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Half food, half craft, this is a fun Thanksgiving Activity for your kids!

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These Peanut Butter Ball Turkeys are a fun and delicious Thanksgiving activity for kids!

Your child can help to make the peanut butter balls, then use their imagination to decorate the turkeys however they want!

And of course, the best part of all is eating their creation!

Do I have to use peanut butter balls to make this kids Thanksgiving activity?

The peanut butter balls that I use for these turkeys are nostalgic for me. I remember making them in school when I was a kid.

We mixed together peanut butter, instant milk, and chocolate chips, then rolled them into balls…and of course, devoured them. We then had to write up the recipe in a peanut-shaped book, illustrating all the steps.

For some reason, this is a vivid memory for me. My sister and I continued making these peanut butter balls during our childhood because it was easy to make and we thought they were yummy!

If this doesn’t sound appealing to you, or if you want a healthier option for your kids, you can also use a no bake energy ball recipe like this one.

Here are some fun Thanksgiving books for your kids!

It’s always a great idea to relate any type activity to books! Here are some fun Thanksgiving books for kids.

Teaching tips for this Thanksgiving activity:

It’s never a bad time to teach your kids! There are lots of teaching opportunities while doing this fun and tasty activity!

Depending on your child’s age, you can talk about:

the different colors of the Froot Loops
making patterns with the Froot Loops
counting how many fruit loops are stacked on each tooth pick
the steps in making the peanut butter balls and turkeys (first, second, third, etc.)

How do you make Peanut Butter Ball Turkeys?

These peanut butter balls are so easy to make! They only use three ingredients and just need to be mixed together and rolled. So, depending on your child’s age, they may be able to make these independently.

My son and I used candy eyes and Froot Loops to create the turkeys, but you are not limited to these! You can also use colorful marshmallows for the tail, and raisins or chocolate chips for the eyes…or whatever else comes to mind.

Peanut Butter Balls:

1 cup of peanut butter (creamy or chunky, but make sure it’s the “no stir” kind)
1 cup of instant non-fat milk
1 cup of mini chocolate chips (I only had regular sized chocolate chips on hand when I made these, so I pulsed them in a food processor to get them a little smaller.)

For Decorating:

Step 1: Add the peanut butter, instant milk and chocolate chips to a bowl and mix them all together. Don’t be afraid to use your hands!

Step 2: Roll the dough into balls (larger balls for the turkey’s body and smaller ones for its head).

Rolling peanut butter balls for the turkeys.

Step 3: Build and decorate your turkeys! Stack the smaller ball on top of the larger ball to create its head and body. Then, push two candy eyes into its face, and use Froot Loops to create its beak and wattle (the red part under its beak). Insert tooth picks on the back of its body. Then, stack the Froot Loops on the toothpicks to create its tail feathers.

Enjoy!

Try these other Thanksgiving recipes and activities!