activity · attitude · character · cottonwood home · craftivity · decor · diy · garland · give thanks · grateful · gratitude · gratitude garland · kids · kids lifestyle · kids projects · lifestyle · thanksgiving · Nov 07, 2018

A Simple Way to Bring Gratitude Into Your Home This Season - DIY Gratitude Garland

I used to think gratitude was just a trendy yoga word. Until more recently, I truly started to incorporate it into my everyday. Channeling my thoughts toward the positive rather than dwelling on the negatives, being appreciative of the little things. I found it way easier to go about my day and not get caught up sweating the small stuff.

Before skipping ahead to glutinous dreams of pie and delicious Thanksgiving sides, November is a great time to talk about gratitude. It's something that even as an adult, I am constantly trying to remind myself of. A sense of gratitude, or feeling thankful and appreciative, is a life-long social emotional skill that can generally offer a more positive outlook on life. Though it is a relatively complex skill, It's never too early to cultivate an attitude of gratitude in your home. Model, practice and encourage it on the daily - highlight the simple things like pancakes on Sunday morning or that beautiful stick drawing they drew for you at school!

Today, we have a simple hands-on craft that can help get the conversation going. Get the whole family in on it to see how many things you can add to it. Plus, You'll have a real decorative piece just in time for the major feasting!

DIY Gratitude Garland

What you need

Leaf template
Kraft cardstock paper
Red + gold acrylic paint
Paintbrush/sponges
Red ribbon
Scissors
Small hole punch
Black permanent marker

How to make it

1. Trace the leaf pattern onto the kraft cardstock (other shades of brown work great too!), fitting as many as you can on one sheet.

2. This is the fun part! Using your circle sponges, dab red paint all over cardstock. Do the same with the gold paint creating nice fall hues.

4. After letting dry, cut the leaves out and fold each in half lengthwise to create a realistic leaf look.

5. Using your small hole puncher, punch a hole at the stem end of the leaf. Talk about things you are grateful for and write them down on the leaves. Depending on their age, you may have to prompt them a little or give examples. Try focusing less on tangible objects and more on experiences (family dinners, kisses from the dog, tickles from mommy, etc.) String each leaf onto the ribbon.

That's it! A super simple hands-on activity to bring more gratitude into your home this season. Make it a daily routine this month! They’ll look forward to coming up with ideas to add to the garland. Whatever their responses are, it's heartfelt to see kid-style gratitude displayed in the home.

happy november!