Thanksgiving Turkey Leaf Lantern Crafts

This fun Thanksgiving lantern craft tutorial teaches you how to make lanterns with a cute turkey in the middle using glass mason jars and real, natural fall leaves.

I’m in love with how these Thanksgiving Turkey mason jar DIY lanterns turned out–aren’t they the cutest fall leaf lanterns you’ve ever seen? Add this gorgeous Thanksgiving lantern craft for kids and adults to your list of mason jar projects this year. These Thanksgiving crafts are more than just beautiful autumn lanterns to light up the dark days of late fall and early winter. They also make cute gratitude jars for the Thanksgiving dinner table, festive DIY fall decor, and a wonderful hostess gift for the holidays. Alternatively, you can use the DIY project instructions and step-by-step video tutorials HERE to learn how to make leaf lantern crafts without the Thanksgiving turkey in the middle.

These adorable Thanksgiving turkey mason jar luminaries look stunning, both lit and unlit, in your home during the holiday season. Turkey lanterns in vibrant autumn hues make a fun centerpiece for any Thanksgiving dinner table or fall harvest celebration, and they also serve as festive decorations for your DIY Thanksgiving home decor. Gobble, gobble! First published on September 26, 2015, this DIY Thanksgiving Lantern craft tutorial is regularly updated to enhance the content and keep it relevant. You might also enjoy this list of Thanksgiving Traditions and fun things to do on Thanksgiving.

Related: The Best Fall Nature Crafts

What are lanterns a symbol of?

The singular shining light of a lantern can symbolize many things, such as the many blessings or “the light” in life. Lanterns represent the light that guides the way, pushes away the darkness, and shows the way forward. In other words, the light of a lantern can symbolize life’s inner light or the spark of life within that we all share as ONE. This light connects people and helps them live a life filled with joy and abundance. They are often hung off and displayed in homes and workplaces to bring light during the darker half of the year, from late fall to early spring, and many people make them for a fall lantern walk.

In some cultures, such as China, lanterns are believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune and luck. Lanterns symbolize hope and safety for those seeking freedom, and they help people celebrate significant events such as weddings, births, memorials, holidays, and other important celebrations and achievements. Lanterns like these cute Thanksgiving turkey crafts can even be adorned with written wishes and aspirations of abundance, thankful blessings, or grateful thoughts. You might also enjoy these Thanksgiving gratitude crafts and activities.

Fall Leaf Luminaries: Thanksgiving Lantern Craft

Making Thanksgiving turkey mason jar lanterns with children is a DIY project the whole family can enjoy. I bet your kids will be as happy as my daughter is to see their fall leaf luminaries adorn the Thanksgiving table every year. You can see our turkey lanterns displayed under one of the many Thankful Trees we made featuring real leaves: HERE.

These adorable turkey crafts are always one of my family’s favorite Thanksgiving decorations on the Thanksgiving dinner table. Our daughter gets excited when she sees the leaf lantern she made come out of the Thanksgiving decor box each year. She can’t help but squeal, “My leaf turkey!” whenever she sees her Thanksgiving lantern craft again.

Thanksgiving lanterns look fantastic on the dinner table paired with a Thankful tree centerpiece and turkey-themed placemats. Print them out before Thanksgiving so the kids can color them together while waiting for dinner. You might also enjoy this list of Thanksgiving Turkey Leaf Crafts for kids and adults. It includes several other leaf turkey crafts for toddlers, preschoolers, older kids, and adults.

Fall Leaf Mason Jar Turkey Lantern DIY Materials:

This leaf turkey fall leaf luminary is made with mason jars and real fall leaves, but you can also use fabric fall leaves. Although it is cute, the turkey is optional. If you aren’t interested in crafting a turkey, use the step-by-step leaf lantern DIY instructions–> HERE to learn how to make autumn luminaries with leaves surrounding the jar. The instructions include a video tutorial that demonstrates how to create mason jar lanterns featuring colorful autumn leaves. Or consider this lantern craft tutorial, which explains how to cut leaves into star or heart shapes to create DIY lanterns.

