Best Thankful Tree Ideas: How to Make a Thanksgiving Tree

Give thanks this Thanksgiving, and cultivate an attitude of gratitude in the home, office, or classroom with these thankful tree tradition ideas.

Use this list of thankful tree ideas to add gorgeous fall decor to your home or workplace this autumn. A Thankful tree, also known as a Thanksgiving tree or a gratitude tree, is a Thanksgiving tradition that can bring gratitude and joy back to the dinner table, office, or classroom. Discover how the thankful tree tradition can help remind you of everything you have to be grateful for with family, friends, or co-workers with the list of gratitude tree ideas below.

These gorgeous thankful tree ideas will help you incorporate this traditional gratitude activity into your Thanksgiving celebrations at home, classroom, or workplace this holiday season. Use any of the easy Thanksgiving gratitude tree craft ideas on this list, or gather inspiration to make a DIY thankful tree all your own!

Thanksgiving Thankful Tree Tradition Ideas

Share gratitude with the ones you love with these Thanksgiving tree ideas. You may also enjoy Thanksgiving Traditions and fun things to do for Thanksgiving.

Gratitude trees make lovely autumn DIY home decor and a meaningful centerpiece for the Thanksgiving table. Give thanks, and cultivate an attitude of gratitude in the home, office, or classroom during the holidays with the Thanksgiving thankful tree tradition.

There are many ways to create a thankful tree and many different ways to make gratitude ornaments; real leaves, clay gratitude leaves, leaf-shaped paper leaves, scratch art leaves, and more!

Learn about thankful trees and how to design your own Thanksgiving gratitude tree with the fun list of Thanksgiving tree FAQs and ideas below! You might also enjoy our printable gratitude worksheet, thankful turkey printable, and thankful turkey placemats for kids and adults!

What is a Thanksgiving Thankful Tree?

A Thanksgiving, or thankful tree, can be a beautiful Thanksgiving advent or a gorgeous centerpiece for your Thanksgiving dinner table. Making and decorating a gratitude tree is a fun Thanksgiving tradition that the whole family can enjoy.

The Thanksgiving thankful tree tradition creates a fun way to express the things we are grateful for–BIG and small. Invite family, friends, co-workers, or students to write what they are most thankful for on a gratitude ornament and place it on the tree to decorate it.

Related: Four Seasons Handprint and Fingerprint Tree

How to Use a Thankful Tree as a Thanksgiving Advent

If you would like to use your thankful tree as a Thanksgiving advent in your home or workplace, follow the steps below:

1. Decide what Thanksgiving tree you will make, or buy, from the list of thankful tree ideas below.
2. Put your tree up before Thanksgiving.
3. During the month of November, write what you are most thankful for onto one gratitude ornament each day, and hang it on your thankful tree. Invite your family, friends, co-workers, or students to join you in this gratitude activity. Or, if you have toddlers and preschoolers that cannot write yet, ask them what they are thankful for every day, and write the words they say onto a leaf, or an ornament, for each of them. Another idea for toddlers and preschoolers is to invite them to doodle their thanks on an ornament.
4. Place the leaf or gratitude ornament on the branches at the top of the tree. At the end of the month, you’ll have a tree full of thankful thoughts!

Related: Gratitude Books for Children that Inspire Thankfulness

How to Use a Thankful Tree As an Interactive Thanksgiving Centerpiece

Make and decorate a thankful tree to cultivate an attitude of gratitude at the Thanksgiving dinner table. A gratitude tree is a great conversation starter and a fun way to honor the true spirit of Thanksgiving. Use it to give thanks for an abundant harvest and all of life’s blessings! Follow the steps below:

1. Determine which thankful tree you will make, or buy, from the list of Thanksgiving tree ideas below.
2. Put your thankful tree up before Thanksgiving dinner.
3. Invite family and Thanksgiving dinner guests to write what they are most grateful for on thankful ornaments and decorate the thankful tree as they wait for Thanksgiving dinner.

Best Thanksgiving Tree Ideas – How to Make a Thankful Tree 12 Easy Ways

The thankful tree tradition is a Thanksgiving craft and gratitude activity the whole family can enjoy. Give this Thanksgiving tradition a try this year with any of these creative Thanksgiving decor ideas.

There are many ways to design and use a thankful tree craft for Thanksgiving. Below you will find a few of our favorite examples, from creative and crafty, to kid-made. You can even make a Thanksgiving thankful tree with real fall leaves!

Learn how to make a DIY thankful tree with the fun Thanksgiving ideas on the list below! There is so much to be grateful for, and there is something to be said about writing it down and looking at it every day that makes it that much more real. Not to mention the gorgeous look it brings to your fall decor at home, in the classroom, or workplace!

