The time to give thanks is upon us...

And my family likes to do something special during the month of November to share gratitude for all that we have been blessed with.

We make what has come to be known as "The Gratitude Jar" in our home.  We fill a jar full of things that we are thankful for and pull them out one by one and think of fun ways to honor those things throughout the days of November.

Some of the things are very special to us and other things are a little silly, but either way it remains a fun way for us to give thanks as a family.

This is the first year our oldest son will be participating in the tradition and while it may seem silly to be thankful for the color yellow or for Star Wars--I assure you these are sacred things to a four year old!

Make your own Gratitude Jar  

 

 

1. Alter an old mason jar or spice jar with your leftover papers and embellies. 

2. Use leftover patterned paper scraps to cut strips of paper roughly a half inch wide and three inches long. 

3. Divvy your slips of paper up amongst your family members and have them list the different things they are thankful for. 

4. Fold them in half and place them inside your decorated jar and place your jar somewhere in your home where you will see it everyday. 

5. Start pulling out your slips one by one and think of ways that your entire family can honor those things you are grateful for throughout the day.

 

You can keep things serious or you can have fun with it--whatever feels right for your family.

I'll admit that almost every year "I am thankful for chocolate" gets pulled from our jar and this usually means a day filled with chocolate infused meals and snacks beginning with chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and ending with a chocolate fondue for dessert. It may seem a little goofy, but you'd be surprised how even a day filled with chocolate can help bring a family closer together!