Thanksgiving Hat Craft

Thanksgiving time is upon us in the United States.  Kids are making all sorts of turkey crafts in school and at home.  I got to thinking, what else can we make for the Thanksgiving holiday?

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate the first harvest and the fact that the Pilgrims made it through that first winter - well, about half of them, but still...  In any case, why not celebrate the Pilgrims and make hats known to be worn at the time.   I found a simple way to make a girl's bonnet and a boys hat using one sheet of 9 X 18 construction paper each.

For the girls bonnet:

1. Fold up one long edge about 2 inches.  This will be the brim.
2. On the opposite side, cut two slits about 3 inches long and about 3 inches apart.  this is where you're going to fold the paper to make the back.
3. Now comes the tricky part - fold each slit end in and secure with tape or a staple (look at the picture with my beautiful thumb holding the paper in place.
4. Use a hole punch and punch a hole on each side of the brim part and secure a ribbon tie (see finished hat in the first photo.  And that's it!

Now, the boy's hat:

I used black and yellow construction paper, a stapler, scissors, a pencil and a glue stick.

1. Draw a line about 2 inches from the bottom of the long end of the black paper.  Right above it, draw the hat shape (check out my second picture)
2. Cut out those two pieces following your pencil lines.
3. Cut out a buckle shape from the yellow paper.
4. Glue the buckle to the middle of the hat shape.
5. Staple the hat band to the hat shape so that it fits your child's head.  That's it!   

Hope you enjoy making your hats.  They fit all sizes of heads, so you should make one for yourself too!  In the coming weeks will be more Thanksgiving ideas, crafts and books, so check back often!