We’re stuffing turkeys this Thanksgiving, but not the kind you eat! This stuffed paper bag turkey craft turns a simple lunch bag into a handmade turkey decoration that little ones can proudly display or use for pretend play.

Gather a few supplies so kids can create a plump turkey ready for the holiday! Once the last feather is glued on, they’ll be ready to play or show it off to family and friends. Be sure to check out more turkey activities for kids and fun Thanksgiving projects to keep the celebration going this November.

Collage of a completed paper bag turkey craft displayed twice, showing the full design with colorful tail feathers.

Brown Paper Bag Turkey Craft

This stuffed paper bag turkey is a hands-on project that turns ordinary supplies into a festive masterpiece. Kids will enjoy filling their turkey, adding bright feathers, and creating the finishing details. The finished Thanksgiving turkey craft can be used for story time, imaginative play, or as a cheerful decoration for the table.

This easy Thanksgiving project is a fun way to get kids excited for the holiday. They can explore their creativity while practicing fine motor skills as they glue, cut, and assemble their turkey.

Once the stuffed turkey is complete, kids will be eager to show it off to everyone they know. Download the turkey template and follow the step-by-step instructions below to get started today.

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Supplies

Colored cardstock or construction paper
Scissors
Glue
Brown Paper Bag
Turkey Template (click the “click here to get your freebies” image at the end of the post)

Click here to see our favorite kids’ craft supplies.

Directions

Start by downloading and printing the template. Once the template is printed, gather the materials for this fun activity. Get those scissors ready, and let’s help the kids bring this turkey to life!

Hands holding a turkey craft template with various cutouts for a blog post.

Begin by adding crumpled paper inside the brown paper bag to give it shape. Now, fold over the top of the bag and gently squeeze it to give the turkey some shape. When you have the shape you like, tape it down on the back. This adds a bit of volume and makes the bag look fuller, just like a plump little turkey!

Hands are crumpling the top of a brown paper bag for a turkey craft on a white background.

Now it’s time to add the eyes! Help your child glue them onto the turkey head piece, just below the eyebrows.

Hands gluing paper googly eyes onto a brown paper turkey head cutout for a Thanksgiving craft.

Click here to see why I recommend these craft supplies

Find the snood piece (that little wiggly part that hangs by the turkey’s beak). Help your child glue it below the turkey’s eye.

Hands adding a red paper snood to the turkey head cutout with eyes for a fun kids craft.

Next, grab the beak piece and glue it right in between the eyes, slightly overlapping the top of the snood.

Hands gluing a yellow paper beak and orange mouth to the turkey's face cutout, completing the facial features.

Take your two orange paper feet and glue them to the bottom of your stuffed lunch paper bag.

Hands gluing two orange paper feet to the bottom of the brown paper bag body for the turkey craft.

Glue the two brown paper wings to the sides of the paper bag body, placing one on each side.

Hands gluing two brown paper wings to the back of the paper bag turkey body above the feet.

Take the completed turkey head and glue it to the top of the paper bag body. Press it down gently so it sticks well.

Hands gluing the completed brown paper turkey head onto the paper bag body for a Thanksgiving craft.

Finally, let’s add those colorful tail feathers! Glue them to the back of the paper bag. Spread them out like a fan to create a bright, beautiful turkey tail that really stands out!

Hands adding four large colorful paper feathers in red, orange, and yellow to the back of the paper bag turkey craft.

Don’t you just love this cute paper bag turkey? It’s the perfect easy project for a fun Thanksgiving afternoon with the kids! Be sure to check out some of our other favorite Thanksgiving crafts for kindergarten while you’re here!

A completed craft of an adorable paper bag turkey with large, colorful paper tail feathers on a white marble background.

Cupcake Liner Turkey Craft

Thanksgiving Books For Children

Turkey Trouble – If you’ve never read this book, you have to add it to your holiday collection! It’s so cute and fun and kids just love it! Follow the turkey around the farm as he disguises himself as different animals so the farmer doesn’t catch him for Thanksgiving dinner!

How To Catch A Turkey – Kids who love the How To Catch books will want to see all the crazy contraptions kids make to try to catch a turkey loose at the school!

Pete The Cat: The First Thanksgiving -Every Pete the Cat book is fantastic, but this one takes it up a notch with flaps for the kids to open. It’s a great way to get the kids excited about reading and Thanksgiving!

Two completed paper bag turkey crafts with colorful tail feathers and cheerful faces on a white marble surface.

Thanksgiving Crafts For Kids

Pilgrim Paper Bag Puppet Craft – A simple paper bag plus our free template equals a cute pilgrim puppet! Kids can create a boy or girl pilgrim puppet for a hands-on way to bring the story of the first Thanksgiving to life. Incorporate this fun project into your lessons or celebrations!

Turkey Popsicle Stick Craft – Kids will love assembling and painting this adorable popsicle stick turkey! Add a pilgrim hat and bright feathers for a festive touch. This hands-on art project is a playful way to celebrate Thanksgiving while giving kids a chance to get creative!

Torn Paper Turkey Craft

Scarecrow Headband Craft – Your little ones will have a blast creating this cute scarecrow headband! They can color, cut, and assemble their own festive fall accessory. It’s a fun way to celebrate the season, wear during story time, or show off at a fall party for a little extra autumn cheer.

Turkey Handprint Craft – Little hands take center stage with this fun keepsake project! Kids will love tracing and cutting out their handprints to make a turkey’s colorful tail feathers! They can mix bright colors or stick with classic fall shades for a festive look. Use our free template along with their sweet handprints to make these gobblers!

Thanksgiving Printable Activities

These turkey do a dot printables are such a fun way to mix learning and holiday excitement! Kids can grab the dot markers and work through five engaging pages that include a colorful turkey, letter T practice, counting, and fine motor skill activities.

This simple activity is great to keep preschool and kindergarten kids busy over Thanksgiving break or using them in the classroom. They’ll have so much fun dotting along while secretly practicing important early learning skills!

collage image of 4 Thanksgiving Printable Activities

Holiday fun is just a download away with these festive Thanksgiving pattern block mats! Kids can create turkeys, scarecrows, and even tasty Thanksgiving treats with their blocks and practice important early learning skills at the same time.

These mats encourage creativity, solving problems, and fine motor development when kids match the shapes and complete each design. The variety of fun holiday scenes keeps little learners engaged and excited to play.

Thanksgiving Connect The Dots

Celebrate Thanksgiving with these fun turkey connect the dots printables! Kids will love watching each turkey appear as they connect the numbers in order. This simple activity helps build fine motor skills, number recognition, and concentration.

There are three turkeys to choose from and different difficulty levels, so there’s something for everyone. After finishing going dot to dot, kids can grab their crayons and add color to make each turkey bright, festive, and ready to display for the holiday season!

A completed craft of an adorable paper bag turkey with colorful tail feathers and craft supplies scattered around it.

These turkey line tracing sheets turn handwriting practice into Thanksgiving fun! Kids will love following the squiggly lines and coloring the turkeys to boost fine motor skills, focus, and hand-eye coordination. Tracing is an engaging way to prepare preschoolers for writing while keeping them entertained with a cute and festive holiday theme.

Did you make this activity with your kids or students? We’d love to feature them on our social media!

For a chance to have your child’s project featured, simply snap a picture of the completed project and post it to our Facebook page, email it to us directly by clicking here, or use #simpleeverydaymom on your social media!

A completed craft of an adorable paper bag turkey with colorful paper tail feathers on a wooden background with craft supplies.

5 from 1 vote