Wouldn’t you like to have a wishing tree sometimes? Then find one and get started! It’s easy and a nice gesture for others.

Some of you might have already heard of a wishing tree. Most of the time, you attach wishes to it and hope they come true.
How about a little bit of a variation? You make a wish for your neighbor instead of yourself. Or for everybody that walks past the wishing tree.

 
Let’s get started

Take some colorful cards, maybe in a nice shape. I decided to use the workshop cards “Leaf”. Fits pretty well, doesn’t it? 🙂
Then take a hole puncher and  punch a hole in each card. Later, you can thread in a drawstring and hang it on the tree.

Write some good wishes for your neighbors on the cards. It’s best to use a marker with a nib that’s a bit thicker. This way, everyone can easily read your message. I used the Neuland FineOne® Outliner with a round nib. The outliner is a good choice if you want to add colors, shadows or highlights afterwards and avoid smearing.

The messages

Let your imagination run free. You can write things like “I wish you will be dancing in the kitchen today”, or “I wish you give somebody a treat today” – everything that spreads joy is allowed here. On the back, you can add some beautiful symbols or icons, which will make the message even nicer to look at.

Now it’s time to thread in the drawstring, so that you can attach the cards to your wishing tree.

To make your neighbors get the idea, you can write a sign. A stand-up display like a chalkboard would be perfect. But a simple piece of paper on the tree is just as fine. I used two pieces of flat laminate, attached them to each other and wrote the story with a Neuland ChalkOne® (wedge nib 2-8 mm).
Explain the idea on the sign, for example: “Good wishes for the neighborhood grow on the tree. Anyone who comes along can pick a wish and leave one again: Simply write something nice on the card and hang it on the tree with a string.”

Now get outside to the tree you chose and start decorating – it’s just as fun as Christmas!

Don’t forget to display some empty, already punched workshop cards, drawstrings and some markers for your neighbors to write down their wishes. Now everybody can contribute and pick some fresh wishes. 🙂

By the way: When it’s raining, you can protect the wishes in a big screw top jar. Place it underneath the tree or hang it somewhere near the tree and as soon as the sun comes out you can decorate again …

I wish you and your neighborhood a lot of fun with this!

P.S.: Only a couple of minutes after the first wishes were hanging on the tree, the first neighbor already showed up. She stopped her bike and left a wish.

You need:

  • Pin-It Cards “Leaf”, item no.: 7998.0009
  • Neuland FineOne® Outliner, round nib, item no.: 8033.0010
  • Neuland ChalkOne®, e.g. in white, item no.: 7764.0501 or orange, 7764.0509
  • Paper Scissors, item no.: 8080.0100
  • Drawstring
  • Screw top jar (for rainy days)
  • … and of course a beautiful tree in your neighborhood that can be reached by kids as well

You would like to order from Austria or Switzerland? No problem! Simply enter the item numbers in the search box of the respective shop and get started.