Hearts at Home

If you’re looking for some creative ways to induce thankful thoughts this Thanksgiving, here are some ideas to get you started.

Thank them by name – Each person takes the letters in the name of the person next to them and lists something they are thankful for about that person starting with each letter.

Charades – For those who aren’t going to be captivated by a football watching marathon.  Everyone writes down something they’re thankful for. Mix these together and one at a time someone can pick and act it out for the others to guess.

But after Turkey Thursday is over, we head into a busy season of consumerism screaming that we don’t have enough. Rather than exposing your children to the grumbling that is contagious during December, try these tips to maintain Thanksgiving gratitude..

Set the example – In the busyness of life, it’s easy to look past the woman checking you out at the grocery store, or walk through a door a gentleman has held open without saying thank you. Make a conscious choice to habitually thank strangers you interact with.

Give up a little – Try taking away something your family depends on as a reminder of blessings in the ordinary. Commit to only going places within walking distance for a couple of days and that ten-year-old minivan will soon seem like a dream car. 

Create thankful helpers – It’s often easier to do household chores ourselves.  But how much more thankful would your child be if they had to tackle the job on their own? If you’re in the habit of shoveling the driveway behind your teen’s car, try letting them dig out of the next snow. Watch their thankfulness factor the next time you resume responsibility for this chore.

Angie Reedy is a freelance writer living in Central Illinois. For six years Angie wrote market and competitive analyses for a Fortune 50 company, but now focuses her corporate writing and editing experiences into subjects of authentic life and faith. She writes a monthly newspaper column for an Illinois regional newspaper and regularly updates her blog, www.realreedy.blogspot.com. Angie is married to Walter and loves the daily surprises that come with parenting her two young children.

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written by Genny, November 21, 2009

Love this, Angie! I've got a mention of it over at my blog.

Genny

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