I made a wish tree with a friend last week. We had planned to go on a walk, but I called her and asked, “Wanna make a wish tree instead?” I love that she didn’t think twice when I said this and immediately get on board.
“I’ll grab sushi. You go to Staples. We’ll meet at your house,” was her response.
This tree has been a sweet spot in my days lately. There is a big sign hanging from the tree that says, “Make a Wish!” and then shipping tags and pens and yarn so people can write down their own wishes and add them to the tree.
Every morning Ben and I go outside and check on the wish tree. We scan for new wishes and read them to each other. It’s pretty amazing.
Here’s what we used:
1. Manila shipping tags from the office supply store.
2. Poster board (folded in half to be thicker)
3. Packing tape to “laminate” poster board after we wrote our sign.
4. Yarn to hang the tags from the tree.
Hot tip: We used the plastic box from the shipping tags as the dispenser for the blank tags and the holder for the pens. (We just duct taped the container to the tree)
Tie some yarn to the pens and voila! Ready for passersby to make a wish.
We are not above spying
Ben and I have also taken to spying on the tree from time to time. We watch people stumble upon it and then reach in and make a wish of their own. It has been a really sweet way to create community and feel like we are contributing something of joy and beauty to our little world.
If you hadn’t already guessed, the wish to “Be a ninja” belongs to Ben. 
Your turn
Do you have a wish you’d like to add to our virtual wish tree here?
36 Comments
this is amazing.
What a great idea…
Long-term trustworthy companionship AND happiness.
I wish to give a complete stranger at least one genuine smile EVERYDAY!
What a wonderful idea! Great way to spread the joy
peace love and joy for all who happen upon this beautiful tree
Great idea!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this idea, Andrea
So I will take advantage of this and make my wish!!! Just today I found out, that out little boy is lying in transverse in my belly only 3 weeks from his duedate… So my wish is that he will find his way head down before the scheduled version this monday and stay there untill he decides to make his apperance!!!
In Tucson, where I grew up, we have a neighborhood called Winterhaven that is known for its Christmas lights. Every year, my husband and I would go there to walk amongst the decorated homes but my favorite house was always the wish tree house. They would set out strips of colorful paper, staplers, and markers for people to write their wishes on and create “chains” of wishes. My husband and I loved this idea so much, we brought it to Wilbur Hot Springs (http://wilburhotsprings.com) where we live and work. We put up a mailbox to hold the tags and pens (also weatherproof!) and placed different colored tags in the box. On New Year’s Eve, we will cut down the wishes and offer them up in the bonfire. Then we’ll start anew.
oh my goodness i love this so much.
Wow, what a fabulous idea!
This is so great! My wish is to have a baby and experience motherhood.
My wish is for my mom to have happiness at the end of her life.
oooh, this is such a fabulous idea, so happy to have come here this morning!!! thank you for inviting us to add a wish! mine is for two people whom I love so much to find peace and joy in their lives.
This is so cool. I’ve heard of wishing wells but a wishing tree? Brilliant!
My wish? For everyone here and everywhere else to be happy and safe always…
Thanks for inviting us to make a wish,
p.s loving the name of your website…superherolife? Why didn’t I think of that?
thank you for this gift on your birthday. xo my wish is for my soul roots to have full, sweet expression (code for: get paid without shame for offering myself to the world).
I LOVE this idea!
A lovely idea Andrea. My wish is to feel that I am enough, that my life is enough, and for a feeling of peace to follow.
LOVE. Inspired once again.
My wish is for you to have a wonderful birthday and joyous year!
I LOVE this. My wish is to contribute to a greater vision for our ways of living with each other. AND I wish you a wonderful new year of Life. Happy Birthday!
what an awesome idea! thanks for doing that and sharing it with us.
may ben be a ninja!
and to valerie – i hope and pray that your mother finds happiness now and has it always, that you, your mother and the rest of your family all have happiness, much time together and peace, too.
i pray everyone’s wishes come true.
my wish and prayer is for all my family to regain and maintain good health and happiness and to always be together, forever.
thank you.
kathy
Really? Will you really write down my wish and put it on the tree for me?
Because your post made me cry real tears and touched a place inside me that is held tightly closed because it is too overwhelming.
I wish to have the emotional strength and simply bravery it takes to put the shattered pieces back together and create the life I want for myself and my children.
Rebecca F.
(in Canada….)
To continue creating a healthy and happy life for myself and my family. To launch my business helping others do the same.
Love your tree. xxoo
I wish for clarity – for myself and everyone else.
What a cool idea! I wish to stop worrying about the future and instead enjoy the present.
So beautiful Andrea and Ben! This reminds me of prayers written on paper, folded and tied to trees in the grounds of Buddhist temples in Japan … you guys are magical together, mama and baby soulmates. I wish, I wish, I wish that my beautiful family and I find and move to our forever home soon, with gardens, trees, vegie patch, near the ocean, surrounded by nature, a safe and respectful and creative community all round us, private and connected, full of love and light and art and ……. amen! so it is! X O X
I love this idea and want to make my own Wish Tree!
My wish for more time to spend with my family & friends, and less time worrying for everybody!
For all my true needs to be met, and to be filled with genuine gratitude for the wants that are granted.
Awesome the highest max!
uh oops…awesome to the highest max!
I wish to become someone’s mother in the next year, and to maintain my sanity through the process, including being able to be genuinely joyful every time someone else gets pregnant.
I love it! I wish you a wonderful 41st year with so much joy and love!
ohmygoodess, you rock it sister! this is beyond fabulous! i am going to be a copycat
AND, yes you are loved (birthday post), happy birthday btw. and its kinda weird to say, but there are people like me out there, that read your blog and can find your words so relatable…that we folks love you too! its strange to say something like that, especially since you don’t know the person physically, but its a similar thing like when you read a quote, a book, an autobiography…and you are touched deep down because you “get it”. i get that feeling sometimes (well, often) when i read your words and that makes me feel joy and sometimes a whole lot of relief! there is a valid connection there, and therefore, a feeling of gratitude…love if you will. glad it was a special day for you!
Love this! inspiring
This has inspired me so deeply. I’ve been away from home for 28 years and will return soon.. I can’t wait to do this to my tree and a community tree.. thank you deeply for the joy sharing.
Thank you for the inspiration! I love this idea … thinking of ways to laminate in my wet and windy NW weather.
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