with the leaf templates, a banner and a menu card. If you’re setting up a separate kids table, our kids table ideas post covers that, and the place cards and napkin rings are in our Thanksgiving crafts post.

Centerpieces

1. Gratitude Tree

Stand a bare branch in a jar or vase and fill it with pebbles so it doesn’t tip. Kids cut out the leaf tags from our pack, and every guest who’s coming writes one thing they’re thankful for and hangs it on with string. By the end of dinner the tree’s full. Keep the leaves in an envelope for next year; reading old ones is half the fun.

2. Painted Mini Pumpkins

Give kids a handful of mini pumpkins or gourds and some acrylic paint. Dots, stripes, gold leaves, faces, whatever they like. Pile them in a low bowl in the middle of the table. They’ll last for weeks. If you’re stuck for ideas, our no-carve pumpkin post has dozens.

3. Nature Bowl

Send kids outside with a bag to collect pinecones, acorns, small sticks and the best leaves they can find. Shake out any bugs, let it all dry, and arrange it in a wooden bowl. It costs nothing, and it’s my kids’ favorite. It also keeps them busy for a good half hour on Thanksgiving morning, which is a bonus.

4. Paper Sunflower Jar

Our pack has sunflower petals and centers to color and cut out. Glue each flower onto a paper straw or a stick and stand a bunch in a jar. Real flowers wilt by Saturday. These won’t.

Down the Middle of the Table

5. Leaf Print Runner

Roll out a long strip of brown kraft paper down the center of the table. Kids paint the back of real leaves and press them on, or put leaves under the paper and rub over them with the side of a crayon. Let it dry flat overnight. Don’t stack anything on it. When the meal’s over, it goes in the recycling and nobody has to wash a tablecloth runner. That’s honestly my favorite part.

6. “Give Thanks” Banner

Print the banner letters from our pack, let kids color them, and punch the two holes in each. Thread them onto string or ribbon and hang the banner along the front of the table or across a sideboard. Little ones can color; bigger kids can do the threading, which is fiddlier than it looks. You’ll see.

7. Paper Leaf Garland

Cut out a pile of leaves from our template in orange, red, yellow and brown paper. Tape or glue them along a length of twine and lay it down the runner, weaving between the pumpkins and the nature bowl. It makes the whole table look planned, even when it wasn’t. Nobody needs to know.

Lights, LED Only

8. Tissue Paper Leaf Lanterns

Brush glue or Mod Podge over a clean glass jar and stick on torn tissue paper and small tissue leaves. Add a second coat on top and let it dry. It’ll look cloudy at first; that’s normal and it clears. Put a battery tea light inside, never a real candle, and line them up down the table. They glow beautifully once it gets dark, which in late November is about four o’clock.

9. Paper Bag Luminaries

Older kids can fold the top of a small paper bag over, draw a leaf or a turkey on the front and cut it out (or use a hole punch to make a dotted pattern). Put a little sand or rice in the bottom to weigh it down and add an LED tea light. They look great on a windowsill or along the path to the front door, and they’re the first thing guests see when they arrive.

Little Finishing Touches

10. Thanksgiving Menu Card

Our pack has a menu card with spaces for each dish. Kids write in the menu (ask the cook first, obviously, or you’ll get “cake, cake and more cake”) and decorate the border. Stand it up in the middle of the table or tape it to a little easel. Guests always read it. Kids can’t stop pointing at it.

11. Paper Leaf Confetti

Use a leaf-shaped craft punch or cut tiny leaves by hand and scatter them around the dishes. It’s a small thing, but it’s what makes the table look finished. Keep it off the table if you’ve got under-3s at dinner, because they will put it in their mouths.

12. Thankful Table Tent

Fold the table tent from our pack and write a question on each side, like “What’s one good thing that happened this year?” Put one at each end of the table. It gets conversation going when everyone’s too busy eating to think of anything to say. Works on grandpas, too.

Who Can Make What

These aren’t rules, just rough guides. A careful four-year-old can paint a pumpkin, and plenty of twelve-year-olds still love a nature walk.

Download the Free Printables

The free pack has everything for these DIY Thanksgiving table decorations: gratitude tree leaf tags, leaf templates for the garland and lanterns, sunflower petals, the “Give Thanks” banner letters, a menu card and the thankful table tent. It prints on US Letter and A4.

More for Thanksgiving

• Thanksgiving crafts for kids (place cards, napkin rings and 18 more)
• Thanksgiving kids table ideas (with a kids table pack)
• Thanksgiving activities for kids (bingo, a scavenger hunt and more)
• No-carve pumpkin decorating ideas

FAQs

How can kids help decorate the Thanksgiving table?

Kids can make the centerpiece, the runner, a banner and the little extras like a menu card or leaf confetti. Give each child one job and let them own it. Don’t fix it afterwards. They’ll be far more excited about dinner when something on the table is theirs.

What are easy DIY Thanksgiving table decorations?

The easiest DIY Thanksgiving table decorations are a nature bowl, a leaf print runner on kraft paper and a gratitude tree made from a branch in a jar. None of them cost much, and most of what you’ll need is out in the yard. Add a few painted mini pumpkins and the table looks done.

How do you make a Thanksgiving centerpiece with kids?

Start with something tall in the middle, like a branch in a jar for a gratitude tree, then add low things around it: mini pumpkins, pinecones and leaves. Kids can collect, paint and arrange everything themselves. Let them. Keep it low enough that people can still see each other across the table.

Can you use candles in kids’ Thanksgiving decorations?

Use battery LED tea lights in anything kids have made. Paper, tissue and dry leaves catch fire easily, and a busy table with kids reaching across it is no place for an open flame. LED lights look just as warm once the room’s dark, and you won’t spend dinner watching the flames.

What can toddlers make for the Thanksgiving table?

Toddlers can help collect leaves and pinecones, press painted leaves onto the runner, and color the banner letters. Keep small items like acorns, confetti and mini gourds out of reach of children under 3, since they’re choking hazards. Big, simple jobs work best at that age. They’re happiest when it’s messy.

Are these Thanksgiving printables free?

Yes. The leaf tags, templates, banner, menu card and table tent are all in one free PDF with no sign-up and no email form. Print as many copies as you’d like. It works on US Letter and A4 paper.