Simple Thanksgiving Craft: Make a Gratitude Garland

Are you looking for a Thanksgiving craft the kids can do during the holiday to celebrate the meaning of Thanksgiving? Here is a simple craft that even young children can do. The nice thing about a Gratitude Garland is that you can get the entire family involved in creating one. Make one garland, or even several - and then hang them around the family room or your dining room. They are a great visual reminder for all that you are thankful for.

This craft can be done as a kids project - or for more fun you can get the whole family involved. This is something that you can do on Thanksgiving as part of the day's celebration.

For this craft you will need:

- colored construction paper (ideally 8 ½ x 11" size) in fall colors: red, orange, yellow, brown and green. You will need one sheet of paper for each person participating.

- markers, crayons or pens (depending on the age of your kids or other participants)

- stapler

- tape or thumbtacks (to attach the garland to your wall)

- scissors

(This step is for an adult or an older child who can confidently cut with scissors). Begin by cutting the construction paper into strips that are about two inches wide. Cut lengthwise so that the strips are eleven inches long. This means that your loops will be large but people will also have plenty of room to write on. You will need to cut out one sheet of paper for each person participating. So if you have eight family members, then cut eight sheets of paper into strips.

Once all of the colored paper has been cut into strips, mix the colored paper together so that people get colored strips in different colors (this will make your garland look very colorful) and give each person four strips. Also give them something to write with. Kids can use a marker or a crayon. Adults may prefer a pen or a marker.

On the strips of paper let each person write something that they are thankful for. They can write anything that they are thankful for. Have everyone share what they are thankful for with the rest of the group.

After everyone has shared what they are thankful for, an adult should put together the garland. The easiest way to do this is to staple the garland links together. Stapling them will ensure that they will stay together and that you can put it up right away. Lots of people glue paper chains together and this works fine too, but it can be a little messy and this means you really can't put it up right away. Sometimes when you glue a paper chain - the glue comes apart and the chain breaks and this can be kind of frustrating. So stapling it is much easier. It will take you all of five minutes.

Find a place in your home to hang the garland where everyone can see it and enjoy it. This is a great thing for kids to do to celebrate the spirit of Thanksgiving, and it is also a great project to do as a family.

After everyone has