Craft Idea

The Dollar Store has tons of items. Such as:
-wood figures to paint (you can use colored pens for less mess)
-wood doorknow hanging signs to paint
-ceramic little figurines or piggy banks. These come w/their own paint
but you could bring litte aprons (also @ the Dollar Store), put down
newspaper. There's very little paint in tiny receptacles so not much
to spill.
-vests made out of paper bags they decorate, cut fringe at the bottom &
wear
-Xmas countdown chain made out of construction paper
-edible (semi) flower pot craft. You take mini clay pots, put a cookie at the
bottom to cover the hole, fill pot w/ice cream, crumble oreos on top for
dirt, put gummy worm on top, stick a straw through the middle then a
Gerber Daisy in the straw so it looks like a potted flower plant. All is
edible except the straw/flower. Google "Pioneer Woman" for video of how
to make it from her cooking show.
-a felt turkey
-a pine cone turkey (stick construction paper feathers into the cone, use
sm styrofoam for head, pipe cleaners for feet & thing hanging down from
head, googly eyes (all avail @ $1 store).
-Have them trace their hand on paper that they will decorate as a turkey
-clear plastic ornaments they stuff w/metallic strips of paper for an
easy ornament
-handprint stamped shirts for their parents. (their hands will be messy but
you could wash them right after
-get plain square pot holders from the $1 store for them to write on with
colored markers.
-string keychains. Look for extra keychain rings around your house, use
plastic beads (from $1 store) & string on fishing wire attached to the ring

Pipe cleaners or chenille stems and simple cheap beads can be used to make beaded ornaments. Just google pipe cleaner beaded Christmas ornaments and you'll see lots of ideas. There's no glue or glitter or mess, just plastic beads and pipe cleaners. And every kid can make several (candy canes, trees, wreaths or random shapes) and then give away an ornament to the adults who are gathered for dinner, to take home for their own Christmas tree.

Pine cone bird feeders? Cover the kitchen table with newspaper, give everyone a few pine cones (make part of the project going outside to collect some if you want to - try to get the ones that have little sap but lots of space between the "petals" vs. the smooth ones), get a jar of regular peanut butter, a bag of mixed bird seed, a ball of twine, a roll of plastic wrap, and several pairs of scissors. Tie a length of twin around the stem and top part of the pine cone. Tie into a circle long enough to loop over a branch. Using a knife or a thin spatula or even a teaspoon, press PB in the spaces of the pine cone, then roll in seed you have put on a plate. Extra seed can be spooned into the crevices with a spoon or even the fingers. (For young kids, put some plastic wrap around the loop of twine so it doesn't get messy in the PB, then remove it when you are done.). Kids who are "into" it can make a whole bunch of cones to hang at home or give as gifts (grandparents love these, so do teachers), kids who only want to do one can do that. Wrap finished cones in plastic wrap, leaving the twine loop wrapped separately. For gifts, you can tie on some curling ribbon and a tag. Otherwise, they can hang them outside and watch the birds come and enjoy. Take the newspaper full of seed (dump what was left on the plates onto the paper) and empty it outside anywhere, especially on the ground underneath where the cones are hanging.

For my daughter's 7th birthday party last summer I found wooden dragons at Michaels that came with paint. I thought it would be a 1/2 hour project, but the kids (boys and girls) spent an hour painting and then took them home to finish painting. They were only $3 a piece. My kids love to paint things. We often will buy wooden boxes, bird houses, letters, picture frames, etc. I have odds and ends of craft paints left from various craft projects. They love to paint them.

You might also be able to find some small beading kits. Last summer in the dollar section at Target I found some kits to make beaded lady bug and lizard key chains. My daughter has hers on her school backpack. They often have holiday themed kits. JoAnn Fabrics is also a great place to find holiday themed art kits for just a couple of dollars. At Halloween I bought a ton of Halloween crafts for a friend of mine who was helping to throw a Halloweeen party for heart warrior kiddos at St. Louis Children's Hospital.

Bring a box of plain white or clear ornaments, some craft paint bottles, paper plates to squeeze some paint out, and brushes and let them paint some ornaments.

You know, this isn't a specific craft, but I'd suggest getting a few big bags of those chenille stems (pipe cleaners) and letting the kids play with those. My son and his friends can sit and make things with them for quite a long time, just add a few pairs of scissors and some tape. Seriously-- huge hit and very open-ended, very little cleanup as well.

There will be lots of options.

An hour might be too long if there are boys, yet I can imagine some girls getting into coloring a craft.

(not sure why I typed out steps, look at this site for cute ideas)

http://www.allkidsnetwork.com/crafts/thanksgiving/

You can bring:
-toilet paper rolls -use brown construction paper to change the color if preferred.
-cut out feather shapes from construction paper (fall colors-red, orange, yellow)
-Ask the kids to write what they are thankful for on each feather
-glue the feathers on the back side of brown toilet roll.
-glue turkey beak and gobbler to make a turkey face (add eyes and anything else).