“Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits.”
1 Chronicles 16:34a
Things you’ll need:
- Plant or grouping of sticks
- Pencil, crayons, scissors
- Construction paper
- Ribbon or yarn
- Basket
Faith Talk:
The Thanksgiving season provides an opportunity to celebrate God’s goodness. Gather family and friends together and use this activity to:
Count your many blessings, name them one by one.
Count your many blessings see what God has done.
- Use a small plant, arrangement, or group of sticks as a centerpiece for your table.
- Cut leaf shapes from construction paper or trace/cut hand shapes to use as leaves.
- Punch holes in each leaf and use ribbon to create a loop for a hanger. Collect these in a basket with crayons.
- Ask family members and guests to write on a leaf something for which they are thankful. Young children can draw pictures.
- As blessings are recorded, hang each leaf on the Thankful Tree.
- Read 1 Chronicles 29:13, “ …here we are, O God, our God, giving thanks to you,praising your splendid name.”
- Allow people to share what they wrote on their leaves.
- Invite someone to close your Thanksgiving celebration by thanking God for His abundance in each life.
Other Options:
- After the thanksgiving season, collect the leaves and add them to a family scrapbook. Annually, add your blessings and share the book each year. Include pictures if desired.
- Begin your Thankful Tree on November 1 and encourage family members to record blessings daily. An ongoing activity will help your family focus on thanksgiving throughout the season.
- Instead of hanging the leaves on a “tree”, leaves can be mounted on a “wreath” (poster, paper plate, or actual wreath). Hang on door to be reminded of God’s goodness throughout Thanksgiving.
Download and print the Thankful Tree Faith Talk here.