Thanksgiving Hymn Garland – to color and create
Decorate your home for Thanksgiving with this fun craft the whole family can enjoy making together! You can download our FREE printable, or you can simply let the idea inspire your own creation. And if you would like book recommendations for some cozy Thanksgiving reading time, keep reading for some of our favorites at the end of this post… Cranberry Thanksgiving, Balloons Over Broadway, Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, and The Lion and the Bird.
The banner has pencil sketch style leaf images overlayed with words from the hymn, “For the Beauty of the Earth.”
As the children colored, we realized that this would be a good opportunity to really look closely at fall leaves… there are often many different colors in each leaf.
Our FREE Thanksgiving place cards coordinate nicely with the garland. These are so fun for children to write on and color to make your guests feel welcome! Click on the image to get your FREE place card printable.
If you would like to listen to the song as you create your banner, you might like to try this version by Michelle Swift.
Let’s make a garland…
Print the images on cardstock
Click here to get our FREE printable, and print the images on cardstock. Some of the leaves have words from the hymn. Other images have no words. You can string them together in a pattern you like, using all or only some of the images. Alternatively, you could draw your own leaves and write the words of your choice.
Color the leaves and pumpkins
Color the leaves and pumpkins. You may want to look closely at real leaves from your yard for inspiration. Fall leaves often really have many different colors in each leaf.
Cut out the images.
Some of the leaf shapes are quite detailed. Don’t worry if they are not cut perfectly.
Punch 2 holes in each leaf/pumpkin
Punch 2 holes at the top of each pumpkin/leaf. Punching 2 holes, rather than one, helps the shapes to stay facing forward when they are strung on the garland.
String the images to create the garland
Cut a long piece of twine, ribbon, or yarn. Thread the twine (or ribbon or yarn) through the holes. Consider the order of the hymn. Add in wordless images if you would like to.
Toddler tip...
We found it was helpful to print some extra pages that our toddler could have all to herself. She was quite proud of her own little banner (we love it too)! These Melissa and Doug toddler scissors help make cutting safer.
If you enjoy making this garland, and would like to make one for another holiday (including Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, and the 4th of July), you can find other garland printables in our little Etsy shop.
Our favorite books for a cozy fall and Thanksgiving family reading time…
(The book images are Amazon links if you are interested in finding out more about the books.)
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves is a sweet story about a little fox who is so concerned about the leaves that fall from his tree, but then comes to learn of the beauty of the changing seasons. The illustrations are adorable!
With Melissa Sweet’s illustrations, Ballons Over Broadway is a joy to read! The book tells the story of the beginnings of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. We had fun making balloon puppets and having our own little parade after reading this book.
Cranberry Thanksgiving is a classic with some sweet lessons about forgiveness, hospitality, and not judging others from the outside. We first learned about this book years ago when doing a 5 in a Row reading program, and have read it every year since then at Thanksgiving time.
The Lion and the Bird is a beautiful story of friendship and care for others. This book has very few words, and the pictures tell a sweetly slow-paced story. A beautiful book to look at over and over again.
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