I am constantly trying to find ways to keep my children grounded in a society that seems to thrive on excess. I have found myself throwing my hands up in the air when one of my kids complains for the umpteenth time that he doesn’t have enough [insert meaningless consumable item here] or that I’m so mean because I won’t get him [insert meaningless consumable item here].


I recently saw an example of a Thanksgiving tree, on which each leaf represented something for which to be thankful. Since I’m late to the game, and Thanksgiving is less than a week away, I thought “Why not do a giving tree for the holiday season?” I started researching random acts of kindness for kids (since they will need a little direction here!), and I found this great list of 100 acts of kindness for kids.

To make your own giving tree, just follow the steps below:
- Roll out craft paper and trace the outline of your tree. I wanted to stick our tree on the pantry door, so I guesstimated the height (thankfully it was a good fit!).
- Cut out your tree and branches.
- Trace outlines of leaves on your scrapbook paper or construction paper. I had some left over scrapbook paper, and I liked the idea of different colors and patterns, so I just used what I had.
- Cut out the leaves.
- Print one random act of kindness from the list on each leaf.
- Attach your giving tree to the wall or closet door using painter’s tape (this is important because you don’t want to take the paint off your doors or walls!)).
- Attach your leaves to the tree. I used painter’s tape for this as well, so it wouldn’t rip off the messages on the back of the leaves!
Boardwalk KFT3040765 Kraft Paper, 303M Painter’s Tape, Multi-Use, .94-Inch by 60-Yard
K&Company Sheer Simplicity Designer Paper Pad, 12-Inch x 12-Inch, 60 Sheets, Green
[…] remembered this post on my friend Jessica’s blog about her holiday giving tree, which I love, but I don’t really have the wall space to hang a […]