• Real or fabric fall leaves
• Wide-mouth mason jars (we used 16-ounce canning jars to make the DIY Thanksgiving lanterns in the photos, but a larger 32-ounce mason jar will also work.)
• Mod Podge or slightly watered-down clear drying white glue
• Foam brush
• White tissue paper
• Burgundy or brown tissue paper
  • Alternatively, you can use construction paper to make the turkey more opaque and less transparent or see-through.
• Orange and red construction paper
• Googly eyes
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Autumn-themed ribbon or twine to tie around the top (optional)
• Beeswax tea lights or votives, flameless tea light candles, fairy lights, candy, or other tiny treasures that fit inside lanterns (see the list of lantern filler ideas below the instructions for this Thanksgiving craft project).

Related: Fall Leaves Watercolor Art

How to make Thanksgiving Turkey Leaf Lanterns: Step-by-Step Directions for Mason Jar Luminaries

Leaf turkey lanterns are a Thanksgiving lantern craft that kids can help make. These fall leaf luminaries make lovely Thanksgiving lantern centerpieces, featuring an adorable Thanksgiving turkey. Below the instructions is a photo tutorial that shows how to complete each step. Alternatively, you can learn how to make leaf luminaries with natural fall leaves without a turkey using this step-by-step mason jar DIY leaf lantern tutorial, which includes an instructional video. You may also enjoy this list of fall nature crafts and art activities suitable for both kids and adults.

1. Collect fall leaves to make Thanksgiving mason jar lanterns:

• Gather leaves as a solo adventure, or invite children, students, friends, and family along to collect beautiful autumn leaves.
• Going on a nature walk in search of real leaves to make leaf turkey crafts, such as these leaf lanterns, is fun for kids and adults of all ages.
• Look for whole leaves that are colorful and intact, and smaller than the size of your hand.
• The Thanksgiving lanterns in the photographs were made from natural, freshly fallen autumn leaves, but you can also use flexible artificial leaves.

2. Clean and dry the autumn leaves:

• Clean the autumn leaves before using them to make a Thanksgiving turkey leaf lantern craft to ensure they are free from dirt and debris.
• Run them under a gentle spray of water or gently wipe them with a damp cloth to clean them.
  • Do not use soap to clean leaves, especially dish soap, as it can strip them of their natural oils, damage their surface, or interfere with their natural structure, which can make them brittle or cause them to break down.
• Place leaves onto a towel and gently pat dry with another towel.

3. Press leaves to flatten them:

• Once the leaves are clean and dry, it’s time to flatten them with a leaf press or place them between heavy books for at least 10 to 12 hours.
• Flattening them with a leaf press or heavy books before using them to make Thanksgiving lantern crafts makes it easier to apply them to the rounded sides of the glass mason jar.
• The goal is to flatten them and use them to create leaf luminary crafts while they are still pliable, not brittle and dry.
• How to press leaves with books:
  • Place several leaves between pieces of paper or paper towels.
    • The pieces of paper or paper towels will help absorb any excess moisture.
  • Place a large, heavy book or another heavy, flat object on top of the leaves and paper towels to flatten and press the leaves.
• Learn more about pressing and preserving leaves–>HERE.

4. Prepare the parts of the Thanksgiving turkey craft for each lantern:

• Cut the following turkey craft parts for each DIY fall leaf luminary:
  • A small triangle of orange construction paper for the turkey beak.
  • An amoeba-like shape of red construction paper for the turkey wattle.
  • Circles of burgundy or brown tissue or construction paper for the head and the body of the turkey craft.
    • As you can see in the photo tutorial below, I traced the top of a tapered shot glass to create the body of each turkey and the bottom of the same shot glass to make the head of each Thanksgiving turkey craft.
• Before proceeding to the next step, practice arranging the leaves and turkey body parts to decide which fall leaves you want to use to create turkey feathers for the Thanksgiving turkey craft on each lantern.

5. Cut tissue paper strips for each autumn luminary:

• Cut white tissue paper into strips that are 1 1/2 to 2″ wide and slightly longer than the glass jar you are using to make each turkey lantern.
• Update 2022: Tracing the bottom of the canning jar and cutting a circle of tissue paper, as shown in the Thanksgiving lantern photo tutorial below, is no longer necessary; today, I recommend cutting strips of white tissue paper that are long enough to wrap around the bottom of the mason jar to cover it instead of using a circle of tissue paper.
  • These updated instructions are shown in the video tutorial for DIY Leaf Lanterns.

