Love Thanksgiving, and looking for a brand-new way to share the gratitude this season? My twist on the popular Thankful Tree puts the spotlight onto some of the people we’re most thankful for – our children. Show your kids just how much you love them with a homemade Thanksgiving tree, paper leaves, and 30 days of thanks.
It’s nearly November and, if you’re anything like me, you’re already thinking about Thanksgiving. The FOOD! (Drool). But also, the thanks. In our busy, fast-paced lives, Thanksgiving is the time we finally slow down and come together as a family to appreciate just how lucky we are and celebrate all the things we’re grateful for, whether that’s a beautiful meal, a safe warm home, or good health.
And, in previous years, I’ve made a simple thankful tree for us all to visualize that gratitude as a family. But, earlier in the year, I spotted a few Instagram influencers turn their attention to their children. Playing on the thankful tree concept but for Valentine’s Day, they wrote things they loved about their kids onto paper hearts and stuck them to their bedroom doors for a sweet surprise each morning.
Such a simple idea, but such a good one! So, I decided to bring the two together. A thanksgiving-style thankful tree that is dedicated solely to the little people that make our worlds go round (and sometimes our heads explode!) – our kids.
*And be sure to check out my awesome gratitude jar idea next!
What is a Thankful Tree?
Thankful trees are a simple but impactful way to share our thanks.
Many of us are getting more and more familiar with the concept of gratitude, and thankful trees are growing in popularity as families look for easy, engaging ways to both teach gratitude to kids and share in that gratitude together. Sometimes homemade, sometimes store-bought, they’re a visual representation of love and positivity at this time of year.
And this thankful tree is a great way to celebrate your children – to take the time and effort to tell them just how thankful you are to have them in your life, each and every day.
Showing Your Kids that You’re Thankful for Them
Each day, starting on November 1st and running through ‘til the end of the month, you’ll write a reason you’re thankful for your kids onto a paper leaf and stick it to a handmade thankful tree, secured to their bedroom door. Every day, they’ll be so excited to wake up and run to their door to read your message of love and thanks.
We all know how important it is to tell our kids we love them. But it’s just as important to tell them why we love them. While unconditional love is vital for a child’s happiness, safety, and security, specific reasons are really helpful for their overall development.
When we give reasons, we build confidence, self-esteem, and help them realize their value. We validate emotions and help identify and improve on weaknesses. We boost resilience, encourage creativity, and nurture personal morals and ethics.
Here are a few of my favorite ideas for what to write on thankful tree leaves for your kids:
“We’re thankful for you because”
- You worked really hard on your school assignment
- You are such a good role model for your brother/sister
- You were a good sport, even though your team lost the game
- You are kind and caring
- You make us smile
- You share your toys
- You tidied away the dinner plates without anybody asking
- You make us laugh
- You clean up your sink
- You asked me how my day was
- You help me with chores
- You aced your test
- You said sorry
- You closed the refrigerator door after getting a snack!
How to Create a Thankful Tree on Your Child’s Door
This thankful tree is so easy to make and, even better, there are no hard and fast rules to making it. You can build up a 3D tree, or leave it 2D if you love the idea but are struggling with time. You can personalize it, add decorations, and incorporate your own creative flair (or not, if crafts are more your kids thing than yours!)
However you approach the craft, your family will fall in love with the sentiment – guaranteed.
What you need to make a thankful tree on a door:
- Large sheet of colored paper or poster board to use as a backing board (optional – if you don’t want to tape the tree directly to your door)
- Roll of brown butcher’s paper or shipping paper – You can even use the brown shipping paper that comes in your Amazon packages! The paper roll that I used was 12″ wide brown shipping/packing paper.
- Painter’s tape or wall-safe putty – I used my favorite Frog Tape (painter’s tape) to tape the brown paper to my kid’s bedroom door, that way the tape didn’t damage the paint on the door. I also used wall-safe putty (Gorilla Glue brand) to attach the leaves.
- Scissors
- White card stock – The leaves will look much nicer if you print them on card stock.
- Free printable leaf templates – You can grab my free templates and the “Thankful for you” sign at the end of this post!
- Fall tree decorations (optional – you can add some other decorations to your tree if you wish)
Once you have all of your supplies, just follow these steps to make a Thankful Tree on your kids bedroom doors:
- Tear off a long piece of brown paper from the roll (about 5 to 6 feet long). Fold it roughly in half and make a crease at the halfway mark – this will be the nice straight base of the tree. Crumble up the two ends, shaping them into branch shapes and tape the base of the tree and the first two branches to the door using painter’s tape.
- Tear off another piece of brown paper about 18-24″ long, and crumble it up into a 3D branch shape. Use painter’s tape to stick it to the tree, sliding the end under the tree base.
- Tear off two additional pieces of paper about 12-18″ long, and crumble them up to look like branches. Tape them to the Thankful tree on the door.
- Use painter’s tape to tape the “Thankful for you” sign to the door near the tree.
And then you’re ready to start adding leaves to your tree, one per day during the month of November! Just print and cut the leaf templates down below so that they’ll be ready to go each night after your kids go to bed!
Introducing a thankful tree to your annual celebrations is a lovely way to give thanks to your children and make them feel special at a time when you’re also encouraging them to give thanks to others. Pack your thankful tree away carefully, and you’ll have a homemade family tradition to enjoy for many years to come.
Thankful Tree Tips and Variations:
- Make a backing board – If you don’t want to tape the tree directly to the door, then make the tree on a piece of poster board and tape that to the door instead. You’ll probably need to cut down the cardboard or poster board to fit the width of your door first. This will limit the amount of painter’s tape or putty on your painted doors.
- Try this idea with a ready-made Thankful Tree template – I’ve got a printable giant wall Thankful Tree template that you can grab and use that on the door.
- Use pre-cut paper leaves to save time – If you don’t want to cut out the leaves by hand, you can purchase some die cut paper leaves from most craft stores around Thanksgiving time.
- Add some tree details – You could create a nest with more crumpled brown paper and give some fuzzy chicks a home. Adorn the branches with seasonal apples or make golden fall leaves tumble from them. You can decorate as much, or as little, as you like.
Free Printable Thankful Tree Leaf Templates and Sign
When your brown paper tree is done, you can dress it up a bit with my cute “Thankful for You” sign. And of course, you’ll need the gratitude leaves to add to the tree each day. You can grab my free printable Thankful Tree “extras” by clicking the link down below:
Click HERE for the Thankful Tree Sign and Leaves
Other Gratitude Activities
If you loved this Thankful Tree for doors, then be sure to check out some of my other gratitude activities that are perfect for the month of November:
Make a Gratitude Jar with Printables – Hop over to grab some gratitude jar printables and create your own jar of Thanks. Put it on your dining table and make it part of your family dinners all month long, or add notes of thanks throughout the week. Check out that post for TONS of ideas for how to use a gratitude jar and why you should!
Giant Thankful Tree for the Wall – Print this giant Thankful Tree template as an architectural blueprint for less than $10 at a print shop. Then, have your kids add leaves during the month of November to teach them about being thankful!
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