The Thanksgiving Tree

Not many people I know actually go through the act of giving thanks on Thanksgiving. I'm not passing judgment-I don't really do it either. But I wonder if part of the reason fewer people seem to give thanks (at least the ones I know) because the process is a bit mundane? I remember a tradition I used to do while in school: the Thanksgiving tree.

Every year, when I was in elementary school, we would have a giant tree set up in the auditorium towards the end of November. Well, it wasn't an actual tree so much as a giant coat hanger that looked like tree twigs.

The week before Thanksgiving, every class would take some time to write down what they were thankful for. We each were given a colorful paper cut out leaf (usually brown, orange, red, yellow, or green) and we were told to write either a few words or a sentence about something we were thankful for.

Then, the day before our school breaked for the Thanksgiving holiday, the whole school gathered in the auditorium for a special Thanksgiving ceremony. Granted, the whole school (pre-school through 8^th grade) consisted of less than 200 students and faculty members, and it was a Christian school, so giving thanks was kind of their thing, but it was a nice idea.

At the ceremony, we would hold a small chapel service (again, Christian school), and then we would begin the tree ceremony. Each grade, or in the case of my small school each grade only had one class, would take turns hanging their leaf of thanks on the Thanksgiving tree. Then, at the end of the ceremony, the principal would read aloud a few of the leaves, and we would all go home happy and ready to eat a good Thanksgiving meal.

I think, for families with young children at least, the Thanksgiving tree might be an interesting idea. It engages kids, and it can bring the whole family together. Each family member can write down things they are thankful for on their own leaf, and then either hang it on a small tree or even just put all the leaves in a basket. Then, on Thanksgiving, before beginning the meal, family members can take turns randomly picking a leaf and reading it aloud. You can even make a game out of it, and family members can try to guess who wrote what.