Mary Beth Johnson is a writer based in Atlanta, GA. She is currently writing her first book in between school drop off and laundry piles. She can be found every day on Instagram and at the local coffee shop.

DIY Paper Leaf Thanksgiving Runner

Hand off some of the Thanksgiving day prep to your kiddos with this simple, DIY paper leaf Thanksgiving runner. With just a few basic craft supplies, an attitude of gratitude, and a little patience, you can use this project to entertain little ones itching to help mom on turkey day.

What You’ll Need:

• Colorful pads of paper
• Scissors
• Glue Dots
• Pencil or Pen
• Thick Kraft Paper, cut to roughly 12 inches in width and as long as you desire for the size of your table

How To Make A Paper Leaf Thanksgiving Runner

Step One: Trace the outline of leaves (about 4 inches long) onto the pads of colorful paper. Use different shapes to add dimension.

Step Two: Cut out the leaves. Depending on how long and full you want the table runner, you can increase or decrease how many leaves you cut out. (I used 20-25 pieces of 12×12 paper.) To shorten the amount of time spent cutting, stack the papers together while you snip.

Tip! This can be a therapeutic activity to do with your kids. Research shows that cutting with scissors helps children strengthen hand muscles, increase hand eye coordination, and build fine motor skills.

Step Three: To personalize the table runner, have everyone write notes of gratitude on the leaves. These notes can create meaningful conversation starters around the Thanksgiving table.

Step Four: Cut your kraft paper to your desired length and width. This depends on the size of the table you’re placing your paper leaf Thanksgiving table runner on. I made mine about 12 inches wide and 36 inches long.

Step Five: Bend the paper leaves in half and place the glue dots on the back of each leaf.

Step Six: Begin arranging the leaves on the kraft paper and press into place. I arranged the leaves as if they were “fanning” off of the paper with the leaves building off of each other and all going in similar directions.

Keep arranging and layering the leaves until the paper underneath is completely covered and you have a gorgeous set of thankful leaves adorning your table.