Earlier this year my son, Prescott, participated in Battle of the Books with his school. One of the books we learned about is called Wishtree by Katherine Applegate. The story is narrated by a tree who is adorned every May 1, May Day, with ribbons that represent the wishes of the neighborhood.

Every year on the first day of May, people come from all over town to adorn me with scraps of paper, tags, bits of fabric, snippets of yarn, and the occasional gym sock. Each offering represents a dream, a desire, a longing. Whether draped, tossed or tied with a bow: They’er all hopes for something better.

Wishtree, by Katherine Applegate

As soon as I read this story I knew I had to create a Wishtree on my block. So I put together a quick note and printed off one for each of my neighbors. I stapled two ribbons to each note for folks to share their wishes and dreams.

Before long the tree started filling up. One neighbor even reached out and asked if he could make a sign for the tree. Even the neighbors who didn’t participate still shared their wishes with me or came over to chat about the Wishtree. On May Day a small group of us gathered and we read a portion from the book explaining the Wishtree tradition. It added the perfect bit of magic to a beautiful Kansas spring evening.

In all the whole thing took very little effort and provided just enough incentive to move neighbors beyond small talk and into things they really care about. It’s a tradition we plan to keep up and would definitely recommend to others!