1. Thanksgiving Tree with Clay Gratitude Leaves

This thankful tree has bare branches and marbled clay gratitude leaves. Or, use these same thankful leaves to make a gratitude mobile instead of a Thanksgiving Tree!

Creating and decorating a Thanksgiving tree with hand-stamped marbled clay autumn leaves is a gratitude craft and activity that kids and adults can enjoy together. Get the directions for this Thanksgiving DIY HERE–> Thankful tree with gratitude leaves.

2. Thankful Trees Made with Real Fall Leaves

This thankful tree for Thanksgiving has real preserved fall leaves. Or, use paper leaves to make this tree decor. Paint pens make it easy to write what you are grateful for on each leaf before attaching it to your thankful tree.

Making a thankful tree with real autumn leaves is a gratitude craft and activity that both kids and adults enjoy. Please invite friends and family to write what they are most grateful for on preserved fall leaves and then place them on the tree to decorate. Look at the step-by-step instructions HERE–> How to Make a Thankful Tree with Real Leaves.

3. Printable Thankful Tree for Kids and Adults

Here’s a cute thankful tree printable with paper gratitude leaves. This Thanksgiving craft makes it easy for kids to give thanks. You might also like this printable Thankful Turkey Coloring Page or these I am Thankful for Thanksgiving Placemats to color.

The printable Thanksgiving tree pictured below includes two printable gratitude trees for the price of one! Use the gorgeous colored paper leaves to write what you are thankful for, as shown below, or download and print our thankful tree coloring page and encourage the kids to color it. Either gratitude craft is a straightforward project the whole family or classroom will enjoy! When it’s finished, use magnets to hang it on the fridge, pin it to a bulletin board, or put it in an artwork frame for a thankful home decor display. Get both printables HERE–> Thankful Tree Printable.

4. Thankful Tree with Wood Slice Ornaments

We can display reminders to cultivate a thankful heart with a thankful tree. In addition, watching family and friends give thanks and counting the many ways they are blessed is a Thanksgiving activity not to be missed.

Here’s a gorgeous thankful tree craft with bare branches and wood pieces painted with chalkboard paint. Learn how to make this thankful tree with wooden chalkboard tags here–> Create-ful-life.

5. Thanksgiving Tree Printable Leaves

Make an interactive arrangement for your Thanksgiving centerpiece this year. Create a Thanksgiving thankful Tree with the leaves printed, trimmed, and ready for your guests to share their gratitude with this simple Thanksgiving DIY.

This gratitude tree uses willow branches painted gold and a free printable leaf pattern. You can also use this tabletop tree display to make this grateful fall home decor project. Once guests have added their sentiments, ask them to tie their leaves onto the centerpiece branches. Get the printable leaf pattern for this Thanksgiving tree project HERE–> Lia Griffith.

6. Thanksgiving Tree with Willow Branches and Paper Leaves

Give thanks in a new way this holiday season. Please invite friends and family to share what they’re most thankful for by creating this lovely thankful tree for Thanksgiving.

This simple thankful tree has paper leaves and willow branches. Find the complete directions for this lovely fall home decor filled with gratitude HERE–> HGTV.

7.  DIY Thankful Tree with Lights

Use bare branches with lights in a simple vase or this tabletop tree with lights and construction paper maple leaves cut with a large leaf paper punch to make this gorgeous Thanksgiving Tree to add to your DIY fall decor. Or, buy this strikingly similar Thanksgiving tree kit HERE.

Get the complete instructions for this lovely gratitude tree HERE–>The Happy Housewife.

8. Paper Thanksgiving Thankful Tree Craft

Here’s a thankful tree that uses recycled brown packing paper to make the tree and paper maple leaves. Another fun idea is to use a Thanksgiving door kit!

Spend Thanksgiving morning writing things you are thankful for on simple leaves and other fall shapes. Or turn it into a month-long tradition. Instead of listing what you are grateful for all at once–add them to our tree all month long! Learn how to make this Thanksgiving tree craft HERE–> One Creative Mommy.

9. Thanksgiving Gratitude Tree With Acorn Favors

This Thanksgiving tree has bare branches and is decorated with paper leaves and acorn favors. (Or, make acorn marble ornaments instead!) This simple thankful tree with acorns creates a lovely way to display what you’re grateful for while creating a beautiful seasonal display.

Invite family and dinner guests to write something they’re thankful for on each leaf–a great activity to do at a Thanksgiving gathering. Get the complete step-by-step tutorial HERE–> The House that Lars Built. Use the acorn craft suggested, or make acorn marble ornaments to decorate your DIY thankful tree!

