8 Ways to Fill November with Thanksgiving

When my kids were  younger, at the beginning of November, we talked about what we’re most grateful for at dinner each night and everyone picked one “thankful thing” to write on a “thankful leaf” that we added to our “Thanksgiving Tree.”  Our tree is just a collection of branches we found in the backyard and stuck into some of that green florist styrofoam-type stuff in a left-over container I found in the basement. The  “leaves” are made of leaf-shaped pieces of yellow, red and orange construction paper (the kids helped me make them). At dinner each night in November, we wrote something we were thankful for each evening on a leaf then taped it to the branches.

Here’s my sister’s Thanksgiving Tree – she does a “flat” tree that hangs on her wall. Click on the photo below to go to her blog and read lots of great further details about how they do their Thanksgiving tree (pretty similar to what we do).

2. Gratitude Journal
Each November, I’ve focused on upping my personal level of gratitude (which greatly impacts my personal level of happiness) by keeping a gratitude journal. I write about one thing I’m especially grateful for each day in my journal or on Instagram. Sometimes I write just a few words. Sometimes I write a couple paragraphs. This little practice makes me look for the positive every day and celebrate the good things that can be found even in hard days and hard situations. I like the person I am when I’m searching out and celebrating all that is wonderful in my life.

As my kids got older, I’ve encouraged them to keep their own gratitude journals and offered a prize for whoever wrote about something they were grateful for at least 5x/week starting November 1st.

One way to do a gratitude journal is though social media. Using Instagram, Facebook, a blog or email, you (and your older kids if they want to participate) can post a photo or statement about something you’re grateful for each day during November. This can help encourage the joy of gratitude in others while increasing it in yourself.

3. Make expressions of gratitude a deliberate part of our every-day lives
If we’re reading a book to our kids, we can point out where a character in the story lacks something we have and express gratitude for that thing. If we’re enjoying dinner at a restaurant, we can point out how blessed we are to be able to go out to eat and enjoy good food without even having to make it or clean up. If we’re cleaning the house, we can talk about how blessed we are to have carpets to vacuum and toilets to clean when so many families lack the basic things we’ve got. Some years, we’ve made a point of going around the dinner table most evenings in November and sharing one thing we’re especially grateful for that day.

4. Watch video clips and movies and look at photos with your children that make you recognize your blessings. Here are a few great links that have helped me and my family realize how incredibly blessed we are:

• The World is Amazing (by Discovery Channel – points out how cool our world is)
• Where Children Sleep (a photo-essay about children and the places they sleep – from lovely bedrooms to an old mattress on the side of the road to a dirt-floored hut)
• Orphans in Bulgaria (a video I made with the photos I took while visiting orphanages where babies are left in their beds 24 hours a day and where children have very few opportunities for learning and nurturing – we show this at the fundraiser my kids put on in our neighborhood each year. No matter how many times we’ve watched this, it makes us so grateful for our family and our home and all that we have.)
• Queen of Katwe (great family-friendly movie that gives you a glimpse of what it would be like grow up super poor in Uganda)
• The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (about a boy in Africa who figured out how to bring electricity to his town)
• Pollyanna (We love this movie/book. It’s cheesy, yes, but it’s such a great story of optimism and recognizing blessings. Watch a clip or get the whole movie for a family movie night.)
• The Good Lie (such a great movie for kids ages 12+ about refugees coming to America and how amazed they are at all they experience in their new life)
• Share your favorite gratitude-enhancing movies and other resources in the comments!

5. Write thank you notes. Brainstorm with your kids a list of people in your community who you are thankful for and spend a half hour or so writing thank you notes to them. Kids could tape a thank-you note on the mailbox for the mail man, hand a thank-you note to the check-out lady at the grocery store, take a thank you note to their teachers at school, etc. And thank-you notes, videos or emails to relatives and friends far away would be very meaningful as well. There are so many people who do so much for us – many of whom don’t get thanked very often. November is a great time to say thank you.

6. Do service. Many families search out service projects to do during Christmas. Why not focus on service in November as well? December can get so busy and perhaps it’s even more helpful to serve at a soup kitchen or gather clothing for those in need or sing a song at a nursing home in November – before the Christmas rush. As we serve those who are less fortunate, our own blessings are brought into focus for us.

7. Express gratitude for your children and your husband. Make it a daily practice throughout November to tell your spouse and each child one specific thing you are grateful for about them as you tuck them in bed or say goodnight at the end of the day.

This tradition – or a variation of it – has stuck with everyone in our family.  As a college student in Boston, as a missionary in Bulgaria, during the time I worked in Washington DC, and on into my married life, the thankful list has been part of every Thanksgiving. Any roommate, friend or relative involved in any Thanksgiving celebration involving any Eyres has been asked to add their “thankful things” to a list (not many of us have made the effort to find cash register tape – but any piece of paper will do).

Here’s my dad working on a thankful list with some of the kids who attended the Thanksgiving feast last year at their house:

And here he is hanging it up over the table (not exactly in keeping with my mom’s elegant decorations – but something that has become a vital part of our Thanksgiving decor!)

As a mom, I’ve loved focusing on gratitude with my own children each year. I’ve saved precious thankful lists dictated by my little toddlers and painstakingly written out by first graders with creative spelling. Here’s Eliza’s list from when she was in first grade (translations of the most creatively-spelled items below the photo):

1-family, 2-earth, 4-pictures, 5-friends, 6-mountains, 10-flowers, 11-no idea!, 12-numbers, 13-colors, 14-libros (books – she was in a Spanish immersion program at school), 15-apples, 17-chairs, 18-room (no, we don’t give our kids rum), 21-animals, 22-phone

After working collectively and individually on thankful lists, at Thanksgiving dinner, we invite everyone to share the top 5 or 10 things they are thankful for. It is a wonderful way to not only express gratitude but also to learn more about everyone at the table.

One Thanksgiving when our kids were young, my husband and I woke up to find that several of our kids had already made sizeable lists of what they are thankful for, without any reminding from us. Clearly, this tradition makes a difference for them. And taking some time on Thanksgiving to make some sort of “thankful list” helps make it much more than a day of overeating and football with family and friends.

For further explanation of the ideas above and more, you can listen to the brainstorming session I had with my mom and sisters – PODCAST: Thanksgiving Ideas. And for ideas that April and I discussed in a recent podcast, click here: PODCAST: Creating an Attitude of Gratitude.

I hope that some of the ideas here may help you and your family embrace the joy of gratitude this month and make this the best Thanksgiving ever.

QUESTION: What are your favorite traditions and ideas for Thanksgiving?

CHALLENGE: Pick one new activity you’ll do this Thanksgiving Season to focus on gratitude.

About Saren Eyre Loosli

Saren adores her five energetic, adventurous kids (ages 13-18) but doesn't totally adore the mess and busyness and bickering that that comes with them! She grew up all over the world, got her Bachelor's degree at Wellesley College and did her Masters in Education at Harvard University (these days, the diplomas on her wall mostly serve as visual aids when she's trying to convince her all-too-smart teenagers that she DOES know a thing or two!). She went on to design and implement enrichment programs for kids and training programs for teachers. But it was only after she finally found her wonderful husband, Jared, and had five children in five years, that her education and work experience began in earnest!

When she's not trying to answer five - or six - different needs and questions at once, she works on this website (she's Founder and Director of Power of Families).

She currently lives in Ogden, Utah and loves reading, hiking, and biking with her family (or by herself when possible!). She often struggles with balance but finds joy in being involved in many things that are meaningful to her.