Looking for a fun Thanksgiving activity that lets kids create their own holiday meal? This Thanksgiving plate printable gives kids a variety of colorful Thanksgiving foods to cut out, choose from, and arrange on their own plate.
Kids can build a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce, or create a plate filled with their personal favorites. With three different plate designs and plenty of foods, sides, and desserts to choose from, every finished Thanksgiving plate can look a little different.
Use this Build Your Thanksgiving Plate activity at home, in the classroom, during a Thanksgiving party, or as a fun activity to keep kids busy while Thanksgiving dinner is being prepared.
Why You’ll Love This Thanksgiving Plate Printable
This Thanksgiving plate printable is an easy hands-on activity that gives kids plenty of choices while they create their own Thanksgiving meal.
- Lots of food choices: Kids can choose from a variety of Thanksgiving foods, including meats, vegetables, side dishes, breads, and desserts.
- Three plate designs: The printable includes three different plates so kids can choose their favorite or make more than one Thanksgiving meal.
- Encourages creativity: There’s no right or wrong way to build a plate. Kids can create a traditional dinner or fill their plate with the foods they like best.
- Great for fine motor practice: Cutting, arranging, and gluing the food pieces gives kids extra practice using scissors and working with small pieces.
- Easy to use in different settings: Try this activity at home, in the classroom, during a Thanksgiving party, or as a quiet activity before Thanksgiving dinner.
- More than one way to play: Use the included printable plates, glue the pieces onto a real paper plate, or laminate the pieces to create a reusable Thanksgiving activity.
What’s Included in the Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable
The Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable includes 6 activity pages plus 3 bonus completed plate examples.
Inside the printable, you’ll find:
- 3 different plate designs for kids to choose from.
- 3 pages of colorful Thanksgiving food pieces to cut out and arrange.
- A variety of Thanksgiving foods, including turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, corn, peas, carrots, mac and cheese, stuffing, cranberry sauce, breads, desserts, and more.
- 3 bonus completed Thanksgiving plate examples to give kids ideas and show different ways to create their meals.
Kids can mix and match the pieces to create a Thanksgiving dinner filled with their favorite foods. They can use one plate or print additional copies to build several different meals.
Get the Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable
Ready to create your own Thanksgiving dinner? The Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable includes three plate designs and three pages filled with colorful Thanksgiving foods for kids to cut, arrange, and glue.
The set also includes three bonus completed plate examples to give kids ideas as they create their own meals.
Download on Teachers Pay Teachers
Supplies Needed:
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You don’t need many supplies to use the Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable. A printer, paper, scissors, and glue are enough for the basic activity, but a few extra supplies can be helpful if you want to make the pieces sturdier or reusable.
- White cardstock: A heavier paper makes the Thanksgiving foods easier for kids to handle and helps the pieces hold up longer.
- Kid-friendly scissors: Choose scissors that are comfortable for little hands, especially if you’re using the activity for scissor practice.
- Glue sticks: Glue sticks make it easy for kids to attach their favorite foods and turn their plate into a finished craft.
- Laminator and Laminating sheets: Laminate the pieces if you plan to use the activity repeatedly in a classroom, homeschool setting, or busy binder.
- Hook-and-loop dots: Add these to laminated pieces to create a reusable Thanksgiving activity that kids can take apart and redesign.
Ways to Use This Thanksgiving Plate Printable
There are several ways kids can use the Thanksgiving plate printable at home or in the classroom.
Create a Cut and Paste Thanksgiving Plate
Print one of the included plate designs and let kids cut out the foods they want for their Thanksgiving dinner. They can arrange the pieces on the plate first and then glue everything in place.
Make a Thanksgiving Paper Plate Craft
Instead of using one of the printable plates, give each child a real paper plate. Kids can cut out their favorite food pieces and glue them onto the paper plate to create their own Thanksgiving meal.
Make It Reusable
Laminate a plate and the Thanksgiving food pieces instead of gluing them together. Kids can arrange the foods, clear their plate, and create a different meal each time. Hook-and-loop dots can also be added to help keep the pieces in place.
Set Up a Thanksgiving Classroom Center
Place the laminated food and plate pieces in a classroom center for an easy November activity. Kids can choose different foods and build Thanksgiving meals independently or with a partner.
Sort the Thanksgiving Foods
Before building a plate, have kids sort the food pieces into groups such as meats, vegetables, side dishes, breads, and desserts.
Talk About Thanksgiving Foods
Use the pieces to start conversations about Thanksgiving dinner. Kids can talk about foods they’ve tried, their favorite Thanksgiving foods, and foods they would like to add to their own plate.
Add a Thanksgiving Writing Activity
After kids finish building their meal, have them write about what they chose. A simple prompt such as “On my Thanksgiving plate, I would have…” works well for kids who are ready for a writing extension.
