Thankfulness Tree (& a VIDEO tutorial!)

Thanksgiving is right around the corner (WHAT?!) and in honor of the season, I’ve joined forces with a couple other blogs from our weekly #homeforthefallidays Instagram game (read all about that here) to bring you a good ‘ole fashioned Thanksgiving craft! Plus, the great thing about today’s post is that you get more bang for your buck because I’ve linked up the other blogs so you can go over and see what they’ve been crafting for Turkey Day too!

For my Thanksgiving craft, I decided to go with something that would be meaningful and interactive throughout the season, but also something that could be taken apart once Thanksgiving is over. Crafts are great, but sometimes they just end up becoming one more thing to store after you’re finished enjoying them. One of the things I’m doing with my students at work are Thankfulness Jars… a place to note something each day that you’re thankful for. I love this practice because it helps me remember to be looking for the good things in my life and remembering to be thankful for each of them. I didn’t end up making a jar, so I decided to do something a little different, but along the same lines…

This project is super easy (and fun!) and will hopefully be a good kick in the pants to be on the lookout for things to fill our tree as we draw nearer to Thanksgiving. And, because I know you love videos, here’s a video tutorial on how I did it! Enjoy!

For those of you who are not able to watch a video right now, or just do better with a visual play-by-play, here’s the quick how-to in photo version. 🙂

Step 1: Grab a glass jar, some decorating materials, sticks from the backyard, scrapbook paper, string, and scissors.

Step 2. Decorate your jar however you want!

Step 3: Cut out circles (or any other shape you’d like) from your scrapbook paper, punch holes in them, and tie a loop of string.

Step 4: Fill your jar with sticks.

Step 5: Begin jotting down what you’re thankful for and start filling your tree!

I stuck ours on the windowsill in our bedroom. I love it there because it adds a little bit of seasonal fun to the room… we don’t do many holiday decorations upstairs, but it’s nice to have something too look at to remind us to take a moment to pause in our busy routine and look for the blessings in our life.

Now tell me… what do you do to help prepare for Thanksgiving? Anyone else embarking on their own thankfulness challenge? Share about it in the comments below!

PS. Don’t forget to go and check out what the other bloggers have been up to… I’ll see you over there!