10. Chalkboard Thankful Tree Craft

learn how to make a thankful tree on a chalkboard with gorgeous watercolor autumn leaves to display in your home or office this Thanksgiving, and use it to remind everyone of all the beautiful things they have to be thankful for. Get the step-by-step instructions for this beautiful Thanksgiving DIY HERE–> Make Life Lovely

11. November Bulletin Board Thankful Tree for Kids

Here’s a thankful tree for Thanksgiving that uses brown paper for the tree and laminated construction paper for the leaves. To make this Thanksgiving tree, you can use this bulletin board set or a large tree wall decal with leaf-shaped sticky notes. If you choose the latter option, the sticky note leaves can be easily removed after Thanksgiving.

First, during November, ask your children what they are thankful for every day and write it on a leaf. Next, place the leaf on the branches at the top of the tree. At the end of the month, you’ll have a tree full of thankful thoughts! Get the full instructions for this thanksgiving tree HERE–> Simply Rebekah.

Or, use this thankful tree craft kit on a wall or a bulletin board instead. Find it–> HERE!

12. Handprint Thankful Tree for Thanksgiving | Our Goodwin Journey

This simple DIY thanksgiving tree for a wall or bulletin board uses construction paper to create a quick and easy gratitude tree. First, trace handprints to make gratitude leaves. Next, write what you (or your children) are grateful for onto the handprint. And finally, place each handprint gratitude leaf above the construction paper tree trunk.

You can also use this bulletin board set or this bulletin board tree with animals to make your Thanksgiving tree, and then make thankful handprint leaves with construction paper to add to it. Get the instructions for this fun Thanksgiving tree idea HERE–> Our Goodwin Journey.

Related: Fall Books for Children

Best Thankful Tree Craft Kits for Thanksgiving

If you don’t feel like making a thankful tree craft for Thanksgiving, you can purchase one of the thankful tree kits listed here instead! A few of these Thanksgiving tree ideas come complete with everything you need, while others use grateful tree ornaments that you can make or purchase separately.

• Thanksgiving Tree Bulletin Board Set
• Easy Thanksgiving Thankful Craft Kit
• Fall Thanksgiving Party Activity Thanksgiving Door Kit
• Thanksgiving Tree of Thanks Craft Kit
• Felt Thankful Tree with Detachable Leaves Craft Kit (or, try THIS felt tree)
• Standing Tree of Thanks Craft Kit

Thanksgiving Thankful or Gratitude Tree Options

If you don’t want to make your gratitude tree, try the thankful ideas below!

• Tabletop Tree with Lights
• Thankful Tree Photo Display
• Large Black Tree Wall Decal
• Big Brown Tree Wall Decal
• Family Tree Wall Decor Picture Frame
• Standing Bare Branch Tree with Lights
• Bulletin Board Tree with Animals

Thanksgiving Tree Ornament Ideas

Decorate your Thanksgiving Tree with any of these easy ornament ideas! And try these gratitude prompts if you need help coming up with words of gratitude to write on your leaves.

• Clay Gratitude Leaves Craft
• Scratch Art Thankful Leaves and Ornaments
• Wood Slice Ornaments
• Fall Sticky Note Leaves
• Colorful Sticky Note Leaves
• Paper fall leaf Ornaments
• Preserved Fall Leaves

Related: Fall Leaf Art with Free Printable Templates

Give Thanks this Thanksgiving with the Thankful Tree Tradition

This year, try this new Thanksgiving tradition in your home, office, or classroom. Remind your family and friends about the true meaning of Thanksgiving with a thankful tree.

Creating a thankful tree to use as a Thanksgiving advent or Centerpiece for your guests to decorate is a beautiful way to bring the spirit of Thanksgiving into your home, office, or classroom. They are also an excellent addition to a fall nature table.

Use these easy Thanksgiving tree ideas or be inspired to create your thankful tree tradition. Keep your leaves from each year to look back at different years and remember what you and your family were grateful for at that time. 

And as mentioned above, you may also like this printable gratitude worksheet, this thankful turkey printable, or these thankful turkey placemats for kids and adults. For even more Thanksgiving ideas, look at this list of 20 Thanksgiving traditions and fun things to do for Thanksgiving!

More DIY Bare Branch DIY Tree Ideas

My daughter loves to decorate trees, so we make one every season. Our family also makes a DIY Easter tree in the spring, a butterfly tree in the summer, a thankful tree in the autumn, and of course, a Christmas tree in the Winter filled with handmade ornaments.

Making and decorating seasonal trees is an activity the whole family can enjoy. You may also like our fall bucket list of fun fall activities.

Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!

Related: Fun Gratitude Activities

More Fun Thanksgiving Ideas

• Turkey Leaf Lanterns
• Thankful for Thanksgiving Placemats to Color
• 40 Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities and Crafts
• Pumpkin Cranberry Bread
• I am Grateful Gratitude Journal Printable
• Gratitude Journal Prompts Printable
• Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities
• Turkey Craft Ideas
• Thanksgiving Traditions and Fun Things to Do
• Thankful Turkey Printable Thanksgiving Gratitude Activity