Every year about this time, I start thinking that I want Thanksgiving to be about more than food, football and parades. Those are all good things and I will be incorporating them all into our celebration, but I want my family to walk away from this Thanksgiving with a deeper sense of gratitude.
Make your family Thanksgiving a little more intentional this year by incorporating some lessons in gratitude into your celebration.
Here’s some ideas to choose from:
Start a Thankful Jar – This one is simple, get a jar or bowl and some slips of paper. You can use blank strips or fun printables like these found on our Intentional Thanksgiving Pinterest Board. You can have a designated time of the day that everyone fills one out or just let everyone do it on their own. You can also use it as a motivator if you find your kids, your spouse or yourself a little grumpy or selfish… have the offender go add something to the thankful jar.
Start a Gratitude Journal – Start a journal of all the things you are grateful for. Things you experienced throughout the year, things you might take for granted, people God has placed in your life, etc… You can have a family journal or let each family member start their own journal. There is some great gratitude journal prompts & ideas on our Intentional Thanksgiving Pinterest Board.
You can use any blank journal or purchase an actual gratitude journal like the ones shown below:
For Women
For Kids
For Men
Make a Thankful Tree – These can be simple & very “homemade” looking or very fancy depending on your craftiness level. I’ve done this one before and honestly just used a tree branch from my yard and construction paper… there are some great ideas on our Pinterest board.
** BONUS tip** Ann Voskamp also has a plethora of great FREE printables on her website by signing up for her newsletter! Great for year round, but specifically she has a thankful jar and thankful tree printable as well as some beautiful frameables for your walls!
Decorate your table with scripture – Print out our FREE printable Thanksgiving Scripture Cards. They would make beautiful decorations on your table this Thanksgiving Season!
Be sure to DOWNLOAD our FREE Printable Thanksgiving Scripture Cards!
This is my Thanksgiving gift to you, my sweet readers!
Have a thankful moment at bedtime with your children. This one requires no craftiness or preparing, but is just as significant as the others! Ask your child to list three things they are thankful for from their day and share yours as well. You will learn more about their day than you ever imagined because it caused them to truly reflect on their day. You could even start by using our FREE printable Thanksgiving Scripture Cards to start the conversation by asking each kid what that verse means to them or by reading a book from our Thanksgiving Favorites list below:
If you are gathering with friends this year, Rebekah Lyons has this great guide to hosting a “Friendsgiving”
Christy
Founder of The Praying Mom
This website was birthed out of Christy's passion to see women become intentional in their lives. She is passionate about helping moms discover their purpose in their homes, churches, communities & world!
