You next favorite Thanksgiving decoration calls for paper, scissors, and glue!
I’m gonna be frank with y’all: for me, Thanksgiving is just a waypoint between Halloween and Christmas. Considering that I take down my Halloween decorations the weekend after Halloween and put up my Christmas decorations the weekend after Thanksgiving, that neglected November holiday does NOT get its fair share of prep time. If a Thanksgiving decoration is going to live in my house, it has to be quick to set up, quick to take down, and easy to store. Bonus points if it’s pie-themed, and double bonus points if it’s something that also works for Halloween!
That need for easy set-up and easy storage is why most of my Thanksgiving decorations are made from paper!
From place cards to garlands, mantle decorations to luminaries, paper is the perfect format for Thanksgiving decorating. You can go simple or elaborate, funny or sweet, heavy on the turkey theming or heavy on the pie theming (or both!), all with easy to obtain, easy to craft with, and easy to recycle or store PAPER!
Below, check out my absolute favorite Thanksgiving paper crafts. I think your next favorite decoration is in here somewhere!
Photo Portrait Turkey Garland
This personalized turkey garland is a great way to make sure all your dinner guests feel welcome. After all, they’re part of your flock! Don’t be afraid to sneakily steal people’s photos from their social media posts for this, because being confronted with a pic of yourself that you didn’t know your host had is part of the fun! If you’re not in the mood for a garland, use these personalized turkeys instead of place cards at the dinner table.
Accordion-folded Maple Leaf
The secret to these beautiful paper autumn maple leaves is embellishing them with painted accents. You don’t have to be an artist with it–painted swishes and swoops are perfect! The tutorial uses new materials, but these leaves work beautifully when made from brown paper bags or used manila envelopes or even newspaper.
3D Paper Pumpkin
Choose SUPER thick cardstock, or even thin cardboard food packaging, for this dimensional decoration. It looks beautiful on a table or mantle, but attach fishing line to the twig stem to hang it, or use twine or yarn to create a garland. Handwrite names on the leaves to use them as place cards at your dinner table.
Paper Bag Luminary
If the weather is mild and not windy, these simple paper bag luminaries would be a sweet way to line your sidewalk to guide guests in for Thanksgiving dinner. You can re-use the same battery-operated tea lights you put in last month’s Jack-o-lanterns!
Paper Fan Turkey
Have some little kids who want to help with table decorations? This is the perfect craft for them! Even preschoolers can learn how to do a quite serviceable accordion fold, or you can have kids decorate large-format paper in Thanksgiving colors and leave the cutting to you.
Book Page Pumpkin
Don’t freak out, y’all, but you ARE gonna have to ruin an old paperback book for this project. My local library’s book sale room has plenty of gross old paperbacks available for free, and so does my local recycling center’s sidewalk swap area.
3D Paper Turkey
To make this 3D paper turkey, print the templates then cut and fold using your own paper. The project works best with thicker paper, so brown paper bags wouldn’t work, but thin cardboard food packaging would!
Pumpkin Specimen Art
I love to switch out some of my wall art seasonally–I think it changes things up without being too in-your-face festive. This framed set of paper pumpkin specimens could hang out on your wall from September through November. After that, switch it up for something more wintery!
Glittery Book Page Autumn Leaves
Here’s another fun way to use up pages from a broken-down old book. Or for a different look, use old sheet music!
Turkey Trivia
This barely counts as a paper craft, but you do have to cut it out and hole punch it and hey–sometimes that’s all the crafting you’ve got time for! This little trivia activity is a simple time-filler while waiting for dessert, or it can inspire some friendly competition.
P.S. Looking for even more Thanksgiving paper crafts? Check out these crafts that use printables here!