6. Apply Glue onto the glass canning or mason jar:

• Place your hand inside the wide-mouth mason jar to hold it.
• Use a foam brush to apply Mod Podge, or a slightly watered-down white glue, to the entire canning jar, starting just below the threads of the jar.
• Use long, downward brush strokes to apply the glue to the mason jar sides.
• Apply glue to the bottom of the jar.
• Most glues will appear white when painted, but will dry clear.

7. Stick the tissue paper strips onto the mason jar lantern Thanksgiving craft:

• Keeping your hand inside the glass jar, carefully place each piece of tissue paper onto the mason jar one by one, wrapping the strips around the bottom.
• Apply more glue as needed to the sides and bottom of the jar as you work.
• I don’t recommend skipping this step. Leaf lanterns don’t look as good without the white tissue paper. As you can see in the photographs, the white tissue paper creates a semi-opaque effect on the leaf lantern, which highlights the turkey craft and gives it a glowing appearance.

8. Paint glue over tissue paper on the mason jar Thanksgiving luminaries:

• Carefully reapply Mod Podge or a watered-down white glue to the sides and bottom of the canning jar, covering the tissue paper on each glass jar luminary.
• In other words, apply glue to the top of each strip to ensure that each piece of tissue paper adheres to the sides and bottom of the mason jar.
• This step will also seal the tissue paper and protect it if it gets wet — but don’t put it in the dishwasher. These cute little autumn leaf luminaries should only be washed with a damp cloth if needed.
• If needed, gently smooth out any air bubbles by rubbing the tissue paper from the top of the mason jar down.

9. Glue a fall leaf onto the jar to start the turkey craft for each Thanksgiving luminary:

• Apply glue to the underside of each leaf and carefully arrange it onto the mason jar lantern for Thanksgiving.
• Position the fall leaves on the jar so that they resemble the fan of feathers behind a turkey, as shown in the photographs.
  • If you don’t want a turkey on your lantern, arrange the fall leaves around the jar as instructed HERE. In other words, if you are not making your DIY lanterns into turkey crafts, arrange colorful autumn leaves around the jar to make gorgeous glowing leaf luminaries.
• Through trial and error, I have learned that the turkey on these fall leaf luminaries looks much better when lit if the autumn leaves do not overlap.
  • Overlapping leaves look beautiful in daylight. However, when the lantern is lit, the overlapped leaves make it too dark to see the features of the leaves or the Thanksgiving turkey in the middle of the DIY mason jar luminary.
  • I recommend using only one autumn leaf for each turkey leaf lantern craft.
• You can rearrange the fall leaves slightly, if needed, before the glue dries, but be careful not to disturb the tissue paper.
• Smooth out any air bubbles by gently rubbing the leaf from the center outward before moving on to the next step.

10. Carefully paint Mod Podge over the leaves on the mason jar leaf luminaries:

• Use a foam brush to paint Mod Podge (or watered-down white glue) onto each autumn leaf to seal, preserve, and protect the leaf and the DIY lantern.

11. Glue turkey craft parts on the fall leaf to finish the Thanksgiving luminaries:

• Place the body circle towards the bottom of the jar so that it sits where the leaf resembles a fan of turkey feathers behind it.
• Apply Mod Podge on top of the body circle using a foam paintbrush to seal and protect it.
• Place the head circle so it slightly overlaps the body circle.
• Apply Mod Podge to the top of the head circle to seal and protect it.
• Glue the beak and wattle onto the head to create the turkey’s face.
• Apply Mod Podge to the top of the beak and wattle to seal and protect them.
• Finally, attach the googly eyes to the turkey’s face to complete the Thanksgiving turkey craft.

12. Place turkey leaf luminaries upside down and allow them to dry:

• Carefully put each leaf lantern craft upside down on a work surface to dry.

