Fun And Useful Centerpiece

Because of their boisterous nature, kids are often relegated to a children's table at the Thanksgiving feast, but you don't want them to feel left out—it's important for them to get the sense of togetherness that comes with such a holiday gathering. One way you can keep them busy and happy, but tuned in to the holiday is to provide media at table through which they can experience the spirit of the day. Our idea? Use plain white butcher paper to cover the kids' table and provide plenty of colorful markers. If you like, tell them you'll be giving out prizes for best and most relevant artwork at the end of the evening.

Tablecloth Masterpieces

But if you have kids of your own, you'll want to give them something to do while you're cooking up that feast. You can give them this fun activity to do that is both a colorful centerpiece and a caddy for holding those markers at the ready for their guests' tablecloth masterpieces. Older kids, from around the age of 9, should be able to manage this on their own, but younger children may need a bit of adult help or prep work.

Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Since it's, after all, Thanksgiving, we chose to design our centerpiece marker caddy in the shape of a turkey. The markers poking out of the turkey's "body" will resemble the bird's colorful feathers. The young fry at your holiday meal won't be able to resist making good use of their specialized Thanksgiving centerpiece!

Here's what you'll need:

*Bread knife or a Japanese (fine-toothed) saw

*A Styrofoam ball at least 7 inches in diameter

*Brown paint (acrylic)

*Paint brush

*Scissors

*Medium weight cardstock

*Pencil

*Craft glue

*Googly (also known as wiggly) eyes

*Assorted markers

Instructions:

1) Cut the Styrofoam ball in half with the bread knife or using a Japanese saw.

2) Paint the halved ball with the paint and allow it to dry.

3) Using the pencil, trace or draw a top-heavy figure eight on the cardstock, to resemble the turkey's neck and head, and carefully cut out with the scissors.

4) Paint cutout cardstock neck/head to match the Styrofoam ball, adding details such as a curvy red tongue and a yellow beak.

5) Attach painted cardstock cutout to the front of the halved Styrofoam ball with glue dots. Glue on two googly eyes for the turkey's eyes.

6) Take the markers and push them about an inch deep into the Styrofoam in rows to look like turkey feathers.