Some of my best memories are those that surrounded the holidays. For an only child, I was blessed to have a large family that gathered every Thanksgiving and Christmas. Grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins. I didn’t realize what a blessing I was experiencing until it was over, for the most part, after the passing of my grandparents.
We must grasp the power of showing our gratitude towards others while we can.
A few years back, Brian and I took time to brainstorm specific ways we’re thankful for those who would sit around our Thanksgiving table that night. We wrote both serious and funny reasons on slips of paper and put them in tiny Thanksgiving-themed bags. I printed off simple tags that read Why We’re Thankful for You, tied them to the bag, added their name, and used them as place cards.
After we finished eating that night, each person took a turn drawing a slip of paper from their bag and reading it aloud. It added a little more meaning (and laughter!) to our time together, and for this I am grateful.
{If I do it again, I may get everyone involved by writing down one reason for each person before the meal.}
Practically any place card can become a personal opportunity to show our gratitude. The tent-type works especially well. I’ve used these for tea parties before.
Thankfully, it’s not about our level of craftiness—it’s about finding simple, meaningful ways to show our gratitude towards another person—and there’s no better season to put our feelings into action.
I pray that you and those you love will have a very blessed Thanksgiving.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
The spirit of gratefulness permeates the month of November like none other, and for good reason. Thanksgiving, filled community food pantries, families gathered, memories made, etc.
In celebration, every Monday and Wednesday during November, I’ll share specific and creative ways we can shift gratitude from a feeling to an action.
Today’s project will give us plenty of time to gather all our gratefulness into a glass jar before Thanksgiving. I touched on the subject back in 2013 and felt it was time to bring it up again because I know the impact it made on those who received my gratitude in a jar.
{Start A “Why I’m Grateful For You” Jar Today}
Small Mason jar or any pint-sized jar (based on how many pieces of paper you use)
Paper and Pen
Ribbon, markers, or peel-off lettering to decorate jar
Cut paper into small tag-size pieces. On each piece of paper, write out one specific reason why you are grateful for that person. The more specific, the better.
It can be something small or seemingly insignificant. Share a memory or a specific way that person makes you feel. You can use a random number of tags to be opened at any time, or…
I made one of these jars for each of my grandmothers a few years before their passing. I gave it to them at Thanksgiving, filled with 31 tags, asking them to read one tag every day in December. They both shared how much it meant to them to read the specific ways they’d blessed my life. I didn’t want there to be any question in their minds as to how much they meant to me, how much I loved them.
Gratitude in action is a beautiful thing.
How can you put your gratitude in action through a “Grateful for You” jar this Thanksgiving?
Congratulations to Heather, the random winner of the tea mug filled with tea, and especially prayers. I just need your address! 🙂
Cathy Baker
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