Gratitude Pumpkin: Simple Thanksgiving Craft
Ever since #thebigone was born, I’ve been searching for the right way to acknowledge the significance of the Thanksgiving season. With some Pinterest inspiration and a little tweaking, I think I have created exactly what I was looking for. Yes, #thebigone is six years old. Yes, it really did take me that long to figure out what would work well for us… I’m excited to share our simple Thanksgiving craft with you!
GRATITUDE PUMPKIN THANKSGIVING CRAFT
What We’ve Tried
Last year we put a paper ‘Thankful Tree’ on a wall in our hallway. We added colorful paper leaves every evening with our blessings written on them. Like autumn leaves do, those leaves fell. They littered my hallway no matter how many times we re-stuck them up there. Unfortunately, it wasn’t practical to save the thankful memories since they were all individual pieces of paper. I suppose we could have taken a photo of the tree on Thanksgiving Day. However, no surprise- the leaves were all on my hall carpet by then.
The Inspiration
I found the inspiration for this project on Pinterest. (Which is pretty much the source of all my creative ideas, to be honest!) The pin I found links to Jolene’s Crafting, although I can’t guarantee the image originated there. Adorable, clever, festive- right? I loved the idea of it. I knew that part of the fun for my family and I would be looking back at our blessings each November to come. For that reason, a real pumpkin wasn’t going to cut it. I considered one of the fake pumpkins you see at craft stores. That option could be great for lots of families but I had some concerns about it for us. I wanted #thebigone to write his thankful thoughts independently for some extra handwriting and spelling practice. Honestly, most first graders are challenged enough just writing on paper! Why make it even tougher with a bumpy, round pumpkin?
My Interpretation
After a bit of aimless wondering through the craft store (and buying more than I truly needed), I found the perfect pumpkin to use. It’s made of thin, raw wood, with a little brown twine for hanging. The simplicity made it easy for even #thebigone to write on, the material made it inexpensive, and the slim shape makes it incredibly easy to store when Thanksgiving ends. I’ll pack it away with the handprint turkeys and pilgrim coloring sheets from school. Then I can pull it out next year to re-read what meant a lot to us in 2016.
I used simple acrylic craft paints to paint our pumpkin bright orange. I chose metallic gold for the stem, but there’s lots of room for variation here. You can decorate your family’s as plainly or intricately as you like. You can even have your kiddos take the lead instead! We chose silver & gold oil based Sharpie markers to write with, accenting the touch of metallic in the stem. The oil based metallic markers tend to be a little bolder & clearer than the regular ones. For a project like this, I felt legibility was important.
Our Pumpkin Masterpiece
My husband and I are not allowed to write what we are grateful for this year, because #thebigone he wants this to be a kid’s only project. This year, the pumpkin will be filled with #thebigone’s ideas. Next year I hope #thelittleone will be old enough to tell us some things to write for him. This year, he mostly just signs ‘more’, ‘milk’, or ‘cereal’, if asked a question. Before we pack things up after Thanksgiving this year, we’ll write the year on the back of the Thanksgiving craft. It’s important to know going forward when each was completed.
Guys, remember, he’s six! Handwriting and spelling is a work in progress!
Make It Your Own
If you’re feeling like November has already started, and you’re way too behind to catch up, put your own spin on the Thanksgiving craft. Set it out at Thanksgiving dinner, and have everyone at the table write one thing they’re thankful for. You can create your own Thanksgiving dinner tradition of gratitude for years to come.
