Tag: giving thanks

Ways to Teach Gratitude to Your Children at Thanksgiving

Are you trying to incorporate giving thanks into your Thanksgiving celebrations? Teaching children the importance of gratitude at Thanksgiving is a wonderful way to instill important values. If you are searching for ways to teach gratitude to your children at Thanksgiving, consider the following ideas.

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  1. Role Model: Be your children’s best learning resource. When you show gratitude in your own life, your kids are more likely to follow your example.
  2. Explain: Talk to kids about what Thanksgiving represents – a time to be thankful for the good things in their lives.
  3. Keep a Journal: Encourage your children to keep a gratitude journal. Younger children may need help with entries. Writing things, they are thankful for regularly promotes gratitude beyond Thanksgiving. The journals turn into keepsakes over time.
  4. Share Stories: Go to the library and get books about being thankful. Read the books together or share stories that emphasize gratitude and kindness.
  5. Volunteer Together: Involve your children in acts of kindness or volunteering to help others in need. Explain why you are volunteering at an animal shelter, homeless shelter, or other non-profit organization.
  6. Thankful Activities: Play games or do crafts that focus on gratitude, like making a “Thankful Tree.” Write out what you are grateful for this Thanksgiving on pre-cut construction paper leaves. Then, hang the leaves from your tree. The activity is fun and a great decoration piece for Thanksgiving.
  7. Family Discussion: Have discussions at the dinner table about what each family member is thankful for this Thanksgiving.
  8. Write Thank You Notes: Teach kids to express gratitude by writing thank-you notes for gifts or kind gestures. Even if the “thank you” note is a drawing, the lesson is still there.
  9. Show Appreciation: Praise them for demonstrating gratitude and sharing their feelings of thankfulness. Encourage them to continue.
  10.  Patience: Remember that teaching gratitude is an ongoing process, and kids may need time to fully understand its value. Be supportive. Repeat the reason for being grateful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving

I just want to wish everyone who is celebrating today, a very Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you get to spend the day with lots of food and your loved ones (including your four-legged family members).

Thank you for following my blog. I am truly grateful for those who read my ramblings.

Start a New Thanksgiving Tradition

Thanksgiving is the perfect time to give thanks for everything in your life. Gathering friends and family for a bountiful meal is a long-standing holiday tradition. Are you looking for a new tradition to go beyond gathering around the dinner table? Consider the following ideas:

  • Donate one or two turkeys and all the fixings for a family in need
  • Volunteer at a homeless shelter or other community organization
  • Donate groceries or money to your local food bank
  • Invite your elderly neighbor over for Thanksgiving dinner
  • Unplug for social media. (Yes, wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving, but then put your device on vibrate.)
  • Bake (or order) an extra pie for your neighbor, dog groomer, hairstylist, postal worker, child’s teacher, bus driver, etc.
  • Stay in your pajamas, eat a buffet-style breakfast, and watch the Thanksgiving parade together
  • Make homemade Thanksgiving decorations, placemats, and name tags
  • Set up a craft area to occupy children while you are preparing the meal.
  • Watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving 
  • Binge-watch your favorite series
  • Host a Friendsgiving
  • If the weather allows, get aside as a family, go for a walk, go for a nature hike, or play touch football.
  • Play cards or board games
  • Participate in a Turkey Trot
  • Go on a trip
  • Take a group photo
  • Write your Thanksgiving blessings on leaf-shaped notecards and hang on a tree. Or collect them to save in your scrapbook

Spending time together is the best tradition. Enjoy each other’s company during the downtime of the busy holiday.

 

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Ways to Give Thanks

November is about recognizing the positive attributes happening in your life right now. Showing gratitude about your daily life is good for your well-being. Are you looking for ways to give thanks? Consider reaching out to someone in need or volunteering. If you need inspiration, check out the following list.

  • Donate groceries to a food bank
  • Volunteer at an animal shelter or rescue.
  • Buy a coffee or hot chocolate for your co-workers
  • Give flowers to your child’s teacher
  • Cook a meal for a family going through a rough time
  • Leave a tip above the standard rate
  • Donate your gently used clothes to a women’s shelter (personal hygiene products are also a welcomed donation)
  • Offer to drive an elderly person around to run errands or go to a doctor’s appointment
  • Leave a positive review on social media about your recent restaurant visit. Give your waiter or waitress some positive feedback.
  • Engage in a kind gesture. Hold the door open for someone. Or allow a person with a single item check out ahead of you and your cartload of groceries.
  • At the drive-thru, pay for the next person’s order
  • Write a thank you card to your favorite teacher.
  • Volunteer at a nursing home.
  • Take a bag of groceries to a relative or person in need.
  • Volunteer or donate money to a soup kitchen or homeless shelter
  • Volunteer to babysit
  • Tape quarters inside of a dryer’s lid at the public laundry mat
  • Tape quarters to a vending machine
  • Donate toys for the holiday season

Finding small ways to give thanks may have a significant impact on another’s person day.