Thanksgiving is a great time of year. I love all the fall decor and the awareness of being more thankful that this time of year brings. One of my favorite Thanksgiving centerpieces is the “thankful tree”. Obviously this is not an original idea. There have been many editions of the thankful tree over the years (and to the creator of the thankful tree — nice work!)

One of the great things about thankful trees is they are not very hard to make or throw together at the last minute. I used a glass vase that I pulled out from underneath my kitchen sink, a handful of sticks from the back yard, coffee beans (which as an added bonus makes your kitchen smell divine), scraps of material and leaves cut from colored paper — all things that were handy and laying around the house!

When cutting out leaves for your branches, it is fun not to make them too perfect. I free-hand cut these leaves. Also, consider using other types of paper — kraft paper, scrapbook paper scraps, newspaper, pages from old books, or a combo of all. Make your tree a colorful tree! To tie the leaves I rummaged through my material bin to find scraps that I could not do a whole lot with — great project idea to get rid of tons of scraps!

Keep a bowl of leaves and scrap material handy throughout the month of November so your thankful tree can “grow” lots of leaves. You can update it throughout the day as things you are thankful for come to you, or maybe make it family time around the table during dinner. If you have older children, encourage them to write on their own leaves and add to the tree.

Another great thing about the project is when Thanksgiving is over, you can collect your leaves and drop them on a layout to put in the family scrapbook! A quick glimpse into your thanks for that particular year!

Want more Thanksgiving ideas? Check out these great articles from the past by other Blissfully Domestic writers!

Five Frugal Thanksgiving Tips

Blissfully Domestic Fall Home Tours

Baskets for Centerpieces

3 Tips for Last Minutes Holiday Centerpieces