The Thankful Tree

The Holidays are here and that means I've become incredibly busy. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we have eight family events and four birthdays. So, I apologize for the late posting of the few Thanksgiving crafts we squeezed in, but, they'll be here now for the coming years! And, each year we'll do different crafts, so there will be more to come. :)

The Thankful tree is super easy to pull together and fun for everyone. It's a great way to get your family together thinking about what they're thankful for and a fun decoration, too!

You will need:
- red, yellow and orange construction paper
- thread (I used a thin brown yarn)
- a hole punch or needle (be sure not to let small children use the needle if that's what you've chosen)
- a tree branch with smaller branches still attached
- a pot
- rocks or soil/dirt to hold the branch inside the pot

1. Once you've found a branch, trim the unnecessary branches away and even the other branches out if needed. Here in Texas we haven't quite lost all the leaves on our trees, so I pulled a low hanging branch from one of the trees in my yard and pulled the few browning leaves off. Once your branch is ready, stand it in your pot and stack your rocks around it, or pour your dirt or soil into the pot and push the branch down into the soil until it stands on it's own.

2. Draw your favorite style of leaf on your construction paper. You can do a variety of leaves if you'd like to teach your children about different types of trees in the process. Cut them out.

3. When all of your leaves are cut out you need to make a hole in the base of them where you can pull your sting through to tie them to your tree. You can use a hole punch as it will be easier to string and your children can do it themselves, but it also leaves less room on your leaf. I used a needle and pulled my yarn through that way, tying them off immediately.

And that's all! It's pretty self explanatory and you can make your tree, leaves and string them any way you'd like. Now you can take it to your family Thanksgiving and have everyone write what they're thankful for and hang their leaf, or you can keep it in your house and let your children write one thing they're thankful for every day until Thanksgiving day! Enjoy!

In the comments: What are some of the things you're thankful for?