Our Fall Leaves Family Tradition

Every family has traditions that they look forward to in various seasons and for different holidays. A family tradition that is very special to me and my family is our fall leaves tradition.

Whenever we gather as a family for Thanksgiving, I have fall leaves precut on colored paper for family members to choose from. I use various shapes and styles of leaves to keep it creative. We take our time thinking about specific things that we are thankful for from that year. This is important because it makes us think a little deeper and be intentional with the items that we choose and then we write them down on the leaf along with the year.

I had smaller leaves for when we had littles in the house and I also have larger sized leaves for the adults. We use all different colors of paper that fit within the fall theme, but I make sure to buy scrapbook paper so the color does not fade over time. We make sure to write the year on the leaves along with our ages. It’s fun to see the ages of everyone and seeing Great Grandma who last year got to write down her age of 93!

You could also let younger kids trace their hands, use stamp pads to do thumbprints, or just color them. This is a great way to let them be creative and showcase their personalities.

Keepsakes to Cherish

I keep all of these leaves together so that I can bring them out each fall. My dream is that one day when I am older, I will have hundreds of leaves that span many generations. It is so special to be able to look back at all of the people who have been in our lives and their thankfulness leaves. I love to read what they were thankful for and have those physical reminders of how thankful I am for each of them.

This is a time of the year that can be hard when we think about people who are no longer here with us to celebrate. Having their leaves as little pieces of them are keepsakes to cherish.

If you would like to start this fall leaves tradition with your family, you can download this pdf with some example templates for leaves, or create your own with any fall shapes.