Thanksgiving Puzzle Placemats Thanksgiving Decorations Family Gatherings Holidays
Thanksgiving puzzle placemats are fun and easy to make. They are a project every member (from the youngest to the oldest) of the family can participate in, providing quality time together, as well as a keepsake for years to come. As the family grows, more Thanksgiving placemats can be added to your collection annually.
1. Purchase puzzles: Many puzzles come in themes. This makes it easy to purchase puzzles that are the same shape and dimension. When purchasing puzzles to make Thanksgiving placemats, choose ones that accent the colors of the holiday, reflect on the meaning of Thanksgiving, and will highlight your other decorations.
2. Put puzzles together: It’s easiest to work one puzzle at a time so you don’t mix up pieces from several different puzzles. This is a great opportunity for quality family time. You can play games to see who can finish a particular section of the puzzle first, or who can fit five pieces together in the shortest amount of time. You can also have puzzle piece scavenger hunts where everyone tries to find one particular piece and the person who finds it first wins a prize.
3. Seal puzzle placemats with clear, adhesive contact paper: Measure out a piece of clear contact paper to fit the puzzle. Peel off the paper backing, and work together to stretch it over the front of your completed puzzle, leaving a one inch trim around it. Flip the puzzle over and do the same to the back of the puzzle. Trim, keeping a contact paper border, but eliminating rough edges.
4. Attach fabric to back of puzzle: Depending on the fabric you choose, you can use iron on fusible webbing, fabric glue, or any other adhesive you’d like to securely attach your choice of fabric to the back of your puzzle placemats. Fabric choices can be informal and varied, or they can be more consistent and uniform using the same fabric choice for all of your Thanksgiving puzzle placemats. Fabric needs to be large enough that it can fold over to cover the front contact paper, to the edge of the puzzle.
5. Fold fabric border to frame puzzle placemat: Fold in the short sides first, and then the long sides, securing with adhesive. You can also use a sewing machine and sew your fabric frame right through the clear contact paper. Then fold the long sides of your fabric directly over the short sides. You can also make mitered edges by triangulating your corners.
6. Add decorative trims if desired: Attach fun trims and decorations around the edge of your Thanksgiving puzzle placemats to make them more festive. You can sew on beads or sequins, attach colorful fall leaves, or use fabric glue to add a braided inner edge.
Thanksgiving puzzle placemats are easy to clean too. Use a damp cloth to wipe the contact coated puzzle. Fabric can be gently cleaned with a damp cloth and stain remover as necessary. Store Thanksgiving placemats in a sealed plastic bag to be brought out every year during the holidays.
