Learning to express gratitude is an incredible thing to pass on to our children! If you’re looking to teach thankfulness, or simply be better about expressing thankfulness, this blog post is for you!
When the holidays roll around, I’m guilty of letting my thoughts wander to overwhelm and checklists. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of doing too much during this time of year!
Not only do we want to give gifts to our family, we want to give gifts to our friends, coworkers, and neighbors. And sometimes it doesn’t stop at gifts – there are holiday parties to attend!
Thanksgiving is an incredible time to slow down and savor the holidays. The holiday rush hasn’t started just yet and you can kick off the season the right way – with gratitude!
Here are a few ways you can express thankfulness this Thanksgiving. And any other time of year!
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It Starts with an “Attitude of Gratitude”
Thankfulness doesn’t start with a card or a kind word. It starts with a kind heart.
If you are so swept away with holiday hustle and bustle, your attention isn’t where it needs to be. Be sure to pause this holiday season – in the middle of the gift wrap, baking supplies, and winter clothing – to keep your heart in a thankful state.
If you find you’ve wandered from thankfulness, you can always start with prayer. Wake up early one morning with a cup of coffee and your Bible and start your day with the Lord. You can also keep a running list of things to be thankful for in a gratitude journal.
History of Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day in the United States is rooted in remembering the blessings of our year. It’s also a day to celebrate the harvest.
What a great launching point for your own Thanksgiving celebrations! Instead of looking toward Christmas and other holiday plans, as is tempting to do, what if we looked at where we came from? What we’ve learned?
As you gather around your Thanksgiving table, maybe it’s not a time for politics or meaningless conversation. But a time for remembering and rejoicing in how far the Lord has brought us this year.
How to Express Gratitude in a Meaningful Way
Thanksgiving isn’t the only time of year to express gratitude. However, it’s a great reminder and even a starting point for new habits you may want to develop.
Here are a few great ideas you can work into your daily routine leading up to Thanksgiving. Do you already have these habits committed to memory? Comment on this blog post and let me know which one works best for you!
1. Pray
2. Gratitude Jar
3. Gratitude Journal
4. Simply Say Thank You
5. Return the Favor
Are you thankful because someone made you a meal when you were ill? Or give you a lift when your car breaks down?
Return the favor!
Keep in touch with whoever blessed you with their kindness and be ready to return the favor when they fall into a time of need.
6. Send a Card and/or Gift
I buy birthday cards in bulk from a local gift shop. Mine happens to produce 10 to 20-pack card bundles. You could also shop your large department store for bulk blank cards.
When the new month rolls around, I grab a card or two from the bulk cards I keep on hand. Sometimes, stressing over a birthday card is the hardest part. Not when you buy them in bulk!
You could easily operate gifts the same way. When something goes on sale, or you see a great product you know multiple personalities would like, purchase two or three instead of just one. You can store these gifts in a bin in your linen closet and pull them out as you need them.
If you don’t like storing gifts for a rainy day, you can store a gift ideas list in the notes section of your phone. When someone needs encouragement or is celebrating a milestone, you already have a few gift ideas at the ready!
For gift ideas, check out these blog posts:
Homemaker Gift Guide
Best Gift Ideas for Stay-at-Home Moms
7. Send a Text Message
If sending a card isn’t in your wheelhouse, send a text message! Now that we live in a day and age of immediacy, this is easier than ever.
Need some homemaking guidance this fall?
The holidays can be overwhelming, but they don’t have to be.
With this checklist, you can get the ideas you need to kickstart your fall homemaking. Feel free to add to this list, or scrap it all together! (PSSST – I’ve also include my pumpkin spice creamer recipe so you can kick your feet up and enjoy all of your hard work!)
Happy homemaking!
8. Remember a Birthday or Anniversary
Remembering a birthday or anniversary doesn’t always have to come with a gift! A card or a text message are also ways you can show someone you care.
I like to get a head start on birthdays and anniversaries. At the beginning of the year, when I’m beginning a new planner, I review last year’s planner and pencil in birthdays and anniversaries. At the beginning of each month, I gather the cards I need and send them.
Even if I’m a month early in wishing someone a happy birthday, I call it a win! I’m not missing a birthday!
Gratitude and Thanksgiving Traditions
Are you looking for games to play during Thanksgiving dinner? Or a craft to keep children busy while dinner is being prepared?
Here are a few things you can do, both leading up to Thanksgiving or the day of!
