With Thanksgiving in just a few days, many of us find ourselves reflecting on our blessings. Whether big or small, all of us have reasons for which to be thankful. However, often we stop short and only feel grateful instead of actively expressing our gratitude. How can you help your family show their thankfulness during the holiday season? Red Apple Reading has some fun ideas on how you and your loved ones can convey gratitude to one another and to your community!
- Send a Letter – Yes, a good old-fashioned snail-mail letter! This holiday season encourage each member of your family to compose a handwritten letter to send to someone who they are thankful to have in their lives. Not only does this provide a great opportunity to communicate gratitude, but it also gives kids the chance to practice handwriting, spelling, and expression of thought.
- Have Fun!– Circle up the troops and grab a ball. Take turns playing catch with one another, letting the catcher tell one thing she is thankful for. This is great fun inside or outside and allows little ones who can’t write yet to express their gratitude!
- Dinner Discussion – A great way to cultivate thankfulness is to reflect daily on our blessings. Since dinner time is normally the one time of day the entire family is together, why not use it to discuss what you are grateful for? Each family member can share one thing from his day for which he is thankful.
- Give Back – No matter what our circumstances, we can always look around and discover that we “have it better” than someone else. What better way is there to express thankfulness than to give to someone less fortunate? Donating to a food drive, volunteering at a shelter, or buying a Thanksgiving meal for a struggling family are all ways of acknowledging our gratitude for the abundance we have in our lives.
- Adopt A Soldier – Many of the things that we are thankful for (freedom, security, etc.) depend on those who are protecting and serving our nation daily. We all owe a debt of gratitude to the soldiers who make this country a good place to live. AAUSS (Adopt A U.S. Soldier) is an organization that connects caring citizens to a deployed soldier. Families can correspond with and send packages to their very own hero!
- Gratitude Journal – Sometimes it is good to go back and reflect on all the blessings we have experienced throughout the year. This Thanksgiving begin a new tradition – start a gratitude journal. Simply place the journal in a public area of the house; whenever a family member or friend wishes to record something they are grateful for, the journal is close at hand! The following Thanksgiving ,while everyone is gathered around the table, read some of the entries aloud and reflect over the past year.
- Thank You Jar – I came across this idea while perusing Pinterest. In her blog Home Made By Carmona, Ursula Carmona shares a scheme she developed to help her family express thankfulness to one another. She placed a jar in her home filled with blank notes and small treats. Whenever a member of the family wants to acknowledge a selfless or caring act of another member, they can go to the jar and write them a thank you note. Carmona says this helps her children learn, “…to recognize and appreciate the little efforts of those around them.”
Author William Arthur Ward aptly said, “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” Don’t let this holiday season pass without expressing your thankfulness. Leave us a comment sharing how your family conveys gratitude. We love hearing from you!
