The Giving Tree

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Looking for a way to focus more on service this holiday season? The Giving Tree is the perfect project!

a small christmas tree with acts of service written on tags "The Giving Tree"

Often times we get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays and we don’t take time to enjoy this time of year. I sometimes look back at the start of the new year and think, “I can’t believe the holidays are over already!” So in an effort to preserve this time just a bit and focus less on the commercialized aspects of the holidays, I came up with a fun idea to encourage a season of service with my family- I call it “The Giving Tree”.

Here is a short video we made all about it!

This is our family’s “Giving Tree”. When we do a small act of kindness or a service for someone, we write it down and hang it on our tree. This is a fun way for us to record and promote the good we do for each other, in our family and in our community.

A small christmas tree in a metal tin with gold ornaments

SUPPLIES –

tree (I found this at Walmart for $5)
items to write acts of service on: small ornaments, office tags, paper garland, etc.
pen or markers
bucket or pot to put the tree in
any other decorations you’d like to personalize your tree

DIRECTIONS –

Place your tree in a sturdy pot or bucket.
Place the items you plan on writing your acts of service on inside a bowl or other object nearby.
Once a good deed has been done, write it down, and hang it on the tree!

supplies for a giving tree laid out on the counter

My kids love filling our tree up! And it’s such a great way to focus on more important things than what we’re getting under the tree on Christmas morning.

a tag hanging on a tree with a service idea written on the tag

TIPS –

Use a dry erase marker to write down your acts of service so you can reuse them next year! The shinier the better – these ones have a matte finish to them, so I had to use a magic eraser to take it off, but the paint stayed on!