9. Thankful Pumpkin
A thankful pumpkin is a pumpkin that sits on your kitchen table, and every day, you write one thing you’re thankful for on the pumpkin. As the month of November progresses, your pumpkin is covered in things you’re thankful for.
This is a great, visual way to teach children how to count their blessings.
10. Gratitude Tree (Thankful Tree)
Similar to a thankful pumpkin, a gratitude tree grows as you add leaves to the tree. Most of these can be made from colorful card stock or painted cardboard.
Similarly, you can use a gratitude tree as a keepsake. Every year, you can add a leaf for something everyone in your family is thankful for. Over the years, you can see how your tree grows!
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11. Share Special Memories at the Dinner Table
Do you have a large family? Thanksgiving is the perfect time to reminisce and catch up!
I know some families have created a slideshow of photos and videos to review over the years. While others may bond over scrapbooks and photo albums. This can be a great activity to include children in because you can teach them about their family heritage! What a thing to be thankful for!
12. Thankful Garland
A thankful garland is the perfect activity for someone in elementary school.
Every day on a paper leaf, have your kiddo write something the family is thankful for. Using a clothespin, hang it on a string of garland. As the month progresses, the garland gets fuller!
You can practice gratitude, writing, and counting all at the same time. Win-win-win!
When you’re finished with your garland, you can stash it away and look at it the following year. If you have more than one place suitable for a garland in your home, you can have two garlands. One that you add to every year, and another for that specific year’s garland.
13. Write Something Sweet about a Person on the Back of Their Place Card
This is a wonderful way to include your entire family!
Writing something sweet about someone could also be your opportunity to focus on the little things. Think of mentioning how someone cares for others, listens well, or is intentional with their time.
If you keep a photo album, you could size your place card to fit in your photo album so you can review them year after year.
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Thanksgiving Gratitude Activities
I love that activities have a way of getting the whole family involved. Even if the activity is geared toward small children!
Gratitude crafts also make the best keepsakes and Christmas presents and are easy to turn into annual traditions.
15. Hand Turkey
Trace your hand onto a piece of paper. The thumb of your hand is the head of your turkey, and your other fingers are the feathers.
On the “feathers,” write something you’re thankful for. Decorate your home with them for everyone to admire during Thanksgiving!
16. Thankful on Leaves
This falls right in line with a thankful tree or a leaf garland. However, this is usually a printed prompt on leaves you can cut out and share with others!
17. “Owl I’m Thankful For…”
This is a cute printable you can create for your family!
Similar to creating a prompt on leaves, create a prompt on an owl. Cut them out and share them with everyone who comes to your Thanksgiving this year!
18. Leaves in a Wreath
This variation of a thankfulness project may be harder to store, but the sentiment is the same.
Every day as you write something you’re thankful for on a leaf, arrange the leaves so that they form a wreath!
If you’d like to include younger children in this activity, you could trace their hands instead of cutting out leaves. Arrange the hands in the form of a wreath to get the same effect!
19. Links in A Chain
As the name suggests, you can turn this fun activity into a family activity.
Prior to linking your strips of paper together, you can write what you’re thankful for on each chain. If you turn this into a sort of countdown activity to Thanksgiving, you can read what you’re family is thankful for every day leading up to Thanksgiving.
20. Be Thankful for Your Senses
Think of things you are thankful for using your five senses – sight, touch, taste, hearing, and smell.
At Thanksgiving, you could be thankful to see a family member who traveled to be there. You could be thankful to taste your grandmother’s pumpkin pie – the one she only makes once a year. And so on.
What are Your Popular Gratitude Exercises?
I am always looking for creative ways to infuse gratitude into our holiday season! What do you and your family like to do? Comment on this blog post and let me know!
What about the ideas in this blog post? Do you see one that will become a new family tradition? You can find me on Instagram and share if you’re trying anything from this blog post. You can also see what we’re doing for Thanksgiving, too.
For even more Thanksgiving content, follow me on Pinterest!
I have so many more recipes, hosting tips, and fall-inspired decor ideas on the blog. In fact, I have the perfect way to use Thanksgiving leftovers over on the Recipe Tab.
And if you’re stressing out because some of these crafts will include extended family, stress no more! I share several tips for hosting out-of-town guests in this blog post. One of my top tips is meal planning. But is there something specific they would like to see at the holiday dinner table this year?
I share more tips like that in this blog post!
Happy homemaking!
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