thankful tree {with free printable tags}
this post is a repeat from last year, but certainly worth sharing again
. . . . .
This season leading up to Thanksgiving is one of my favorites. If there is anything I’d like to be, it is thankful, and so I love the idea of expressing our gratitude both in spoken and written word.
I have created a set of cards to help encourage this attitude of thankfulness.
You could put one at each place setting at the the Thanksgiving table, have your family and friends fill them out and share with each other. My sister does this each night leading up to Thanksgiving with her family and then saves the cards to read the following year.
Another great way to use the cards is to turn them into tags
and hang them on a thankful tree.
The boys and I tromped out into the woods, cut down a few branches, put them into a heavy urn and filled the bottom with stones to hold the branches in place.
Every day, we each write one thing we are thankful for. And the rule is that nothing can be duplicated. This is our first year doing a thankful tree and I’m looking forward to seeing what the kids comes up with. I hope it is a great way to instill in them the importance of having a thankful heart. I know it will be good practice for us all.
More photos and a free printable pdf after the read more link…
If you would like to do a thankful tree in your home, or if you’d like to use these cards at your dinner table, please download the pdf below.
There are ten subtle fall colors and each card is 2 x 3.5.
To create the tags, I cut out the card, punched a hole, added hole reinforcement stickers, and cut the edges at an angle {or don’t}.
I hope you find great ways to use these cards.
Click the image below to download.
Happy Thanksgiving!
. . . . .
We started our tree yesterday. The boys were so excited to do it again this year. I’m so glad we started the tradition.
Kelly - Talk of the House
Wonderful idea! Thank you for being so generous with your creativity, Emily.
Kelly
Lisa
Thank you Emily! I love this—it’s beautiful, and I want to use it!!!
I recently have been having trouble downloading the graphics (monthly giveaways and links). I click on the image and it directs me to another page that is blank. If I try to just save the link, it’s very low resolution (which makes sense). I am on a Mac using version 10.8.
Thanks for any help you can give (and maybe others that are suffering?)
I, too, thank you for your generosity!
Katie
I just adore this idea. I’ve started an online picture journal with my thankful bits but i love the tangible and interactive nature of this.
Sandra Tanksley
I am thankful for your talents and your generous and sweet spirit!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!
~S
Danicka
Great idea! Absolutely love your plates and silver! Beautiful!
Pam Saltmarsh
Darling tags! I am having a hard time getting them to load. Is the link working?
Thanks so much,
Pam
emily
Make sure you open with adobe reader. And sometimes switching to a different web browser will also help {I use firefox}
Jessica Vickery
This is one of the best ideas I have seen for this season! I love it. Thank you for sharing with us!
Lindsey
Love this! What a wonderful idea! I agree with Kelly, thank you for being so generous & sharing your talent with us all!
Cindy
What sort of paper do I purchase, and where do I find it?
What a great idea–love your blog!!
Cristina
Thank you for your generosity. I’m also going to try and make them with Bazzil Basic papers. We don’t have Thanksgiving here in Spain, but we can always do it in Christmas or any other gathering. I’m sure we’ve lots of things to be thankful for.
Thanks again,
Cristina.
Chaney
I love this idea! Thanks for sharing it again and reminding us what this time of year should be about – thankfulness!
Shannon
LOVE love love these cards! Thanks for sharing them.
Also, I love the music sheets and placemats. Is it from an old hymn book, or is there a place online to download them?
Thanks!!
Debbie C
I always love seeing this idea around Thanksgiving, yours is lovely! Thanks for the cards!
Dorothy Garman
I love this idea ! I had done one last year , and loved it . On sat. I was just thinking I would love to do one again , so thanks for posting it again !
LLH Designs
I’m clueless about how to share a printable, so I’m going to send some blog friends to you! I didn’t do a whole post on our tree, but mentioned it was time and already had someone ask me for details. Your post came at the perfect time! Thanks for sharing such cute tags!
melodee@polkadotnotebook
this is awesome! pinning it right now and using your darling idea for Thanksgiving:) thank you!
November 4, 2012 | Rogers MOPS
[...] Thankful Tree- Collect sticks from your yard. Place them in a vase. Make leaves from scrapbook paper. On the leaves have your children write the things that they are thankful for. Throughout the month review, discuss, and pray of each leave. [...]
lauren
thank you for sharing these! we’ve been noting what we’re thankful for each day, so this is a perfect place to do that! not to mention, it’s a good-looking way, too.
Amy Chavez
Thanks for sharing these again this year! Last year, I glued them back to back on a toothpick and placed them by the pumpkin roll that we make for Thanksgiving. Everyone wrote a comment on them, and placed it in the cake. Everyone loved the idea! Thanks!
Amy
Would it be possible to provide this file without the coverpage? I do not have a color printer and would like to send the file to FedExOffice for printing, but do not want to have to print the informational sheet as well. Thanks!
emily
You can request that only the second page is printed. That will be the easiest fix.
Allison
I loooove this! We’ve instituted this with our family this year as well.
I had a question about the paper that you use. I have a couple of your gorgeous prints, and I was hoping to use similar paper for the tags for our Thankful Tree this year. I tried looking at your “Tools I Use” link, but when I tried to follow your linen paper link, the site said that the source couldn’t be found. Would you mind sharing?
emily
I just updated the link for the paper! Click here for more info: http://jonesdesigncompany.com/tools-i-use/
Allison
Thank you!!
Amanda
Can you add your favorite pens to tools I use? 😀
lynda
I made these tags last year and my word- what a wonderful activity for Thanksgiving day. I actually framed a few of the tags as Christmas gifts for my Mom and my sister- tags that the kids had made saying I am thankful for- grandma and I am thankful for family. Oddly enough I pulled out the pattern over the weekend to get a new batch of tags ready for this year. Thank you!!!! Lynda
10 Fun Ways to Make Memories with Your Kids this Thanksgiving
[...] enjoy the hunt for the perfect branch}, then create tags {free printable from Jones Design Company here} or cut leaf shapes out of construction paper,have each child write {or draw} what they are [...]
Deanna
Thank you so much for this delightful idea and sweet tags. I am definitely doing this for Thanksgiving this year with my family. Thanks again!!
Amy Moe
I’ve been meaning to Thank you. You made this so much easier for me this year. For the past few Thanksgivings I’ve wanted to do a Thanksgiving tree. The day you sent the free Thankful tags, I printed them off, went outside and cut off some branches, put the branches in my favorite large vase, and then Whola- a Thankful tree. My family loves it, and so do I- it makes me happy to see everyday.
5 quick thanksgiving ideas! « Aimee Steckowski « FancyLittleThings.com
[...] thanksgiving tree + free printables. — Thanksgiving Tree [...]
jennifer
I would love to know what pattern your plates are and where they are from, so pretty!