Is making your own Thanksgiving place cards a tradition for your family? If not, use these free, printable Thanksgiving place cards designed by children's book illustrator and author, Melanie Hope Greenberg and everyone will know their place at the table!
They are quick to make and once you've printed them out from the computer (easy-peasy!), the kids can take it from there. Hand the kids a bucket of colored pencils or crayons and you are on your way to placing crotchety Uncle Joe and chatty Aunt Nancy at separate ends of the holiday dinner table.
BONUS: These cute printable Thanksgiving cards can double as expressions of gratitude! Instead of filling in names on the cards, write down what you are thankful for and place them around the table for dinner time conversation.
A great idea is to have these cards on hand for the kids to color while everyone is waiting for the celebratory Thanksgiving meal. It's instant screen-free entertainment. If you've created a thankful wall like this one here, kids can use it as inspiration.
Thanksgiving Place Card Instructions
- Print!
Get the place card coloring page here --> (by clicking on the following link you agree to our terms of service* see below) Adorable Thanksgiving cards
We recommend printing on card stock, but that's not strictly necessary. - Cut and Color
Cut the cards out. Give the kids something to color with and let them go to town. No need to stay within the lines or use "normal" colors!
- Add Names
Choose an option:
For place cards: write guests' names in the blank area
For thankful cards: write down something you are thankful for in the blank area
For both: Write guest name and something about them that you are thankful for!
Note how my son has written, "Mommy. I am thankful that my mom cares about me." Just wanted to make sure you all saw that...
- Variations
Instead of writing names, draw the guests' faces and have them guess who is who!
Use the place cards for Thanksgiving charades. Write down common Thanksgiving items. Drop cards in a hat and play charades!
Write down a brief Thanksgiving memory to share during dinner.
There are 16 different cards to choose from!
About the Artist
Melanie Hope Greenberg is an award winning author and illustrator of more than 15 children’s books. She was an Artist-In-Residence at the Eric Carle Museum and her books have been featured as a NY Times Great Children's Read. Her cheerful, vibrant illustrations can be found in books such as Good Morning, Digger, Down in the Subway and A City Is.
One of Melanie's favorite parts of being an author/illustrator is talking about her craft with students at libraries and in classrooms. You can learn more about author visits (virtual or in-person) at her website.
Melanie's iconic book, Mermaids on Parade, is available at your local library! It was selected as a Bank Street Best Book, and for the Texas Reading Club and PBS Kids Summer Reading Lists. It was named one of the Top Reprints of 2019 by Fuse#8.
MERMAIDS ON PARADE written and illustrated by Melanie Hope Greenberg
Read the reviews and testimonials on Melanie's Blog.
*Terms of Service: this coloring page is used with permission from Melanie Hope Greenberg and is for non-commercial use ONLY. You many print out as many copies as you like for personal, library or classroom use. If you would like to share this coloring page, you MUST link to this blog page. It is expressly forbidden to link directly to the coloring page pdf file.
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