I set it up early last year too and decorated it for fall but this year I decided to make simple 'ornaments' with words on it for what I am thankful for in my life at this moment.
As I sat there with my cut-outs, I had to be careful not to pressure myself to feel bad if I left something or someone off. There is, of course, much more I'm thankful for but these were the 1st to come to mind so I gave myself permission to be satisfied and just enjoy. Another funny thing my mind does is to pressure myself to put 'the most important' things near the top of the tree. (Like that really matters or something) The point is just to be thankful!!! And that was so good for my heart.
Want a few other ideas? Well, one year, when one of my best friends and I were roomies, we got a simple branch, put it in a coffee can filled with dirt and rocks, and cut out simple autumn leaves from card stock. We then spent a family night writing on the leaves what we were thankful for and hung them on the 'tree' with ribbon. Another idea I saw recenlty was to take an inexpensive table cloth for the month of November and have the family sit down to write with a marker a few things on the cloth they are thankful for that year. Then the following year, the family could simply pull it out again and add to it. This way they get to enjoy all the memories of thankfulness from the previous year and write thankful thoughts of the current.
Do you have any ways you express thankfulness in your home? Please share with us! :) Below are a few close-ups of my simple ornaments of thankfulness and below them is something I'm extra thankful for tonight...
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| Tonight I'm extra thankful for warm, oven baked stuffed apples paired with a glass of sweet Riesling. Yummers!! |