Thanksgiving "Doorhanger" Ornaments for our Thankful Tree!

This year, my husband thought it would be good to start a tradition of a "Thankful Tree."  Since we love having our Christmas tree up, and usually do so well past New Year's, we thought we would extend the season earlier, as while, by building a foundation of thanks.

We assembled some crafts from our local Walmart (many were on clearance at our store) to create simple doorhanger ornaments.  We picked up the following:

• Blank wooden doorhangers (Made by Plaid, sold in packs of 6 in unfinished wood)
• Mod Podge
• Acrylic paints
• Stencils with fall patterns
• Brushes
• Twine or natural-style small craft rope
• Buttons

First, I made my ornament.  I started by using Mod Podge on the back of one our new baby's photos with a brush.  I attached it to the blank doorhanger, then stenciled on two fall leaves with acrylic paint.  Next, I put a few buttons on with Mod Podge as an accent, and finished it up with some of the craft twine tied around the top for hanging.

My boys wanted to make their ornaments next, so they went outside to find some small, pretty fall leaves to adorn theirs.

Both boys took a different approach with their ornaments.  Micah (left) chose to cut pictures and words from magazines with the things he was thankful for.  He also added some leaves and buttons.  Matthias (right) did designs by hand on craft paper, then glued them on with the Mod Podge.  He also added some leaves.

Our tree goes up this week, and we are so excited!  We will add a few other decorations to the tree, which we will share on the blog.  All of the crafts are designed to give the kids a chance to express themselves and enjoy the holiday as a family.

Would you do a Thanksgiving tree?  What ways do you and your kids express gratitude with activities and crafts?



As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program, I've received compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own.