The Thankful Tree

I confess for the past six years I’ve put up my Christmas Tree early.  I’m sure the neighbors think I’m nuts.

The truth is that I don’t decorate with my Christmas items – I decorate it with leaves, sunflowers, and pumpkins.  It’s my fall tree and I confess I think I like it a little more than my Christmas tree!

Tip:  Right after Halloween a lot of fall items go on sale – so you can score decor for your tree on the cheap!

This year I wanted to make it more than just a “fall” tree.  I wanted to make it a Thankful tree.  Truth is it seems like we go from “give me candy” to “give me presents” with very little (or no) gratitude for what blessings we have in between.

Thanksgiving is put more and more on the sidelines each year.  I think doing a major decoration for it gives it more presence in my mind and my children.

One morning it hit my like a bold of lightning.  Why not have us write down what we are thankful for and put it on the tree?  It would be fun to see how things would change from year to year and what blessings we have.

This project is very simple and easy.  Al you need:

Fake paper leaves(you can cute or make your own but I used a store bought pack)

Thankful stamp ( optional – I got mine from Stampin’ Up!)

ink

pens

gratitude

Stamp the leaves with the phrase, have your kids gather round and write down what they are thankful for.

If they can’t write have them draw a picture.

Put the leaves on your tree for everyone to enjoy!

Do you have any Thanksgiving traditions to show gratitude?  I would love to hear about them!