13. Put a candle, holiday lights, candy, pinecones, acorns, or Blessings of Gratitude in each leaf luminary craft:

• Once dry, flip the Thanksgiving lanterns over and add beeswax tealights (or votives), flameless tea lights, or a strand of fairy lights to your DIY leaf lanterns.
• If you use real candles, I recommend placing a small amount of sand in the bottom of the lantern before setting the candle on top (optional).
  • The sand makes it easy to clean up any wax that spills, adds stability to the candle, and creates a small safety barrier between the candle’s heat and the bottom of the jar.
• Alternatively, fill Thanksgiving turkey jar crafts with candy to give as a gift or pinecones or acorns to add to your rustic holiday home decor.
• Autumn leaf luminaries as cute as these little turkeys (and these gorgeous glowing autumn leaf lanterns) also make a fantastic thankful, gratitude, or blessing jar and a wonderful hostess gift for Thanksgiving dinner!
• Scroll past the photo tutorial below for instructions with more lantern filler ideas and step-by-step details about these fun ways to use these cute DIY Thanksgiving mason jar crafts.

14. Display Thanksgiving lanterns as DIY holiday home decor or give them away as gifts:

• Once finished, display Thanksgiving lanterns as festive DIY fall decor or give them away as a gift.
• You can even tie twine or a fall-themed ribbon around the top to make it more festive.
• Turkey lantern crafts make excellent gifts for the host(s) who will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner.
  • Fill it with a candle, candy, pretzels, etc., and give it to the wonderful people cooking Thanksgiving dinner with the fixings as your way of saying Thanks!
  • Refer to the directions below the step-by-step DIY Thanksgiving lantern photo tutorial for instructions on displaying or gifting these sweet, homemade turkey jars.

Related: Thanksgiving Gratitude Crafts and Activities

How to Make Turkey Leaf Lanterns: Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial:

Refer to the photo tutorial below to create these adorable DIY Thanksgiving lantern fall leaf luminaries, featuring or without a Thanksgiving turkey. Or make a simple leaf lantern using THESE DIY project instructions, complete with a step-by-step video tutorial, or cut leaves into heart shapes to make gorgeous autumn luminaries!

Related: Gratitude Books for Kids that Inspire Thankfulness

What do you put in an empty lantern?

The list of Thanksgiving lantern filler ideas below shares several things you can put inside an empty lantern before displaying it as autumn home decor or giving it away as a gift. You can fill a lantern with many things, including:

Lantern Filler Ideas:

• Candles, LED lights, or battery-operated lights: Candles create that quintessential warm, glowing ambiance, especially in corners or near a wall, and look lovely as a centerpiece for a dining table. I recommend natural beeswax tealight candles (with sand underneath), LED candles, or these gorgeous battery-operated fairy light strands.
• Candy, baked goods, or other sweet treats: Fill lanterns with candy corn or your favorite candy. Most individually wrapped hard candies are perfect for this, but several different types of candies and confections will work. Home-baked goods, such as cookies, fudge, and other sweet treats, make excellent filler ideas for lanterns.
• Appetizers and healthy finger foods: Fill small lanterns with simple appetizers and nutritious finger foods such as celery and carrot sticks, and put them on the dinner table for everyone to enjoy.
• Natural Items and Materials: Fill lanterns with seasonal treasures such as small gourds, pumpkins, pinecones, acorns, autumn leaves, bird feathers, twigs, sticks, and bare branches. Leave them natural or paint them, wrap them with yarn, make them into wands, or glue on pom-poms to decorate.
• Seasonal faux decor: Faux moss, fake pine boughs, cranberries, fall flowers, and other small seasonal autumn decorations that fit into the lantern make lovely filler ideas.
• Thankful blessings and words of gratitude: Another fantastic lantern filler is colored paper strips with blessings of appreciation and thanks written upon them. Each time family members look at the jar, they will be reminded of all the things for which they have to be thankful. (Scroll down for step-by-step instructions on how to turn lanterns into thankful or gratitude jars!
• Other Items: You can fill a lantern with small crafts and figurines, colored wooden beads or balls, store-bought or homemade ornaments, flat-backed glass gems, colorful marbles, festive holiday bottle brush trees, vintage items, or vacation memorabilia such as stones or shells collected in distant, faraway places, or add a ribbon to the top. 

