Crayon Box Turkey Disguise: 9 Paper Scraps, No Fancy Materials
A crayon box turkey disguise hides a paper turkey's tail behind paper crayons and a yellow box. The Best Ideas for Kids version cuts its crayons from 9 shades of scrap paper, and kids who are short on colors can color white paper instead.
In a crayon box turkey disguise, the tail feathers do most of the work. Nine scraps of colored paper become nine crayons, a black marker finishes them, and a yellow box goes over the body.
The 9-crayon version from The Best Ideas for Kids cuts every crayon from scrap paper in your craft stash, and its post says no fancy materials are needed. It does assume a printer for the templates, plus scissors, a glue stick, a pencil and markers.
The Disguise Turns Tail Feathers Into 9 Paper Crayons
The Best Ideas for Kids used 9 different shades of paper for the crayons that cover the tail. Once the crayons fan out, the yellow box goes on top, and the turkey’s face peeks through a window in the box.
Activity card
- Ages: 2-4 with an adult cutting, 5-7, 8-11 (suggested)
- Time: 30-45 minutes (suggested)
- Mess level: Low: paper scraps, marker and glue (suggested)
- Skills: “fine motor skills as they cut, color, and glue”, per Simple Everyday Mom; color sorting and pretend play (suggested)
Materials: Scrap Paper in 9 Shades, Plus a Yellow Box
This list makes 9 crayons and 1 box, as The Best Ideas for Kids does. Its printable templates are on the post itself.
- Turkey, crayon and box templates, printed from the post: 1 set
- White paper or cardstock for the turkey template
- Scrap paper in 9 different shades: 1 piece per crayon
- Yellow paper for the box: 1 piece
- Green paper for the triangles: enough for 2
- Red paper for the banner: 1 strip (optional)
- Black marker: 1
- Markers, paint, colored pencils or crayons, to color the turkey’s head and feet
- Pencil, for tracing and drawing the wrapper lines
- Scissors and a glue stick
- White paper and markers or paint, for the color-it-yourself swap below
Step by Step: Trace, Line and Trim Nine Crayons
These 7 steps follow The Best Ideas for Kids instructions.
- Print the turkey template on white paper or cardstock, and print the crayon and box templates. Color in the turkey’s head and feet; the disguise covers the rest.
- Cut out the crayon template and trace it onto each of the 9 papers. Cut the 9 crayons out.
- On every crayon, use a pencil to draw 2 straight lines about 3/4 inch apart, then 2 wavy lines between them. Fill in the sections outside the wavy lines with black marker, so a wavy stripe in the crayon’s own color is left.
- Trace the box onto yellow paper, 2 triangles onto green paper and the optional banner onto red paper. Cut them all out.
- Glue the green triangles onto the box’s bottom corners and write “CRAYONS” between them in black marker. Write “Not a turkey, just”, your child’s name or nothing on the banner, then glue it above “CRAYONS”.
- Glue the crayons onto the turkey one by one, overlapping them slightly so every tail feather is covered. Trim the ends near the head so the face stays clear.
- Glue the finished box on so the turkey’s face shows through the window.
If it goes wrong: If the crayons creep over the turkey’s face, trim their ends as they get close to the head. The post suggests tracing the outline with a pencil and cutting along it, or just eyeballing it.
Three Turkey Disguise Templates Compared: On the Post, by Email or $3
The table compares how you get each template, its designs, the supplies it lists, and its weak spot with a fix.
| Template | How you get it | Designs | Supplies it lists | Weak spot → fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Best Ideas for Kids (9 crayons) | All the printable templates right on this post | 1: crayon box | Scrap paper in 9 shades, or white paper you color | Needs 9 paper colors → color white paper instead |
| Simple Everyday Mom | Free version emailed after sign-up, or a $3 ad-free instant download (as of Oct 2026) | 1: crayon turkey | Supplies “found around the house” | The free copy means an email sign-up → pay $3, or use The Best Ideas for Kids template |
| Made To Be A Momma | Disguise a Turkey printable on the post | 10 costumes, crayon box included; 2 versions: pre-colored or color-your-own | Printables, scissors, glue stick, crayons, markers or colored pencils | The pre-colored version is a colored print, so it needs color ink → print the black-and-white color-your-own version |
Verdict: Start With the Scrap-Paper Version
- Verdict: Start with the 9-crayon version from The Best Ideas for Kids if you want a crayon box turkey made from paper you already have, at home or in a classroom.
- The flaw, and its fix: It calls for 9 shades of paper, and your drawer may not have that many. Color white paper to fill in the missing shades.
- Strengths: The crayons come from scraps, the templates are printable from the post, and the red banner can carry “Not a turkey, just” plus your child’s name.
- Who should skip: If a younger child needs a pre-colored sheet, or a child wants to pick a different costume, get Made To Be A Momma. If you want an ad-free file right away, Simple Everyday Mom’s $3 download covers it.
Pre-Colored, Color-Your-Own or White Paper: Match the Version to the Child
Made To Be A Momma already splits its printable by age. It calls the pre-colored version “Perfect for younger kids” and the color-your-own version “Ideal for older kids”.
- Pre-colored: If a child is younger, Made To Be A Momma’s pre-colored pieces only need cutting and gluing.
- Color-your-own: If a child likes to color, its black-and-white version gets colored before cutting.
- Color white paper: Instead of colored paper, kids can use white paper and color it before tracing the crayons. This matches Made To Be A Momma’s color-your-own version for older kids.
Skills It Builds: Cutting, Coloring and Gluing
Simple Everyday Mom says its version works on “fine motor skills as they cut, color, and glue”. Fine motor skills are the small hand movements that cutting and gluing call for. The crayon box version asks for all three:
- Cutting: 9 crayons, a yellow box, 2 green triangles and an optional banner.
- Coloring: the turkey’s head and feet, plus the black wrapper sections on each crayon.
- Gluing: the crayons go on one by one, each overlapping the last.
The disguise is also a story: a turkey hiding as a box of crayons. NAEYC (the National Association for the Education of Young Children) says “play is essential for all children, birth through age 8”.
Adults Supervise, and the Supplies Come From the Drawer
The post behind the 9-crayon version says all of its activities should be supervised by an adult. Our guide to craft safety for kids, from scissors to craft knives, covers which tools stay in adult hands.
Simple Everyday Mom says its supplies can be found around the house. That often means old markers and glue from the back of a drawer. Before you hand them over, run through how to read craft supply labels before you start.
Next Step
If several ages share one table, use one thankful turkey craft for every kid at a mixed-age table alongside the crayon box version.
FAQ
What other costumes can the turkey wear?
Made To Be A Momma’s printable lists 10 themes: unicorn, superhero, chef, princess, dinosaur, crayon box, astronaut, mermaid, Santa and artist.
Where can I find more turkey disguise printables?
A Sprinkle of Pink’s turkey disguise printables post is a crayon box turkey too, with free printables. Its author made it for a class “disguise a turkey” assignment.
Where should leftover scrap paper go between projects?
Keep it with the rest of your supplies: the 9 tail crayons are cut from scrap paper from your craft stash. Compare craft storage carts on wheels by drawers, brakes and price per drawer.
