Thanksgiving Ideas: Bushels of Thanks Craft

Say, "muchas gracias!" with this snazzy tree!

Submitted by
Sonam Adinolf

Thanksgiving Day is the one day of the year that you can cajole your kids into saying, "Thanks, Mom and Dad, for everything you do for me!" Not that your kid will ever really have half a clue how much you do for him until he has his own kids (isn't that when you realized it?). Before that fleeting moment of gratitude fades away, capture it on paper! Create a tree of thanks and next time you're feeling unappreciated, you can take a glimpse and know that even though they rarely say it, they're grateful for all you do. Who knows, it may even inspire them to lose the attitude and keep up the gratitude... for a while!

A Tree branch:
Something that's big enough so that it has lots of little branches, but small enough so that it fits into a flower pot.
Flower pot:
Substantial enough to hold up your tree.
Floral foam:
Put it aside the next time your partner buys you flowers (hint, hint).
Spray paint:
Use whatever color you want, but only parents and older kids should handle this stuff.
Construction paper:
In fall foliage colors—red, orange, gold, yellow.
Black markers:
To write the magic words.
Hole puncher
Ribbon:
Again, go for the fall color palate.
Scissors
Newspaper:
To contain the mess, unfortunately—not to sit and actually have time to read.
A Basket
Keepsake box:
A shoebox will work.
Decorations:
Add some bling to your tree with bee lights, beads, Cheerios on a string, whatever works for you!

Ask your kid to head outside and find a suitable branch for your tree. If he's really thankful, he might need a few branches, and that's totally cool!
Have him bring it inside and clean it off.
Then help him pack the flowerpot with the floral foam.
Get him to stick the branch into the floral foam so it is centered and sturdy in the pot.
Then take it all back outside, lay down some newspaper, and place the pot on the paper.
Spray paint the whole thing silver or gold and let it dry. Not into spray paints? Have your child go at it with tempera paints or just keep the tree its natural color.
Next, help your kid cut leaves out of construction paper. There should be several per family member and/or dinner guest. He can cut them out in a typical "leaf" shape or a more intricate maple leaf shape. Can't draw? Have your kid gather some leaves from your yard and trace them on paper.
Then help your child poke a hole at the top of each leaf with the hole puncher.
Next, help him cut short pieces of ribbon to hang the leaves from. One per leaf.
Loop the ribbons through the holes in the leaves and tie.
If you're looking to snazz it up, have your child add a few decorations to the tree.
Place all of the leaves in a decorative basket.
At Thanksgiving Dinner, place your tree on the table.(Wedge it somewhere between the gravy and the cranberry sauce!)
Then go around the table and ask each guest to say something they are thankful for. Have them write it down on a leaf (or write it for them) and hang it up on the tree. You may want to write the year in the corner of the leaf so you can remember the year your kid appreciated you schlepping him to soccer practice every single Saturday (when you could have been getting a mani-pedi, thank you very much).
For a little twist, have everyone give thanks to the other people at the table. Have Junior go around the room and let each person know something he is thankful to them for. Jot it down on a leaf.
When the holiday is over, place all the leaves in a keepsake box and store the tree for next year.
Put your tree on display so the family can use it as a reminder of how grateful you are for one another.(This is especially important when someone forgot to take out the trash!) This is a great family tradition that makes Thanksgiving more than just a day to gorge on turkey.