Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Gratitude tree

I love this time of year as the holidays begin. November always starts me thinking of all that I have to be grateful for. It is a time for me to share this gratitude with those I love.
I am putting this post in early because I want to share with you one of my sisters traditions. On the first Monday night of November they have a lesson on gratitude. For the activity they make a huge tree on one of the walls in their family room. They twist brown paper to look like a tree trunk and put it up on their wall. Then they add the twisted limbs. It is close to 6 feet tall. She has a basket filled to the brim with paper leaves. That first Monday night her family adds the first gratitude leaves to the tree. They continue to add to it all month long. Everyone that comes to her home can add leaves to the Gratitude tree. What a wonderful visual this would be for your children to see and add to. It would definitely be a constant reminder of the importance of gratitude in their life. If you make this tree to share with your family you can make it as simple or as elaborate as you like. It could take a lot of time or just a little time depending on what you want to do. As simple as it may be the impact will be huge on your family and friends. Share with us your expressions of gratitude to those you love.