DIY Thanksgiving Turkey Treats Tutorial: Easy Treats for Kids’ Parties & Table Decor

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Last Updated on November 7, 2024 by Alaina

Filled with candy, these Thanksgiving Turkey treats are perfect for classroom parties, the kids’ table, or as place holders at your Thanksgiving feast!

One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving, aside from the food of course, is the crafts! This year I have lots of fun Thanksgiving crafts and treats planned, the first of which I think you will love! Since my Halloween candy-filled ornaments were such a hit, I took that idea and gave it a festive twist to create these cute Thanksgiving turkeys filled with sweet treats!

Filled with candy, these Thanksgiving Turkey treats are absolutely adorable. They are the perfect addition to any holiday table. Whether you’re using them to decorate the kids’ table, giving them as classroom party treats, or adding name cards to make them placeholders, they’re sure to bring a smile.

Just imagine how fun and festive they’ll look as a part of your Thanksgiving decor! Whatever you choose to do, I promise that these will be a huge hit with friends and family!

How to Make Easy Thanksgiving Turkey Treats

If you’ve got a Cricut or other die-cutting machine,

Like with my DIY Grinch Ornaments, I used my Cricut Explore Air™ to make these turkeys. It makes these turkeys a breeze to create. But don’t worry if you don’t have a Cricut or other die-cutting machine! You can also make them by tracing and cutting with scissors, and you’ll still end up with adorable results.

Quick Tip: Trace your child’s hand to make this craft even more personalized. Some other ways to make turkey feathers: trace your hand or you can find any similar feather image through a search and trace it to make a stencil using tracing paper, then put it on the construction paper.

If you DO have a Cricut, I’ve included my custom feather file HERE (UPDATED LINK 2023) to make it even easier. Check out the link below to access the file and get crafting!

Update 2023: Cricut File Access

I’ve recently reshared this project on Design Space to make it public again. However, some parts of my original file were from a free Cricut file that’s either now unavailable or no longer free. Because of this, Cricut may charge for certain elements used in the original design.

To make this as accessible as possible, I’ve recreated and made the original project public by adding an image, so you should be able to access the complete design files. If any issues arise, you can also access my new feather file without any restrictions here: Cricut Design Project Link.

For the Head, Beak, and Snood:

• Head: The new feather file doesn’t include the circle for the head, but it’s easy to add. Just make a circle measuring 1.4 x 1.4 inches.
• Beak and Snood: If you’re having trouble accessing a beak and snood, you can create these yourself or search Design Space for a free turkey image with these elements.

Here are the measurements to make these parts from scratch:

• Beak: Triangle, 0.39 x 0.25 inches
• Snood: Elongated teardrop shape, approximately 0.33 x 0.72 inches

If you encounter any issues accessing the file, please leave a comment, and I’ll do my best to help you get it sorted.

Supplies You Will Need to Make Thanksgiving Turkey Treats

• Clear, round, disc plastic ornaments
• Cricut Explore or other die cutting machine (or scissors)
• Feather File
• Cardstock in red, orange, yellow, and brown
• Brown pipe cleaners
• Wiggly eyes
• Reese’s Pieces®
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks

(Click each supply item for a quick link to where you can buy it. These links are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you purchase, at no extra cost to you.)

Directions to Make Thanksgiving Turkey Treats

Making these festive turkey treats is simple and fun. Here’s how:

Step One: Clean Ornaments

Begin by washing the ornaments with hot soapy water first. Swirl it around inside, rinse and place upside down on a rack to dry.*

Step Two: Fill Ornaments

Now fill the ornament with Reese’s Pieces®, and replace the cap.

Step Three: Cut Feathers

Using a cutting machine such as the Cricut or Silhouette (or even pre-made stencils), create the feathers from cardstock. My custom feather file can be accessed here. If you do not have a cutting machine, trace your hands, your child’s hands, or find a similar template online you can print, trace on the card stock paper, and cut out.

Step Four: Assemble and Attach Feathers

Next, glue the feathers together like in the picture above. You need to layer them starting with the largest in the back, the medium in the middle, and the smallest at the front. Then, using hot glue, attach the feathers to the back of the ornament.

Step Five: Assemble and Attach Head

For the head, cut out a circle measuring 1.4 by 1.4 inches from brown cardstock. Then cut a triangular-shaped beak from orange cardstock and a snood (I used sort of an elongated teardrop design) from red cardstock.

Now glue the wiggly eyes, the beak, and the snood on to the circle you cut for the head. Then hot glue the head onto the front of the silver cap of the ornament.

Step Six: Make and Attach the Legs

Now all that is left is to make the legs. You’ll need 6 (six-inch-long) pipe cleaners for each turkey, three per leg. Starting about one and a half inches up from the bottom end of the three pipe cleaners, begin twisting them together. Continue twisting until you reach the top.

Next, spread out the bottom part (the part that is not twisted together) of the pipe cleaners to form the toes, and then make a 90° bend so the feet are pointing upward.

Using hot glue, attach each leg to the bottom edge of the ornament, making sure that at least one-and-a-half inches of excess pipe cleaner is sticking out the backside. This is what will act as a stand to prop your turkey up.

And there you have it! These Thanksgiving Turkey treats are sure to be a hit at any holiday gathering, bringing smiles to friends and family alike!

*Many ornaments are marked not for use with food. These particular ones were not marked at all. Although I am not sure how much, if any, types of chemicals would leach into the candy, it is something you may want to consider. I have seen similar, food-safe ornaments on Amazon.

Show Off Your Turkey Treats Thanksgiving Craft!

This Turkey Thanksgiving Craft tutorial is so simple and so much fun to make! If you do decide to give it a try, let me know! Nothing makes me happier than seeing your own take on my crafts and recipes!

Tag me at @bullocksbuzz (Instagram and Facebook) or @alainabullock (on Twitter). And be sure to use #BullocksBuzz so I can see your creation and share it!

Also, share it with friends and family by using the social share buttons right below the post title!

More DIY Thanksgiving Crafts And Recipes

Looking for more simple Thanksgiving and Fall crafts and recipes? Then look no further than below. I think you will love these!

• Jello Pack Thanksgiving Turkey Treats
• Mini Donut Turkeys
• Turkey Cookies

Free Printable DIY Instructions

Fall Scarecrow Carrot Cake Cupcakes + Cupcake Wrapper Printable

Pumpkin Gingerbread with Spiced Glaze

Thanksgiving Entertaining: NILLA, PB and Mallow Squares Recipe

Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving treat? I’d love to hear about it! In fact, I may even feature your treat in a blog post, with credit to you, of course! Share with us in the comments below.