Learning Ideas for the Thanksgiving Plate Activity
Building a Thanksgiving plate can also be an easy way to add a little learning to the activity.
- Counting: Have kids count how many foods they added to their plate or choose a specific number of foods to include.
- Sorting: Group the food pieces by type, color, or other characteristics before choosing what goes on the plate.
- Making choices: Let kids decide which foods they would choose for their own Thanksgiving dinner and explain why.
- Fine motor practice: Cutting out the individual food pieces and arranging them on the plate helps kids practice hand-eye coordination and scissor skills.
- Vocabulary: Name the different foods together and talk about which ones are commonly served at Thanksgiving.
- Patterns: Use the food pieces to make simple patterns before adding them to the plate.
- Writing: Older kids can describe their finished meal or write a few sentences about their favorite Thanksgiving food.
- Pretend play: Add the laminated pieces to a play kitchen or Thanksgiving dramatic play center for kids to create and serve pretend meals.
What Ages Is This Thanksgiving Plate Activity For?
This Thanksgiving plate activity works well for preschool, kindergarten, and early elementary-age kids. Younger children may need help cutting around some of the smaller food pieces, while older kids can complete the activity more independently.
Kids can practice several skills while building their Thanksgiving plates, including:
- Cutting and scissor skills
- Fine motor skills
- Hand-eye coordination
- Sorting and categorizing
- Making choices
- Food vocabulary
- Creativity and pretend play
The activity can easily be adjusted for different ages. Younger kids can choose from pre-cut food pieces, while older kids can cut, arrange, glue, sort, and write about the Thanksgiving meals they create.
Tips for Using Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable
A few simple tips can make this Thanksgiving activity easier to prepare and use with kids:
- Print extra plates: If kids want to create more than one meal, print additional copies of their favorite plate design.
- Cut around the pieces: Younger kids don’t have to cut perfectly along every detail. Cutting around the general shape of each food piece can make the activity easier.
- Arrange before gluing: Encourage kids to move the foods around their plate before using glue so they can decide where everything should go.
- Use cardstock for sturdier pieces: Cardstock works especially well if you plan to laminate the printable or use the food pieces more than once.
- Prepare pieces ahead of time: For younger children, an adult can cut out some or all of the food pieces before the activity begins.
- Print only what you need: The three completed plate pages are included as bonus examples, so they don’t need to be printed each time kids complete the activity.
Thanksgiving Plate Printable FAQs
Do kids have to use the included printable plates?
No. Kids can use one of the three included plate designs or glue the Thanksgiving food pieces onto a real paper plate. A paper plate can be a fun option for a Thanksgiving classroom craft or activity at home.
Can I laminate the Thanksgiving food pieces?
Yes. Laminate the plate and food pieces to make the activity reusable. You can also add hook-and-loop dots so kids can attach the foods to the plate, remove them, and build a new meal.
Do I need to print all 9 pages?
No. The printable includes 6 activity pages and 3 bonus completed plate examples. You can print only the plate and food pages you want to use. The completed plates can be viewed for inspiration without printing them.
Can younger kids complete this activity?
Yes, but younger children may need help cutting out the smaller food pieces. You can also cut the pieces ahead of time and let kids focus on choosing and arranging the foods on their plates.
Can this be used as a classroom Thanksgiving activity?
Yes. This printable can be used for a Thanksgiving classroom activity, fine motor center, sorting activity, dramatic play center, or November cut-and-paste activity. Teachers can print copies for use with their own class.
What kinds of Thanksgiving foods are included?
Kids can choose from a variety of foods, including turkey, ham, vegetables, potatoes, mac and cheese, stuffing, cranberry sauce, breads, gravy, pies, and other desserts.
Is this a physical product?
No. This is a digital printable that you can purchase, download, and print at home or in the classroom.
Get Your Build Your Thanksgiving Plate Printable
Add this Thanksgiving plate printable to your November activities and let kids create a Thanksgiving dinner filled with their favorite foods.
The printable includes three plate choices, three pages of colorful food pieces, and three bonus completed plate examples for inspiration.
Download on Teachers Pay Teachers
More Thanksgiving Printables for Kids
Keep the Thanksgiving fun going with these printable activities for kids:
- Thanksgiving Q Tip Painting Printables – This Thanksgiving painting pack includes a cooked turkey, bread, a bowl of food, corn on the cob, and pumpkin pie, making it a great activity to pair with the Thanksgiving plate printable.
- Printable Thankful Turkey Craft Template – Add a gratitude-themed turkey craft to your November activities.
- What’s Your Turkey Name? Printable Game – A fun Thanksgiving printable game to use at home, in the classroom, or during a Thanksgiving celebration.
- 121+ Disguise a Turkey Ideas – Browse 121+ creative Disguise a Turkey ideas for Thanksgiving school projects, classroom activities, and inspiration for kids.