How to Make DIY Thankful Placemats

Crafts with common household goods are my favorite. (I wrote a big ol’ book about it, after all!) If you’re looking for fun, easy Thanksgiving crafts for kids, these brown paper bag thankful placemats are the winner! I originally made these placemats for a segment on The Meredith Viera Show in December 2017. These DIY thankful placemats are perfect for Thanksgiving dinner and double as a craft for kids and adults to doodle while they dine.

Here’s what you need for thankful placemats

• Large brown paper bags from the grocery store
• Scissors
• Markers
• Dinner plate to trace around

How to make thankful placemats

These DIY thankful placemats are the perfect Thanksgiving craft for kids.

Step 1- Cut brown bag

A typical brown paper grocery bag will make 2 placements. Simply cut the brown bag open so that it lays flat.

Step 2- Crinkle paper

Step 3- Decorate the placemat

Next, cut 2 same size rectangles out of the brown paper bag, and crumple up the placemats. Then, crumple some more. This is the perfect step for little kids to help with!

Step 4- Decorate

Now, it’s time for the fun part- decorate the placements! Use a dinner plate as a stencil to trace a large circle onto the brown paper bag placemat. Trace over the circle with a permanent marker. Once you have the plate marked, you can use your knife, fork, and spoon as stencils too. Finally add, “I am thankful for…” at the top of your placemat and if you’d like them to double as name cards doodle on name tags to each mat.

Step 4- Doodle and dine

For the record, these are not just for kids, adults can use these too. Everyone sit together at the table and take a few minutes to doodle what each person is thankful for. Of course, if you like a more formal table setting, these brown bag place mats are perfect for the kids table and keep the kids entertained while dinner is bring made.

If you’re looking for more simple thanksgiving crafts for kids, don’t miss these:

• 18 Thanksgiving crafts for kids
• Thankful turkey craft
• Free “Thankful for You” printables
• Turkey box printable craft for kids
• 15 Edible turkey crafts

Happy almost Turkey Day!