Thanksgiving Gratitude Craft: Extra Gum Container Thank You Notes

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This time of year is one of our favorites for obvious reasons: the holidays! It offers an opportunity to get together with family and friends to share food and gifts, but more importantly, a chance to reconnect and give extra thanks.

There are so many people to be thankful for…but it’s usually those whom we interact with on a daily basis we sometimes forget to stop and give thanks to for all they do.

When I got the chance to participate in this Extra Gum campaign, I knew it was the reminder I needed to reach out with a simple “thank you” to my husband. He works so hard to provide for our family, so I wanted to give back and show the kids how to give thanks to daddy with a fun gratitude craft.

Because he has to travel every now and then for his job, I wanted to make something special for him to take along as a reminder of this gratitude…from the kids and I. So I thought, what better gift than a few thank you notes he could keep with him while away…as a reminder of our appreciation. That’s where the Turkey Gum Cup craft came to mind.

Here’s what I used to create this gift of thanks:

• Craft foam sheets – 3 sheets (red, brown, green)
• Foam cup
• Hot glue
• Scissors
• Pen
• Posted notes
• Straw
• 3 packs of Extra Gum

Here’s what we did:

1. I drew a round and oval shape to make a turkey body by freehand on the brown foam. (I was pleasantly surprised to find the smooth surface made it easy to draw on too!)
2. Next, I used a hot glue gun to attach the body to a foam cup I purchased at Michael’s.
3. As that dried, I cut out feathers to attach to the back of the cup. I drew one feather by hand and then traced that one so all the others would match.
4. I glued the feathers to the cup and added googly eyes, a beak and wattle to complete the turkey.
5. I used posted notes to write our thank you messages on. These worked well because they were just the right size to wrap over individual gum pieces and could be closed with the adhesive end.
6. My posted notes focused on the big and little things my kids and I were thankful for and appreciate from daddy.
7. I attached a pack of Extra Gum to a straw and filled the cup with gum pieces – interspersed with personal thank you messages my kids helped me think of — even the smallest things are good to appreciate!This is a great way to teach kids about being thankful and showing appreciation for loved ones – plus the gum stash is pretty awesome too :)!

How will you give extra to those you love this Thanksgiving?