Funny Vegan Thanksgiving Shirt

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Thanksgiving is a holiday of giving thanks. Thanks for friends, thanks for family, and thanks for lots and lots of food! In particularly, a Thanksgiving turkey is the staple of every proper Thanksgiving meal. Ever since I can remember, saying grace and carving the turkey signified the start of Thanksgiving dinner. So why oh why would I ever thank anything involving a vegan Thanksgiving would be appropriate, or funny?

Well, I have never been one to get excited about the meat portion of dinner. Ever since I can remember, I have always steered away from the Thanksgiving turkey and ham. And instead, I have always helped myself to heaping plates of mashed potatoes, green beans, and dessert (and every single one of my family members can attest to this because I would eat the same things EVERY-SINGLE-YEAR).

And this past Thanksgiving was a bit different. It was the first year I truly had a reason to skip out on the Thanksgiving turkey; Travis and I were vegan. Yep, 6 months prior we had given up meat and dairy- cold turkey (pun intended!). It was a lot easier than expected, and probably because I wasn’t a big meat eater to begin with. The dairy was a bit harder (especially for my sugar-loving, ice cream obsessed self). But with a lot of will power the first couple weeks, the cravings became less and less and I found it quite easy to eat vegan on a daily basis.

Thanksgiving, simply put, was going to be a different story. We were spending the holiday with Travis’ extended family, and we weren’t about to ask others to give up their Thanksgiving turkey for us. We could just eat around it. However, what most people forget is that most every Thanksgiving dish is made with dairy (every comfort food recipe alive required some form of milk, butter, or cheese in the recipe). How on earth were we going to pull off our Vegan Thanksgiving?

At the end of the day, Thanksgiving is just one night and we could do our best to eat clean. But luckily, a few of Travis’ family members were also Vegan, so the menu was very friendly towards our lifestyle choices. Thank goodness, because I LOVE my Thanksgiving dinner. There were a couple jokes about the vegans in the room, but altogether it was a tasty and enjoyable meal for all. And with that, our first vegan Thanksgiving was in the books! I’d be happy to share some enjoyable and delicious vegan dishes if anyone is interested in also going meat and dairy free for their Thanksgiving dinner!

So this year is vegan Thanksgiving #2, and I don’t think Tucker even knows that a turkey is edible (haha!). But since we’re old pros now, I thought it’d be funny to make fun of ourselves for turkey day.

My Vegan Shirt Inspiration!

I was scrolling through Instagram (as I often do when I the kids are napping and I get a few minutes of peace and quiet) and of course, fell for one of their targeted ads. How on earth they know I don’t eat meat is scary, but this shirt popped up on my feed:


Phot Cred: Saturday Morning Pancakes

It was PERFECT! I decided I needed it immediately. But when I clicked on it I saw that it was $34, PLUS tax and shipping charges. It ended up being $40. WHAT THE HECK?!? That was like, a month’s worth of diapers for Ryder. Did I really need it THAT bad? Yes I did, but not for that price. So naturally, I went on Amazon to see if they sold it cheaper there and found this:

Photo Cred: AMAZON

Cheaper, but not as cute (in my opinion). So as I always do, I decided to DIY my own funny Thanksgiving shirt. And since I was going to DIY, I figured why not make matching ones for the entire family?!? This was going to be hysterical!

Things You Need:

The Steps

Step 1:

  • Download a turkey design in the Silhouette store (design ID: 229376 is the one I used, but pick any one you like best).
  • Then, add your text (I used the font ZP WOBBLE WOBBLE).

Step 2:

  • To curve your text, make a circle with the circle tool around your turkey. Then, double click your text so the green box shows up around it. Once it does, there will be a little arrow key on the right edge of the box that you should click on and move the text next to the circle. It should conform around the inner or outer edge (depending on where you want it) to make the curved text.
  • Then, click on the circle and delete it so you are just left with your turkey and text. Position it all where you want it.

Step 3:

 

  • Hit select all, then right click on your image and hit GROUP. This will make your entire image one piece of art.
  • Then, use the mirror button to mirror your image (right or left, it doesn’t matter. You just need a backwards image when working with heat transfer vinyl).

Step 4:

 

  • Position your new, mirrored image where you want it on your grid. Once positioned, load your cutting mat with your vinyl stuck to the top (back side facing up), Select VINYL under the material type, and press SEND TO SILHOUETTE (this will prompt the machine to cut your design).

Step 5:

 

  • Once cut, peel the excess vinyl away from the front plastic (use a needle to get the tiny pieces up and off)
  • Then, position your design on top of your shirt where you want it and iron over the top of the plastic.
    • DO NOT remove the plastic while ironing. The vinyl will melt if it comes into direct contact with your heat source.

And voi la! You have your own, custom vegan Thanksgiving shirt! You can use this technique for pretty much any occasion, you just need to modify the picture and wording for your needs. But I found this one pretty adorable, and funny, so I just HAD to share (and make one for myself, duh!).

The best thing about this DIY is not only the money saving aspect, but the fact that I could make this shirt in whatever color combos and sizes that I wanted. The original site I found only sold women’s t-shirts. This way, I was able to make my entire family their own shirt, including my 2.5 year old (I chose not to make my 4 month old one because he still doesn’t have the option to eat anything but mama’s milk).

I’m excited to see the reaction of our family and friends when we show up today wearing our new shirts. The vegans have arrived!!!

So in summary, if you’re looking to DIY these Vegan Thanksgiving shirts yourself, here’s everything you’ll need:

Happy Crafting!

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