Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” Willliam Arthur Ward
Being grateful…that is what Thanksgiving Day means for me. Not so much pilgrims, turkey or football, but the opportunity to reflect on how blessed we are.
A time to be truly grateful ~ ‘thankful’. Trying to instill this in our girls we have a Thanksgiving family tradition. I want to share our tradition with you.
Our Thanksgiving tradition involves a few simple things: a box, some paper, pencils & a little time. Time to really think about all the things big or small for which we are thankful.
This is how it works:
- We set the table for dinner early in the day;
- At each place is a note card & a pencil;
- Each of us writes what we are thankful for on the card;
- All the cards go in the box.
Between the entree & dessert we pass around the box, each person reading another’s card. Some are funny, some are heart warming, some make you think ~ but all make us more thankful than before.
We have been doing this since 2008. Each years “thankfuls” go in envelopes inside the box. Reading over the past years notes has also become a bit of a tradition. It is sweet to see the changing handwriting ( and spelling! ) of the girls and recall what was important to them & us each passing year.
Truth be told, until I was preparing for this post our Thankful Box was a decorated shoe box. Definitely took the box up a few notches for this tour and glad I did. I even made two! One for each of my girls when they have families of their own. Here are the before & after photos of our new thankful box.
I started with a an unfinished wooden box. The details on the making of our thankful box can be a blog post on their own. For now I will just mention that I used Miss Mustard Seed’s milk paint & love the finish. If it seems you want to know more about the box, I can write a separate post for another day, as you need to get along and visit the other bloggers on the tour!
Below is the tour line up. Visit each blog ~ I know you you will be thankful you did!
** Kelly **
Thistlewood Farm
Eclectically Vintage
My Soulful Home
Cedar Hill Farmhouse
Southern Hospitality
Linking up at Imparting Grace
What a beautiful tradition Kelly! I love that you even made one for each of your girls too! I’m thankful for you my friend and this blogging ‘thing’ we’re enjoying together!
Cheers
Thank you Therese!
What a beautiful tradition! Love this whole series….so many fun and creative ideas for the thankfulness in all of us!
Thank you for creating such joy!
Happy day to you.
karianne
You are a joy Karianne! Thank you for your kind words.
Kelly, what a great family tradition. I love the framed leaves on the box. So sweet.
Many thanks Kim…I have had those leaves, a big pile of them, for years. I pick them up at an a estate sale. I have tried to figure out ways to use them so many times. Finally found a good use…but I still have so many! Anybody want a thankful box with leaves?!
What a fun idea- I love that you save them every year! I am truly thankful for blog friends like you!
Kelly
Thank you Kelly!!
Kelly,
What a beautiful tradition! The years when our family gets together for Thanksgiving we usually do something different each year, but that doesn’t allow us to see that my little niece at 4 was thankful for nail polish! Your daughters have a beautiful start to their family tradition. ~Jeanette
Thank you Jeanette! It is sweet to look back & see what was important enough to get on a Thankful card as the years go by. I think we had nail polish once too!
How sweet! I really like this and can in-cooperate it into our Thanksgiving as well. The box is just gorgeous and perfect for the season.
Thanks for organizing this tour so we can all be a little more thankful.
Loves.
Oh wow Meegan, yes do incorporate it! Awesome! Thank you…
What a wonderful family tradition, Kelly! Love your thankful box. Enjoyed getting to know you more through this series, thanks for having me.
Same here Rhoda! Thank you of your kind words. I look forward to getting to know you better as we travel along.
I LOVE this tradition, Kelly! What a great idea and I adore how the box turned out. The addition of the molding and the leaves and acrons…so pretty! And the MMS color is beautiful!
I am so thankful that we met through blogging and feel blessed to call you my friend!
Julie
Thank you so much Julie!
Oh I so love this tradition..especially the fact that you save these “thankful notes” from year to year…that is so wonderful… I think I will do this starting this year…my mom will be 88 right after Thanksgiving…and it will be so wonderful to look back as you said on what we all wrote…There are about 50 of us…family and extended family…so it should be such fun..
What a compliment Shirley! I love that you will try out my family tradition. Let me know how it goes. With 50 guests you will need a HUGE box!
What a beautiful tradition! I really enjoyed being a part of this series with some of the most amazing women I know!
What a beautiful tradition and beautiful keepsake-
I’d love to see a post on the how-to’s!
Thanks again! This tour has been such a delight and must have been tons of work for you!
Cheers
Christina
Thanks so much! It wasn’t too much work & was a lot of fun! Will do on the how to!
This is a wonderful family tradition!! Never too late to start a new tradition. We usually speak about what we’re thankful, but I like the idea of writing it down and reading the cards year after year.
Mary Alice
Oh yes Mary Alice give it a try. You don’t even need the box. Just tie the ‘Thankfuls’ together with a pretty ribbon.
What a very beautiful tradition! Makes Thanksgiving more special. I am loving your blog. I just followed you on Facebook and Pinterest and looking forward to reading more of your posts!
Thanks Jhanis! I am so glad I found your blog thru Blogher. How are you faring with the storm? Thanks for your kind words & the follows….will do the same!
This is just beautiful, Kelly. I love the box and the idea behind it. I really REALLY need to start a tradition like this. There have been so many amazing traditions and projects shared on this tour. I am so glad to have been a part of this with you and this amazing group of ladies! xo
Get started my friend! I loved getting to know you better during the tour. Thank you for your wonderful post & friendship!
Kelly,
Will you be adding the ‘Thankful Boxes’ to your Etsy shop? That is such a sweet idea for Thanksgiving!
Oh how kind of you to think they would be a hit! I hadn’t considered that..but maybe…? Thanks for visiting My Soulful Home. Hope to see u here again soon…
I just LOVE this tradition!! I’ve pinned this to my Thanksgiving board. Thank you so much for sharing at Grace at Home. I’m featuring you this week!
Thank you so much Richella! I really appreciate that.