Thanksgiving is all about expressing gratitude. And what could be a better way to teach gratitude and thankfulness than a fun craft! Indulge in this Thanksgiving Tree Craft Activity For Kids to evoke the sense of joy, gratefulness and mindfulness.
This easy Thanksgiving craft is excellent for young kids who love handprint crafts. It uses commonly found craft materials that are, most likely, already available in your home.
Thanksgiving Tree Craft
Making this thankful tree is super easy. It makes for an excellent memento for kids to look at when they grow older and recall how little their hands once were!
Besides keeping your kids busy on thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Tree will allow them to pause and think of the things they often take for granted and be grateful for them.
This thoughtful craft can be easily converted to a Thanksgiving activity for the whole family (or classroom!) where every member gets to pen down things they are thankful for!
Supplies For Thankful Tree Craft
Glue gun with glue stick
- Sharpie
- Scissors
- Paint brush
- Brown Acrylic Colour
- Construction Paper – Red, Orange & Yellow
- Empty Toilet Paper Roll
- Skewers/ Barbeque Sticks
How To Make Gratitude Tree
1. Take an empty toilet roll and using scissors make fringes on one end of the roll to make the tree trunk.
2. Using hot glue, make lines of different sizes and patterns (like shown) on the toilet roll to make bark for the tree trunk. Set it aside and let it dry.
3. Once dry, bend the trimmed edges so that the tree can balance on them. This will help the thankful tree stand upright without falling.
4. Use brown acrylic colour or ordinary brown paint to paint the trunk of the thanksgiving tree. Set it aside and let it dry.
5. While the paint dries, take construction paper in autumn colours (we used orange, yellow & red) and trace out your child’s hand using a sharpie. And if you want to make it into a Thanksgiving craft for Family, let every family member trace out their handprint.
6. Cut out the handprints using scissors and attach them to skewers. These will make the tree branches.
7. Lastly, place the skewers in the tree trunk to set up the thanksgiving tree and invite your family to pen down their thankfulness notes on the handprints.
Place this gratitude tree on your thanksgiving table and invite everyone to pen down their gratitude notes.
And if you are looking for a simple yet thoughtful thanksgiving activity, make a couple of these thankful trees – one for every family member and let them write what they are thankful for each day upto thanksgiving.
This grateful tree activity is excellent for the classroom and much loved by teachers as well as students. Easy and mindful, it requires a few supplies and can be easily done with a large group.
Related: Check out more Grateful Crafts for Thanksgiving to make with kids and family!
On the eve of thanksgiving, read out what you are grateful for as you celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving. Such crafts go a long way in instilling gratitude and thankfulness in kids and family.
More than often, small favours and things go unnoticed. But with this mindful and easy gratitude tree, everyone will get time to reflect and count their blessings.
Gratitude Books For Kids
Besides indulging in Thanksgiving gratitude crafts, reading Gratitude books together is a hands-on way to encourage children (and remind adults!) of all the things one should be thankful for.
Here are a few Thankfulness Books that are sure to warm everyone up!
1. The Thank You Book
This wonderful, cute book comes from the award winning series of Elephant & Piggie. It is an adorable story that will not only get kids thinking but also adults.
Mo Williams successfully weaves a masterpiece here and manages to get kids hooked, yet again, on Elephant & Piggie! Suitable for kids 3 -6 years old.
Related: Make reading interesting by punching a few Thanksgiving Jokes here and there!
2. An Awesome Book Of Thanks
This is a classic book that deserves a place in every home! It beautifully brings to light many mundane, everyday things one should be grateful for. Sure to light up your kiddo’s heart, they will have zillions of things to thank for after reading this gratitude book for kids.
Recommended for kids 2 years and above.
3. Giving Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
It is hard to miss this Thanksgiving book. Beautifully illustrated, coupled with a heart-warming narrative of how Thanksgiving became a holiday in America. Thanks to Sarah Josepha Hale – the woman who made it possible.
Besides bringing the Thanksgiving Holiday history to life, this book also illustrates the power of gratitude and its universal appeal across all cultures.
4. Gratitude is My Superpower
This heartwarming book offers a great perspective on the power of gratitude and positivity. If you are looking for ideas to help your child pull away from material things, this book is for you. It helps children focus on their everyday blessing and find joy in them.
It also includes a gratitude journal to help practise thankfulness. Highly recommended!
5. Thanks A Million
Celebrate thankfulness through the rich poems penned by poet Nikki Grimes and illustrated by award-winning illustrator Cozbi A. Cabrera. An enjoyable family read for thanksgiving, “Thanks a Million” helps its readers identify innumerable people to say thank you to!
Perfect for Kids 4 years and above.
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