This lovely thankful Thanksgiving tree craft is a great activity for the whole family to share a thankful spirit this Thanksgiving season by creating your own gratitude tree. Kids of all ages can help make this family Thanksgiving tree which is sure to start some great conversations around the attitude of gratitude!

text: family thanksgiving tree - collage of close ups of the details associated with the family Thanksgiving tree from the leaves with things we are thankful for to the display on a coffee table - Kids Activities Blog
Let’s make a Thanksgiving tree together.

Make a Family Thanksgiving Tree

A Family Thanksgiving Tree makes a great family tradition. Making your own thankful tree is a great fall family activity and reinforces gratitude.

Related: Make a gratitude tree with kids

This gratitude activity is a great tool to use to help my kids recognize our blessings. Kids will love writing down things they are thankful for on a leaf shaped piece of paper and hanging them in the branches of your tree.

family thanksgiving tree sitting on an end table with a wooden bird house, a ceramic container with pears, and a gourd.
It makes lovely fall decorations.

Thanksgiving Tree as Conversation Starter

Your Thanksgiving tree craft will double as a super cute fall decoration as well. It looks great with other fall and Thanksgiving decorations and could be a centerpiece of your Thanksgiving feast!

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Supplies Needed To Make a Family Thanksgiving Tree

Supplies needed to make Thanksgiving Tree: family thanksgiving tree materials that include: rocks, a glue gun, little clothes pins, paper, twigs, and foam.
A simple craft that makes you stop and think.

Directions To Make A Thankful Tree

Steps 1-6 on How to Make a Thanksgiving Tree: Creating the Thankful tree base by painting the foam black and gluing rocks to it.
It’s time to shape the base and glue the rocks on!

Step 1

The first thing you want to do to create your thankful tree is spray paint your floral block of foam and allow to dry if your foam is not the color you desire to be seen through the rocks. We used black spray paint after rounding out the foam with a serrated knife so it wasn’t so square.

Step 2

Once the spray paint is dry, then you can start adhering rocks (I found mine on my property) to the painted foam with hot glue.

Tip: If you are collecting rocks off the ground, then make sure they are clean before using them for DIY thankful tree.

Then continue adding rocks with hot glue just until you get to the top of the foam.

Step 3

Step 3 - Thanksgiving tree instructions: family thanksgiving tree

Next, insert the tree branch into the top of the foam deep enough so it stays firmly upright as the main trunk creating the base of the tree.

Next, finish hot gluing rocks to the foam all the way to the branch.

Step 4

Step 4 - Thanksgiving Tree instructions family thanksgiving tree - leaves you can add cut out and stacked

Create paper leaves out of card stock, brown paper (or any fall leaf construction paper color) following the free leaf template or by making an easy leaf drawing. You will want to make enough so you have a stack of blank leaves.

Step 5

Step 5 - Thanksgiving Tree - family thanksgiving tree shown with child writing on a leaf

Display your family’s own tree on a small table or in an entryway with pencils or markers nearby along with a stack of leaves. Each family member can write down things they are thankful for on the colorful leaves.

Step 6

Step 6 - Thanksgiving Tree - family thanksgiving tree shown with attaching leaf to tree by child

Add the gratitude leaves to the tree as a thankful tree activity with either:

  • mini clothespins
  • punch a hole in each different leaf and tie with string or thin ribbon

Our Experience Making a Thanksgiving Tree

  • Make sure if your child is helping you that they are supervised hot gluing the rocks on.
  • Last year we found it was a great time to go outside and pick out your most favorite rocks. What is better than a walk in autumn? <–Great idea!
  • The rustic and simple look is very farmhouse chic and goes with really anything, especially if you already have fall decor. Plaid and farm trucks are in right now and this would look great among them.
  • This has quickly become one of my favorite family traditions. I think it is so important for us to stop and to be thankful and to remember for everything we are thankful for.

The world is so fast paced and the holiday season has become about gifts and food and while that is exciting, we tend to forget the most important things to us like our faith, family, love, our pets, friends, etc. Your family’s gratitude tree is a visual reminder of all the blessings that we enjoy.

Yield: 1 Thanksgiving Tree

Thanksgiving Tree Craft

Thanksgiving tree and thankful tree

This Thanksgiving tree is the perfect Thanksgiving craft. Not only does it look great, but it is a great way to help your family be thankful.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Active Time 1 hour
Additional Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Difficulty easy
Estimated Cost $15-$20

Materials

  • a floral block of foam
  • spray paint
  • rocks (you can either buy these in the craft section or at a home improvement store)
  • glue gun and glue sticks
  • a small dead branch from a bush or tree
  • paper leaves (you can make these yourself)
  • mini clothespins

Tools

  • Crafting Knife

Instructions

  1. The first thing you want to do to create your thankful tree is spray paint your floral block of foam and allow to dry.
  2. I rounded out my foam with a serrated knife so it wasn't so square.
  3. Once the spray paint is dry, then you can start adhering rocks (I found mine on my property) to the painted foam with hot glue.
  4. Just make sure if you are collecting rocks off the ground that they are clean.
  5. Then continue adding rocks with hot glue just until you get to the top of the foam.
  6. Next, insert the branch into the top of the foam deep enough so it stays firmly upright.
  7. Now you can finish hot gluing rocks to the foam all the way to the branch.
  8. Now take paper leaves that you either bought or made yourself (cardstock works best) and pin them to the branches of the "tree" you just made.
  9. Finally, display on a small table or in an entryway with pencils or markers nearby so family members can write down things they are thankful for on the leaves of your Family Thanksgiving Tree.

More Ways To Be Thankful from Kids Activities Blog

family thanksgiving tree leaves with things to be thankful for on the branches
Oh so many things to be thankful for hanging on our Thanksgiving tree.

What are your kids thankful for? Do you have any “Thankful” traditions in your family? Did you make a thankful tree together as a family?



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