How to Make a Simple Thankful Tree
I love decor that is beautiful as well as useful. That’s exactly what this Thankful Tree is.
This simple and inexpensive craft is a great way to create a gratitude practice in your home. It only requires a few materials and a little bit of time to set it up. Then it will serve as a lovely piece of decor while at the same time it will encourage family members (and visitors) to focus on being thankful.
Steps
Gather sticks. (Look for sticks with lots of little offshoots which will make great spots for hanging the paper leaves.) The more sticks you gather, the more gratitude leaves you can hang.
Clean the sticks. Simply brush them off, or for a more thorough cleaning, use our method for cleaning nature materials described here.
Create the “trunk” (base) of the thankful tree by filling a mason jar with dried beans, gravel, or stones. If you plan to make a large or tall thankful tree, be sure to use heavy stones in the base so the “tree” won’t tip over.
Form the tree. Depending on the sticks you gathered, you may be able to simply wedge them into the mason jar base. If this doesn’t create enough of a tree-like structure, then use baker’s twine (or twist ties) to tie some of your smaller sticks to the bigger sticks that are in the base. (There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Have fun with it and get creative. This would be a great STEAM challenge for kids as it would incorporate engineering with art.)
Gather your leaves. Print the maple leaf template (linked at the bottom of this post) on cardstock. Make several copies and print them on orange, yellow, and red cardstock if you want to mimic the look of fall leaves. Cut out the leaves. Let kids help with the cutting so they can practice their scissor skills.
Hole punch each paper leaf and tie a loop of yarn or baker’s twine through the hole. Make the loop large enough so it can be hung on the sticks. Or skip the twine and use ornament hooks.
Have friends and family members write something they’re thankful for on a leaf and hang it on the tree. Keep spare leaves around the base of the tree so visitors can add to your tree.
Enjoy the natural beauty of your Thankful Tree as it gains, instead of loses, leaves all while cultivating the habit of gratitude.
Think others would enjoy this craft? Feel free to share.
The image above is Pinnable. Thanks!
