Gratitude Activities for the Family

Happy November, friends! It's hard to believe that we are mere weeks away from Christmas. Before we get there, however, we have yet another important holiday to celebrate, which rarely ever gets its due these days. Thanksgiving... remember that one? The day we gather with loved ones to celebrate and give thanks for our blessings. As much as I love Christmas, I also love Thanksgiving. This November, as the holiday catalogs flood our mailboxes (yes, my kids already tore through the Amazon toy catalog and marked it all up!), let's focus on giving thanks and giving back. I do my best to keep the tradition alive by pulling my family into the season with gratitude activities. Today, I'm sharing a few of my favorites, and I hope you'll find one or two that strike a chord and will leave you wanting to try them out with your family this November.

Gratitude Pumpkin Tradition

Don't throw your pumpkins away (or compost them) just yet! Grab a large pumpkin to create a sweet centerpiece on your family's table. Every day, add one thing you are thankful for to the pumpkin. Kiddos might need an adult to help write on the pumpkin. Have fun adding to the pumpkin through November, and you'll have a gorgeous display of what you're thankful for as a family at the end of the month. Find more on this Gratitude Pumpkin activity at Coffee and Carpool.

Gratitude Tree (Free Printable)

Have the kids get in on the fun by making their own Gratitude Tree. Grab a free printable gratitude tree at Mama Smiles, so you can make this fun and simple craft with the kiddos. The kids can color the tree, write words of thanksgiving all over it, or you can add your own paper leaves to fill out the tree, writing what you are thankful for on each leaf. Display the tree in an area that will be seen throughout the day so no one will forget to add their word of thanks each day during November.

Thankfulness Chain

I used to love making paper chains when I was a child. This is such a fun thing for kids to do, and you can actually make a really cute decorative garland for your home, simply using construction paper and listing what you're thankful for. The Joys of Boys has a great little tutorial for this fun activity for the month of November. Head on over for the full instructions for this Thankfulness Chain.

Fall Blessings Tree

Creating your own tree and adding leaves (real leaves or tissue paper leaves) is so much fun! We love going on nature walks to find the prettiest leaves we can, and then coming home with them to use for projects. You can create your own tree, and add your own leaves, writing what you are thankful for on each leaf. Check out our full project for the Fall Blessings Tree.

Thankful Wreath

Let your kids get crafty with an adorable foam leaf wreath! Add the things you are thankful for to the leaves, and decorate with a festive ribbon, beads, and dangles! Grab the instructions for this cute DIY Thankful Wreath so you can do this craft with your family this month.

What are some of your favorite gratitude activities?

Are there any here that you're going to try to do with your family this month?

Wishing you a blessed November!