Family gratitude activities can help you and your loved ones celebrate Thanksgiving and appreciate each other this time of year. Create meaningful family traditions that are centered around gratitude and add creativity and personal reflection to your holiday.
Gratitude Rock Garden
Gather smooth, flat stones — one for each person at your Thanksgiving table. Provide paint markers and ask each loved one to decorate a rock by writing or drawing something they are grateful for this year. When everyone is done, arrange the rocks as your centerpiece. You can add to the pile every year and grow the collection into a gratitude rock garden.
Thankfulness Lanterns
Using small brown or white paper bags, ask each loved one to write what they’re thankful for on their bag with black marker. Add small LED candles inside and you’ll have gratitude greeting to line your porch or sidewalk and greet your Thanksgiving guests.
Jar of Thanks
Provide small papers and pens around your house during Thanksgiving break. Encourage everyone to write down something they are thankful for every day, fold it, and put it in the jar. Then, at the Thanksgiving meal, take turns picking out and reading the notes. Everyone can try to guess who wrote it, or you can all simply enjoy the sentiment.
Thanksgiving Recipe Book
Ask each family member to contribute their favorite Thanksgiving recipe. Something their grandma made, or their favorite dish as a child. Compile the recipes into a binder, and add to it every year.