Fun Ways to Use Thanksgiving Turkey Leaf Lantern Crafts:

Make gorgeous fall leaf luminaries with the step-by-step instructions above. Leaf turkey lanterns are an enjoyable and straightforward Thanksgiving craft idea for kids and adults alike. These gorgeous Thanksgiving leaf lanterns add a warm, glowing ambiance to any holiday dinner. Fall leaf mason jars can be used as luminaries for other festive events. They make lovely leaf lanterns, centerpieces, thankful jars, and DIY home decor! Try the ideas below:

1. Use turkey leaf mason jar crafts as lanterns and luminaries to illuminate your holiday celebrations:

These sweet little leaf lanterns with a turkey in the middle make lovely luminaries. They are an excellent Thanksgiving decoration and centerpiece that adds a beautiful touch of autumn color to any holiday table. Pour a bit of decorative sand into the bottom of each turkey lantern craft, drop a candle (or a fairy light string) inside, place it on a table, shelf, counter, display stand, or windowsill, and use it to bring light to the dark days of late fall in November and early winter in December this Thanksgiving. You might also enjoy making leaf lanterns and heart luminaries.

2. Turn Thanksgiving Lanterns into Thankful Turkey Gratitude Blessing Jars for Thanksgiving:

A blessing jar (also known as a gratitude or thankful jar) is a creative and heartwarming way to cultivate gratitude at home, in the classroom, or in the workplace. It is a jar in which individuals deposit notes expressing their appreciation for life’s blessings, big or small. Encourage kids and relatives to write what they’re thankful for on small pieces of paper and drop them inside the jar. Over time, the jar will fill with beautiful blessings of gratitude, serving as a visual reminder of the many things to be thankful for. 

How to use these Thanksgiving lanterns as a blessing, gratitude, or thankful jar:

• First, cut construction paper or colored cardstock into strips.
• Next, place paper strips on the table with a marker or pen next to the Thanksgiving gratitude jar and encourage dinner guests to write what they are thankful for on the strips.
• Then, fold the strip of paper with grateful thoughts, drop it into the jar, and encourage everyone in attendance to do the same.
• Take the thankful notes out to share them with others at the dinner table.
• Repeat as often as desired to increase feelings of happiness, joy, abundance, and gratitude at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

This simple DIY project is a fun Thanksgiving gratitude craft and activity. It also creates a meaningful way to reflect on and appreciate the positive aspects of everyday life throughout the year. Make it a family tradition to read a few of the thankful blessings before dinner each night to cultivate feelings of gratitude year-round. For more fun ideas, check out these Thanksgiving gratitude activities and crafts.

3. Add natural treasures and display them as DIY fall Decor:

Place any natural treasures you find, gather, or collect inside this Thanksgiving lantern before displaying it as autumn home decor or giving it away as a gift. Ideas include fall flowers, pinecones, acorns, bird feathers, natural or decorated twigs, sticks and bare branches, rocks, pebbles, stones, sand, shells, or even glass gems or marbles in various gorgeous fall colors.

4. Give Thanksgiving Mason Jar Crafts as hostess gifts:

Another great way to use these simple mason jar crafts is to turn them into a hostess gift. Suppose you go to someone else’s house for Thanksgiving dinner or want to do something nice for your mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, aunt, or uncle. Wrap a turkey lantern with candles or a strand or two of fairy lights inside, candy, or any other lantern filler ideas recommended above, and give it to the host or hostess cooking dinner this year as a beautiful homemade Thanksgiving gift!

Mason Jar Thanksgiving Crafts:

We hope you enjoy making Thanksgiving turkey leaf lanterns and thankful blessing jar crafts. Happy Thanksgiving! May your harvest be bountiful inside and out. For more fall fun, check out 20 Thanksgiving traditions and fun things to do on Thanksgiving.

Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author, photographer, and creator of this original turkey craft HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!

More Thanksgiving Crafts and DIY Ideas:

• Best Thanksgiving Thankful Tree Tradition Ideas
• Thankful for Printable Thanksgiving Placemats
• Printable Thankful Tree with Gratitude Leaves
• How to Make Clay Gratitude Leaves
• Thankful Turkey Printable
• 40 Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities and Crafts
• Thankful Tree with Gratitude Leaves

More Fall Arts, Crafts, and Activities:

• The Best Fall Art Projects for Kids
• 10 Ways to Play Outside with Fall Leaves
• Marbled Clay Fall Leaves
• Fall Bucket List (of fun fall activities!)
• Best Fall Nature Crafts
• DIY Leaf Lantern Craft