If your Thanksgiving will include 2 or more teens gathered in your house awaiting the big meal, you may want to consider adding some crafts to your Thanksgiving Day agenda. Having crafts for teenagers can be tricky but lots of fun if you plan them right. This keeps teenagers from complaining about boredom or simply lounging in front of the T.V. all day. In addition, if you have teenagers in your group who may not know each other, this can be a chance to get the conversation started. Before you plunge ahead with your crafting plans, here are a few things to keep in mind.
1.Today’s teen possess a certain sophistication and technical savvy. If you hope to lure them to a craft table plan accordingly.
2.Consider the age of your teenagers when planning for supervision. Younger teens 13-15 years old may need different supervision than their older counterparts.
3.Teenagers have an untapped source of creativity. Don’t be afraid to leave them the components of a craft project and see what they come up with! While they may act like they are uninterested few teens can resist a challenge.
Now that you have some guidelines to plan your crafts with here are a few craft ideas to try with your teenage Thanksgiving guests.
You may want to consider using craft projects to entertain the teens at Thanksgiving and make decorations for the meal all at the same time. If you are having cornucopias for your centerpieces, put all the components out and let the teens assemble them how they think best. While you may have had a preconceived idea about what you wanted, you just might be pleasantly surprised by what they come up with.
Have the kids make a Thankful tree. Purchase a small tree (either bare branches or pine) that can support ornaments. Using basic ornaments, a permanent marker and some bejeweling stones and glue let the kids write on the ornaments what they are thankful for. After the ink has dried they can glue on fake jewels, sequins or other ornaments. Gather the group together and let everyone tell what they are thankful for as they place their ornament on the tree.
As a nod to our early Thanksgiving participants, have the teens make a cd dream catcher. You will need: CD’s (one per dream catcher), String (embroidery floss works nice), White glue, Paint brush (for applying glue to cd), Colored sand, Glitter, Pony beads, Feathers, Drill (small holes–approx 1/8 inch). To make the dream catcher drill holes in a cd about 4, approximately 1/4 inch from the edge. Loop a piece of string through one hole at “top” of cd to hang disc. Tie strings approximately 8 – 10 inches long through 3 (or more) holes toward bottom of disc. Apply the white glue to entire disc on the label side. Generously sprinkle the sand and glitter into glue to cover label and allow to dry. After this has completely dried string the beads onto threads. Use one extra bead to tie off at end of string. Push feathers up into beads. Hang and enjoy!
For an especially meaningful Thanksgiving, consider having the teens craft for charity. There are numerous projects they can be involved with. Just go online and type in crafting for charity. You will see a huge list of several organizations that accept crafts for their charity. These include everything from helping put together kits for newborns to making blankets for abandoned animals. Select a charity you think your teenage guests might be interested in helping and then see what their project entails. By purchasing the supplies and using your teens’ hard work and effort, you maybe able to really make a difference in the recipients’ lives and those of your teenagers as well.
