Inspired to be Thankful
Autumn is perhaps my favorite time of year. I grew up in the mountains on the East Coast where the cool mornings would smell fresh and crisp. The leaves would all be dressed in their party best. It looked just like God had dumped a crayon box out over the hills and colored each tree with whichever color landed on it.
Spending our Falls now in Campeche, Mexico, we don't get to enjoy the beauty of God's Fall artwork in the treetops, so we create some of our own. Read on to see how we journal our thanks, share it with friends, and set our Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving table each November.
This post is in partnership with Oriental Trading. All opinions are my own.
The Autumn Thankful Tree
Sometime around mid-October we create a paper tree on the wall near our study area. It's pretty bare and ugly to begin with. We work at cutting out leaves of all shapes and sizes from colored paper. We keep them in a bag near the tree.
Every day until Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday in November) each of us write on a paper leaf something we are thankful for. We stick it to the tree until it begins to look something like this:
This has become such a family tradition that even visitors and friends often ask to place a leaf on the Thankful Tree.
Inspiring Gratefulness with our Table Runner
When it's time to decorate for our Thanksgiving meal, the leaves come off the tree and become part of our Kid's Table table runner. It is another reminder of the reason for the holiday and a nice conversation piece during dinner.
It's also a way for the kids to proudly display their work and feel they had an important part in the occasion.
If you don't want to draw, cut and create this on your own, check out the bulletin board Tree of Thanks by Oriental Trading
Autumn Inspired Table Scape
Being far from family we've turned Thanksgiving into Friends-giving and invited our friends and neighbors in to experience our American inspired feast. Our guests are always fascinated by our American Fall decor.
You can spice up any table scape for Fall very easily with some burlap, lights, leaves and pillar candles. And I love the white and gold-dipped pumpkins!
Any white serving dishes will do, a brown table runner or piece of fabric, a few taller votive holders and leaves around the great white pumpkin, and wha-lah!
Need to plan your Thanksgiving/ Friends-giving menu? Check out this free holiday planner with budget, shopping and menu-planning printable forms.
And don't forget our Pinterest Fall and Thanksgiving Board for Autumn inspired ideas your family will love.
