Easy Thanksgiving Garland Ideas and Other DIY Crafts for Holiday Decor

Dried Floral Pumpkin

Add a DIY floral pumpkin to your Thanksgiving table decor. All it takes is adding dried flowers to a faux pumpkin with hot glue ($6, Walmart) to create this pretty fall centerpiece. This project looks super intricate, but it's so easy you'll finish it in minutes. And, since dried flowers can last for years, this beautiful decor is reusable!

Thankful Printable Banner

A printable banner is a fast and easy way to display a sweet Thanksgiving message. We love how this looks; we printed the banner on brown cardstock paper ($7, Michaels) and paired it with a felt and wood bead garland.

Gratitude Board

This pretty Thanksgiving craft might be our favorite way for loved ones to show their thankfulness during the holidays. Cut out leaf shapes from colored paper or old book pages—choose colors that match your existing decor to create a piece that fits right in! Then have family members write thankful messages on each leaf and attach them with push pins to a linen-covered cork board.

Thanksgiving Garland

This beautiful Thanksgiving garland will wow your guests. The best part? It's so easy to make! First, group stems of greenery together and tie each bundle with floral wire. Next, attach the bundles together with more floral wire and insert extra greens to fill the empty spaces.

Repurposed Globe

For a modern twist on Thanksgiving decor, try this pretty focal piece—you won't believe how easy it is to make! Just separate a globe's hemispheres and fill each with colorful fall leaves, pumpkins, gourds, and pinecones to create a stunning fall look.

"Thanks" Garland

DIY Thanksgiving decorations don't get easier than this. Dress any mantel or doorway with this quick and easy Thanksgiving garland. Plus, it's a great project to do with the kids! Just cut leaves from colored paper, then glue to ribbon or string along with store-bought glitter letters.

Yarn-Wrapped Pumpkins

This project's a wrap. Instead of carving or painting your pumpkins, try wrapping them with yarn. This pumpkin craft is easy and elegant, and you can create a variety of patterns.

Acorn Pom Poms

Send the kids on an acorn hunt, and then help them turn their bounty into a bright and festive craft. Glue pom-poms to acorn tops and attach them to a ribbon for a pretty napkin ring. For a larger display, glue along a longer ribbon to create a thin garland.

Gather Pumpkin

No matter the size of your Thanksgiving gathering, decorate for the occasion with this gorgeous white-painted pumpkin. We used an oil-based paint marker ($4, Michaels) to write the word 'gather' on our pumpkin, but you can add any festive phrase you like. Be sure to look for a pumpkin with a relatively smooth surface for easy writing.

Pumpkin Vases

Short on time? These Thanksgiving centerpiece crafts are easy to make, and each one is more decorative than the next! Just pop a vase of harvest blooms into a scooped-out ivory pumpkin. Layer on top of rugged tree slices to give them more height.

Golden Gourds

Homemade Thanksgiving decorations don't get much trendier than this. This gourd craft starts with applying copper leaf to glitz up your Thanksgiving table decor. Make golden gourds, acorns, serveware, and more! Use painters tape ($7, Walmart) for perfect lines.

Fall Table Wreath

Brighten up your tablescape with this two-of-a-kind Thanksgiving table decoration idea. This centerpiece, both a wreath and a candle holder, is the real deal. You need natural elements such as moss and acorns, a foam wreath base, and hot glue to create one.

Framed Leaf Decoration

Mimic an expensive antique botanical with this affordable DIY version.

1. Lay a dry (but not brittle) fern branch in between layers of newspaper and place inside a heavy book. Top the book with one or two more heavy books.
2. Glue photocopies of pages from old books or newspapers to a picture frame backing.
3. Once the branch is pressed, decoupage it to the mat, place in the picture frame, and hang.

Cupcake-Liner Turkeys

Attach small white cupcake liners to larger colorful liners to create a fun paper turkey! Glue these adorable birds to brown paper place cards to create festive place cards for Thanksgiving dinner.

Wrapped Votives

Scatter these Thanksgiving candles as part of your Thanksgiving tabletop decor. Place your favorite harvest-scented candles inside glass votive cups and wrap the vessels with tamale-making husks (available at grocery stores).

1. Soak husks in warm water for a minute to make them flexible.
2. Tightly wrap a husk around a votive cup and hold in place with a rubber band. Trim excess husk at the top and bottom.
3. Twist a thin length of husk and tie it around the center of the candleholder; remove rubber band.

Bright Wreath

Create a stunning decoration to hang on the front door or in an entryway. Collect fall materials—dried lotus pods, leaves, and dried flowers—in traditional fall colors, and arrange them on a wreath form. Secure with floral wire or hot glue.

Leafy Monogram Wreath

Trade in the usual round wreath for a personalized one. This DIY Thanksgiving craft gets its natural look from dried leaves found right in your backyard. Before you get the hot glue gun going, paint a papier-mache letter and let dry. Once the leaves are on, shape a wire into a hanging loop and hot-glue it to the back of the letter.

Welcome Mat

Welcome Thanksgiving dinner guests to your home with a homemade welcome mat. Create this needle-punched door mat with a simple technique and black thread.