Sorry, you can't print the turkey (yet)
Every approaching holiday is an opportunity to bring 3D printing ideas to life. So if you celebrate Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving on the fourth Thursday in November, we’ve got a lot of 3D printing ideas for you to help you celebrate.
We’ve categorized some popular designs and hidden gems (like these Thanksgiving turkey earrings) for you to print. These designs will work on a filament or resin printer, and if you’re using OctoPrint, you can put some of those plugins to good use. But, you’d better get printing now if you want to have everything ready by Thanksgiving!
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3D Printing Ideas for Thanksgiving Decorations
Take a look at these 3D printing ideas for decorative Thanksgiving-themed prints. Prototype these ideas with good 3D modeling software.
Talking Turkey
If you start right now, how many turkeys could you print by Thanksgiving? If you use an SLA printer like the AnyCubic Photon Mono X, you can pack as many turkeys onto the print bed as you can fit, and the print time won’t increase. Fortunately, there is no shortage of turkey designs for you to make.
Thingiverse offers a variety of turkey designs. Here are three of the best.
- Standard Thanksgiving turkey
- Turkey gobbler by Freckles
- An intricate Voronoi Turkey
If you’re looking for a more interactive 3D printing idea for Thanksgiving, try this turkey puzzle from Thingiverse.
Cults, the digital marketplace for 3D printing designs, offers a few free Thanksgiving turkeys of their own. Check out their Thanksgiving cartoon turkey and their turkey pumpkin, which will help you transform a real pumpkin into a fake turkey.
Chances are you drew a turkey using the outline of your hand as a kid. This 3D printing idea for Thanksgiving is sure to give you flashbacks to grade school.
One of our favorite turkeys comes from My Mini Factory. This articulated Flexi Turkey bends and moves!
Those with Prusa’s multi-material upgrade should check out this MMU Turkey that you can print in multiple colors. And while you’re there, try davebob3’s Silly Little Turkey model.
Other Thanksgiving Decorative Objects
You could easily print a whole Thanksgiving scene with these 3D designs of a colony house, a Pilgrim hat, and a Thanksgiving Day sign.
Alternatively, check out this unique holiday greeting design from Prusa that combines Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, and Easter.
3D Printing Ideas for Thanksgiving Functional Models
One of the best aspects of 3D printing is when you can print something handy. This Maple Leaf Candy Dish is perfect for Thanksgiving.
If you have a lot of kids at your Thanksgiving table, you’ll want to print a bunch of these spare wishbones. Now everyone can feel the satisfaction of pulling apart a wishbone!
Coasters can protect your furniture from condensation from drink glasses. We found two Thanksgiving-themed coaster designs from Cults and Prusa.
Thanksgiving at the Office
If you go to the office every day, you should take these two 3D printing ideas to work. First, this turkey is designed to attach to the walls of your cubicle.
A turkey pen holder is a great 3D printing idea, too. Print a few for your co-workers.
Place Card Holders
You can help avoid awkward interactions at Thanksgiving dinner, ensuring everyone is seated next to someone they’ll get along with. Do that by assigning seats. You can avoid any Thanksgiving drama and let your guests take home their cardholder holder a friendly nice reminder of the event and what a gracious host you are.
Our favorite place card holders can all be found on Thingiverse: a Pilgrim hat, a Pilgrim owl, and, of course, a Turkey.
Cookie Cutters
Print and use these cookie/pie crust cutters to get in the holiday mood.
- Turkey cookie cutter
- Oak Leaf cookie cutter
- Wishbone cookie cutter
- Cookie cutter set with chestnuts, cornucopia, oak leaves, pumpkin, and turkey
- Cookie cutter set with pie, Pilgrim hat, pumpkin, turkey, leaf, and chestnut
Before you begin printing these cookie cutter designs, make sure the raw material you’re using for your 3D printer, like filament or resin, is rated food grade by the FDA.
Napkin Rings and Holders
So what if you don’t use napkin rings on the other 364 days of the year? Thanksgiving is the time to get fancy and bust out all the gear.
Check out these napkin ring designs from Thingiverse:
Cults also has a bunch of 3D printed napkin ring and holder ideas for you:
- Happy Thanksgiving paper napkin holder
- Turkey paper napkin holder
- Gobble Gobble napkin rings
- Thanksgiving turkey napkin ring
No matter which one you choose, the simple design of napkin rings and holders makes them great things to 3D print.
Candle Holders & Lanterns
Pair these candle holders and lanterns with LED bulbs for safe, Thanksgiving-themed lighting.
- Vintage candle holder
- Thanksgiving panels for Holiday Lantern (get the holiday lantern here)
- Fall leaves lantern
- Autumn lightbox
- Spiral candle holder
The lanterns look especially cool if you print them with a transparent filament.
Kitchen Tools
There are so many great 3D printing ideas for the kitchen. You can print:
- A spoon rest
- A turkey butter mold
- Hooks for your pots and pans
- A butter pig
- A citrus fruit peeler
- An egg holder
Or upcycle an empty jam jar and give it a second life as a mug with this ingenious design from My Mini Factory’s creative director, Samuel N. Bernier.
Wine Charms, Party Plate, and Bottle Holders
These 3D printing ideas are great for helping your guests with their food and wine. Try printing Thanksgiving wine glass charms so guests remember which class is theirs or this party plate that helps you hold food and a wine glass in one hand.
Finally, check out a few wine bottle holders that you can 3D print, including this one that will hold wine glasses, too!
