Thankful Tree [FREE Fall Leaves printable]

Thanksgiving is right around the corner and there is no better way to celebrate than by focusing on gratitude all November long.

We are moving fast into my favorite time of year. The air is cool and crisp, the leaves are turning all sorts of brilliant colors, and we’re making ready for a beautiful holiday season with family. After the Halloween costumes have been tucked away and trick-or-treat loot has been eaten, when the Christmas music starts to literally burn a hole into our DVD player, we turn our hearts and minds to a season of thanksgiving.

Cultivate a spirit of thanksgiving all November long

Last year, the boys and I spent an afternoon at the beginning of November creating a thankful tree. Stretching floor-to-ceiling it covered most of our dining room wall and served as a visual reminder that for the entire month we would each find something to be thankful for every day.

This became a really special project for our family. We quickly got past the obvious – each other, our faith, our friends – and started getting more specific.

Health insurance.
Color.
A God that answers prayer.
Good books.

It is so easy to get caught up in the comparison game ESPECIALLY around the holidays. This exercise was exactly what we needed to focus our minds and our hearts, to prepare ourselves for Thanksgiving, and ultimately for the Christmas season that followed.

Creating your own thankful tree is a really simple way to be intentional this November, and the good news is that it requires very little time and money to set up. Take a quick glance over the instructions below, download the FREE Fall Leaves Printable, and include the kiddos in on the fun.

I promise you’ll be glad you did.

What you Need

48″ wide white art paper
Art utensils of your choice (markers, colored pencils, paint, crayons, etc.)
Painter’s tape
Construction Paper (red, green, yellow, orange, brown)
FREE Fall Leaves Printable (PDF download)

How to Make it

[1] Draw the branches and trunk of your tree.

Cut a length of art paper to fit the wall you plan to hang it on. Sketch the trunk and branches of a tree to fill the paper in pencil and color it in. We chose to paint ours with tempera paint and add a little green grass at the bottom. Don’t forget to mark the year as a keepsake!

[2] Prep the leaves.

Print out the Fall Leaves Printable on heavy paper. Trace and cut enough Maple, Beech, Sweet Gum, Ginko, and Oak leaves for your family onto colored construction paper. (You may also choose to let your kids trace and cut a leaf each day).

[3] Hang your thankful tree and use it all month long!

Using painter’s tape attach the thankful tree to your wall. Create space everyday for you and the kiddos to fill out a leaf and tape it to your tree. By the end of November it will be full and beautiful, the perfect decoration for your Thanksgiving celebration.