I can't believe Thanksgiving is only a few days away and while I'm looking forward to all the good eats, I'm especially excited to spend more time with family. Usually it starts to get really busy for us right around this time, as I'm sure for most of you, and it's so easy to get lost in the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
This year, I decided to create a new family tradition that would help us slow down and be more intentional about counting our blessings. Instead of saying a few things we are grateful for in a prayer right before we dig into the turkey and stuffing on Thanksgiving day, my desire is for us to spend more time reflecting on our daily blessings. I created this easy DIY Thanksgiving Pumpkin as our dining table centerpiece to help us do just that. We each take a leaf, write down what we are thankful for that day and share with one another over dinner. This month, we've been taking turns getting sick so we haven't had any guests over, but now that we're all almost back to being healthy again, it would be wonderful to invite our loved ones over and have them participate as well. It's definitely a great way to start the dinner time conversation. Next year, I'd like to start at the beginning of November and make it a month long activity.
This was a quick and easy project I created using a pumpkin, white paint, paper, craft punch, marker and a sewing pin. I painted the pumpkin with 2 coats of paint (If you do not have time for this, leave it unpainted and it'll work just fine. On the other hand, if you want to make it more decorative, go nuts!), wrote the word "thankful" with a gold sharpie and punched out some leaves using a craft punch. If you do not have a leaf punch handy, just cut out basic leaf shapes.
I then gathered all the paper leaves and pinned it down at top of the pumpkin with a sewing pin. If you have little ones and don't feel safe using a pin, you can punch a hole through the leaves, string it though a ribbon and tie it on the stem instead. For the finishing touch, I placed it on a gold platter and added some decorative elements. When it's done, simply tear off each leaf and start filling out your daily blessings and watch them pile up. If you have children who can't write just yet, ask them what they are thankful and fill it out for them. You'll be pleasantly surprise to hear what they have to say. When we first asked our two year old, she said "mama & dada" and, of course, our hearts melted. At the end of the month, I plan to lay out the leaves and snap a picture for keepsakes. If you're a scrapbooker, you can sprinkle the leaves throughout the pages alongside your Thanksgiving photos.
I understand time is very limited for many of you so I created a FREE printable with the same concept in mind. Once it starts filling up, print off another and continue to count your blessings. When you're all done, you can save the sheets for your memory books or file it away somewhere. Head over to the shop for your FREE 8.5x11 Thanksgiving Pumpkin Printable.
If you plan to create a Thanksgiving Pumpkin of your own, tag us on Instagram (@designsbyyu) or Facebook (Designs by Yu) using hashtag #dbythanksgivingpumpkin so we can see your creation. What are some Thanksgiving traditions you have in place or would like to start? Would love to hear them down below in the comments.
