As a young mom, I was eager to find a way to make the month of November leading up to Thanksgiving meaningful to our girls. I wanted to help them develop habits of thankfulness leading up to the main day of feasting and family. This simple, easy, and inexpensive “recipe” uses common household items, and it’s easy to throw together right before dinner or bedtime on November 1st. (You can even make it on November 3rd or 10th if you get a “late” start!) Another plus is it’s easily portable! November was always a very transient month for us, full of travel for missions conferences and even a faraway vacation one year. If you find yourself on the move, just slip your book and a pencil in your travel bag and give thanks while you’re on the go!
Here’s the quick and easy recipe for giving thanks that we’ve been making a part of our holidays since 2010:
Giving Thanks Book
2 sheets plain paper
10 sheets lined paper
1 hand for each child
markers & colored pencils
a little time each day, November 1 – Thanksgiving Day
Trace your children’s hands on the plain paper and have them decorate their handprint as a turkey. (If you have more hands or larger hands than what will fit on one page, put some on the back cover or just add as many pages as needed to the cover.) Use plain paper for the front and back cover of your “book” that contains the lined paper. Staple the pages together. Write the year and “Our Giving Thanks Book” as the title on the cover.
Each day in November, write down the date and each family member’s name or initial. At breakfast, dinner, or bedtime, pass the book around for everyone to write one line about what they are thankful for that day. Include the things your family is thankful for in your prayers, giving praise to God for His blessings. Anytime you have guests, include them by having them write down something for which they are thankful, too! On Thanksgiving Day, read over everything you’ve been grateful for all month.
Save your book each year and enjoy remembering the history of God’s blessings and your family’s gratitude each November!
Now, as my girls are grown and beginning their own adventures in life, I treasure this little bit of family history that records how we have given thanks each November. Plus, I love seeing how their hands – and their creativity – have grown over the years. My only regret is not starting this tradition sooner. And my hope is that this little practice will find its way into their own families someday. Cameron and I are thinking ahead to how we will adapt the idea when we are the only two at home. Maybe we will trace our own hands and decorate them like turkeys!
