Thanksgiving Jello Turkeys

The best creative minds seek to reuse and create art form unexpected places.

This past November, as we were getting ready for a family dinner one Sunday, my mom was about to throw out the packages from the fun Turkey Butter Sculptures she had bought when I said, “WAIT! Don’t throw those out. Can I have them and make some jello turkeys out of them for Thanksgiving?”

Of course my mom didn’t mind, she was going to toss the packages. But one man’s junk is another man’s treasure and I knew that I had just scored 4 amazing turkey molds.

I used Keller’s Turkey Shaped Butter Sculpture packages to make the turkeys. My mom found them at the grocery store, but knowing that these are seasonal products, I found a few options on Amazon that you can try if you can’t find these exact packages. Also, I know Keller’s has Christmas Tree Shaped Butter Sculptures around Christmas time.

I washed the plastic molds in soapy water to get the leftover butter out and then dried them. What I like about the Butter Sculpture packaging is that you can snap the packaging together, turn it upside down and open the flap on the bottom. That way you can pour the jello straight into the molds.

It only takes four simple ingredients to make the jello turkeys. It’s super easy! But you will want to follow a few tips to make everything go easier.

Expert Jello Tips

• First off, don’t use the regular Jello recipe on the box! Use the jello jiggle recipe or the recipe from this post.
• Second, don’t pour hot jello into the molds. Let it cool down for a few minutes or you may melt the plastic molds. You need to let it start to set up just a little.
• Third, Put the butter sculptures on a plate or tray before pouring in the jello. A little bit of jello may get out through the cracks and make. a mess.
• Fourth, make sure to give the jello enough time to set up in the refrigerator.
• Fifth, heat some water on the stove and pour into a large bowl. After the water has cooled down for a few minutes, dip the turkey molds into the water for about 4 seconds to help them release from the molds.
• DO NOT place the molds into boiling hot water! I did this with the first turkey mold and quickly melted the mold and the jello turkey in just a couple seconds. (See how the orange turkey on the back row in the first picture leans to the side.) Ooops!

I so enjoyed bringing these turkeys to Thanksgiving dinner. All the kids loved them and either ate a whole or a half turkey. It’s fun to hear the kids talk about eating the turkey head etc.

I’d love to see your jello turkey creations or other jello mold creations. Please comment and leave a link below.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!