How to Make a Paper Turkey

Little children have great imaginations and love to make and decorate holiday crafts, especially around Thanksgiving. Here's an easy paper turkey that your kids can make with just a few things you'll have around the house.

Materials

A paper-towel tube
Two paper plates
Construction paper
Stapler, scissors and glue
Yellow or orange pipe cleaners
Googly eyes

Here's what to do:

Cut a hole the size of a paper towel tube in the center of two paper plates.
Staple the plates together, front to front. Insert the tube in the hole. Leave most of the tube on one side of the plates. This is where you'll hold your turkey. The short end will be the turkey's face.
Cut the construction paper in a circle with a flat end, for the head. Cut a small, beak and eight to 10 long, oval "feathers" about 3 inches-by-10 inches (8 centimeters-by-25 cm).
Glue on the feathers, covering the paper plate, like the rays of the sun.
Glue on the beak and googly eyes. You can draw on a mouth.
Insert the pipe cleaners as legs, to give your turkey its turkey-ish character [source: FamilyFun].

Here's how to makes an adorable turkey that stands by itself.

You'll need:

2 regular paper plates
Brown paint, as well as a few other colors
Paintbrushes
Small dish of water
Red and yellow construction paper
Glue, stapler, scissors and googly eyes

Here's what to do:

Roll one plate into a cone shape. Staple it closed.
Trim the wide part of the cone straight across, so it stands. This is the turkey's body.
Fold the pointed end of the cone down about two inches (five centimeters), for the turkey's head.
Cut two wings out of the leftover part of the plate.
Glue them to the back of the body.
Paint the body and wings brown.
Cut the wattle from red construction paper.
Cut a beak and feet from yellow paper. Glue them to the body.
Fold the second plate, leaving one side 1½ inches (3.8 centimeters) taller than the other side. Cut the plate at the fold.
Paint both halves and decorate the edges. These will be the tail feathers.
Glue these to the back of the turkey.
Glue on the eyes and wattle, and admire your paper turkey [source: daniellesplace]!