I was inspired by a
pinterest board that I saw on Thanksgiving. It is a board with little envelopes that the family writes the things that they are thankful for on each day. I love the look and feel of the board, and have had it stewing in my mind for a little while. The only thing is, we always do a big thanksgiving tree each year (the kids paint the tree on paper and we hang it on the wall) and then we gather leaves from outside and write what we are thankful for on each leaf, each day, with a sharpie marker and stick it to the tree.
The kids are really excited about the tree, and have already been asking (It's not even Halloween yet!) to do it again. So I don't think I can scrap that for something else. So.... while I think I'm going to do paper leaves for the tree this year (last years one looked pretty badly shrivelled by the end of the month), I'm going to stick with it.
As for the Thanksgiving board, what if, in stead of using it to write down the things we are thankful for, we use it as inspiration to do or say good things?
So, here's what I decided to do. I've made the board, as shown...
But inside, I'm going to have business cards that each have something on it for us to do that gives thanks, shows thanks, shows love or appreciation to others.
I made a publisher doc with 30 different cards for us to do.
The idea is that we pull the days card at breakfast, and do that thing during the day.
We will talk about our efforts and what we did at dinner each night.
*Note - I'll arrange the cards so that things we do with family members or requiring extra time fall on the weekend days! *
Here is a list of what my cards say...
1. Tell an immediate family member how much they mean to me
2. Call an aunt or uncle and say "Hi!"
3. Write a letter or draw a picture and mail it to a cousin.
4. Send an email to my parents telling them about my day
5. Phone up a friend I haven't talked to in a while and ask them how they are doing.
6. Talk to a new person in school or work. I will make friends.
7. Tell a good friend how much they mean to me.
8. Be extra nice to my boss or my teacher. I will find something nice to say to that person.
9. Hug my mother. If she's not near me, I will make sure that she knows I love her.
10. Hug my father. If he's not near me, I will make sure that he knows I love him.
11. Treat my pets with extra love and caring.
12. Help out around the house, maybe doing something that I don’t normally do.
13. Tell my sibling(s) something nice about themselves.
14. Donate something to charity (used clothing or toys)
15. Research opportunities for volunteering in my area and sign up for something.
16. Write a note to an immediate family member telling them all the things you love about them.
17. Play a board game with my family.
18. Read a book with my family.
19. Bake something with my family.
20. Have a movie night with my family.
21. Do a random act of kindness
22. Write a secret thank you for being you type note to a friend.
23. Remain content and happy all day. I will remember all that I am thankful for.
24. Draw, paint or create a picture for someone I love.
25. Write a story that includes the people that I love.
26. Bake something nice and bring it into work or school to share
27. Write the names of 10 friends and write down something good about each of them
28. Remember our loved ones that have passed on, and talk about things we loved about them.
29. Do something I love doing. Share it with someone I love.
30. Choose a family member; do something one on one with that person.