Ah, the Thanksgiving turkey — a magnificent beast, delicious feast and source of inspiration for seasonal art. Try this easy, turkey-themed project with your kids, from infants to tweens. No matter their age, they'll love seeing their traced hand come to life as a festive fowl, and you'll give thanks for the simple joys of childhood.

My family has done this craft project annually since 2007. It's delightful to see my children's hands — and artistic skills — grow with each passing year.

Materials

1. markers, crayons or colored pencils
2. heavyweight or construction paper in white, red and yellow
3. scissors
4. glue
5. fancy decorations such as googly eyes, feathers, glitter glue and sequins (optional)
6. straws or popsicle sticks

Instructions

• Using a pencil or marker, trace your child's hand on heavyweight white paper; let older kids do this themselves.
• Invite older children to cut out their handprints with scissors; do the honors for younger kids whose eye-hand coordination may not be up to the task.
• Cut a triangular beak out of yellow paper and a squiggly wattle (the fleshy dewlap that dangles from a turkey's neck) out of red; glue them onto the thumb of the paper handprint.
• Glue the finished puppet onto a popsicle stick or straw.
• Decorate!
• Use the puppet for a Thanksgiving-themed puppet show or make several turkeys and arrange them in a vase for a quirky holiday centerpiece.