This time of year, we focus on Thanksgiving, getting together with family, and being thankful. (Although more and more it seems that Christmas is starting to overshadow Thanksgiving.) Let’s be intentional this month and give both Thanksgiving and thanksgiving their proper place.
If you’re looking for ways to incorporate thankfulness with your family this month, here are some ideas:
- Start off dinnertime counting your blessings: As you begin dinner together each night, have each family member go around and say what they were thankful for that day. Even if the day was bad or didn’t go as planned, encourage each person to find the blessings that happened anyway. Or you can add/modify the conversation to center around why each person is thankful for the rest of the family members at the table.
- Create a thankful garland: Make paper feathers out of construction paper and each day have each family member write down what they’re thankful for. (You can choose one color per family member so you’ll know whose is whose, or you can mix it up.) Poke a hole in them and hang them up on ribbon or twine somewhere in your home. You can save them and hang them up each year and can also add new feathers annually.
- Send out Thanksgiving cards: Write notes to friends, family, teachers, coaches, etc., to let them know how thankful your family is to have them as part of your life.
- Put Together Operation Christmas Child Boxes: Out of thankfulness for our blessings, we enjoy being a blessing to other children by putting together these boxes. You can find more information here. https://www.samaritanspurse.org/what-we-do/operation-christmas-child/?utm_source=Bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=m_YYOC-B19V&utm_content=OCCBrandHomepage&msclkid=c5732f86e9cc1cc658eb7247087d9a29&utm_term=operation%20christmas%20child The national collection week is November 18-25.
- Donate your time: Collect food for a food drive. Collect coats for a community outreach. Serve together at a soup kitchen or food pantry.
This month is a great time for us to count our blessings, but it doesn’t have to stop in November! Each day provides the opportunity for us to be grateful and thank God for our blessings. We can continue to incorporate thankfulness within our families each and every day.
“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. His love endures forever.”
– Psalm 136:1