Thankful Tree

How do you teach your little ones gratitude and appreciation?

We want to give Kate the moon, of course, but there is such a delicate balance between providing for her, surprising her with fun little gifts, and helping her understand how lucky we are to have all the things we have.  We say “no” to a lot of her little four-year-old in-store requests, talk about the blessings we have that aren’t “things” like being healthy and having each other, and remind her to say her thank you’s when she sometimes forgets.

I always wonder if it’s enough.

With the holidays coming up it can be easy to get caught up in the excitement of presents under the Christmas tree, but thankfully Thanksgiving comes first, reminding us to reflect and express our gratitude.  Kate and I love doing craft projects together and I decided this was the perfect time to make a Thankful Tree.

Kate and I talked about all the things we’re grateful and happy to have in our lives – our most special things – like a warm bed to sleep in, food that’s good for our bellies, and our family. Together we made a list of things Kate is thankful for, and created our Thankful Tree.

To make, I printed off onto card stock each of the things our little girl is thankful for, used a 1″ circle punch to cut them out, and added a gold eyelet for string.

Next, we strung colorful faux fall leaves and our thankful circles from a trimmed tree branch using thread:

Lastly, I placed the branch in a vase lined with festive fall cable knit to keep the branch in place:

Some of the many things Kate is thankful for:

Additional leaves on Kate’s Thankful Tree include ones for God, pancakes, and Princess Elsa.

Overall, she decided she is thankful for:

Our Thankful Tree now sits on the coffee table in our living room as a beautiful reminder of so many blessings.

Like this project?  See more in the All Things G&D Holiday Gallery!