Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Gratitude Jar

The time to give thanks is almost upon us and my family likes to give thanks in a special way--by filling a jar with the things we are thankful for and honoring each one on its own day in November. This is the first year my oldest son will participate in the tradition and I'm very excited about that! Over the years some of the things we are thankful for have gotten a little silly, but it has remained a fun way for us to remember the spirit of Thanksgiving throughout the month of November and to honor it.


While this has been a tradition in my family for many years, this year I decided to add some seasonal pizzazz to our jar using papers and accents from the Entrada Collection, a sticker from the Lexington Card Maker Pack and a few leftover buttons.


To make your own Gratitude Jar for your family this Thanksgiving season:

1. Alter an old mason jar or spice jar with your leftover papers and embellies. 2. Use leftover patterned paper scraps to cut 30 strips of paper roughly a half inch wide and three inches long. 3. Divvy your 30 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. Come November 1 start pulling out your slips one by one and think of ways that your entire family can honor that which all of you are grateful for.



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's silly but you'd be surprised how even a day filled with chocolate can help bring a family closer together ;)

Amy

2 comments:

Margi said...

This is such a cool idea. I love the leaves in the project. TFS

Unknown said...

Thank you for this post, useful not only with our kids.
I talk about it at
https://plus.google.com/107666406831465903914/posts/HfYUckTa1LM

 

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