Little hands grow up fast, and this handprint turkey keepsake captures your child’s size this Thanksgiving in a way you’ll treasure for years. In about an hour, you’ll turn a simple hand tracing into a glittery, googly-eyed turkey with a sweet poem attached. Like our handprint mummy keepsake, this one is made to hang, gift, and pull out again every November.
Craft Supplies:
- White cardstock paper
- Turkey poem printable – on box.com – password is GLUEDTOMYCRAFTS2026
- Construction paper {we used brown and yellow}
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Glue stick or white craft glue
- Gold glitter glue
- Loose craft glitter
- Tulip puffy paint
- Googly eyes (two per turkey)
- Clear contact paper
- Hole punch
- String or thread
Directions:
- Trace your child’s hand on the brown construction paper. Have them spread their fingers wide and point their thumb out to the side. The four fingers become feathers, and the thumb becomes the turkey’s head.
- Cut out the brown handprint carefully, keeping the fingers whole.
- Glue the handprint onto the yellow or gold paper.
- Cut around the handprint on the yellow paper, leaving a border about half an inch wide. This creates a golden outline that makes the turkey pop.
- Paint two orange legs with three-toed feet below the bottom of the handprint.
- Paint a small orange beak on the side of the thumb.
- Paint a red teardrop-shaped wattle hanging just under the beak.
- Add gold glitter glue along each of the four fingers.
- Press leaf-shaped sequins into the wet glitter glue to create colorful feathers.
- Let everything dry completely, ideally for a few hours or overnight.
- Print the keepsake poem and cut it into a small rectangle.
- Write your child’s name on the blank line, or let them sign it themselves.
- Glue the poem card at the bottom center of the turkey.
- Laminate the craft.
- Attach two googly eyes to the thumb, just above the beak.
- Trim the laminated edges, leaving a thin clear border.
- Punch a hole at the top, near the tip of the middle finger.
- Thread string through the hole and tie a loop for hanging.
RELATED —> Torn Paper Turkey Keepsake Card
Whether you’re making one at home with your toddler, setting up a whole classroom assembly line, or mailing a turkey to a grandparent across the country, we hope this keepsake brings a little extra warmth to your Thanksgiving this year. Happy crafting, my friends!
