How to create an atmosphere of gratitude at your Thanksgiving celebration

How awesome would it be if you could create an atmosphere of gratitude at your Thanksgiving celebration? You'd be giving your guests a memory to treasure for Thanksgivings to come. More importantly, you'd be sharing the true purpose of Thanksgiving Day with those around you.

To help make this possibility a reality, we've come up with 10 gratitude-inspired ideas that are easy to implement and will add an element of fun to your Thanksgiving celebration. 

Personalized Gratitude Notes

Before your guests arrive, place a note under each guest's plate stating why you are grateful for them. For example, grandma's note might say, "I'm grateful for the Sunday dinners you make for us. I just love how you bring our family together each week." By showing each guest why you are grateful for them, you'll make them feel loved. They might even pay it forward to someone else!

Giving Thanks Tablecloth

Get a white or cream colored tablecloth and different colored Sharpie markers, or a white paper table cloth and a box of crayons. Cover your Thanksgiving table with it, then have your family and guests write or draw what they're grateful for on it. For the little ones who can't yet write on their own, trace their hand and help them draw and write their name.

Gratitude Bowl

You'll need a bowl, strips of paper and pens for this one. When your guests arrive, have them each write what they are grateful for on a piece of paper and then place it in the bowl. When it's time for dessert, have each person pick one of the gratitude strips of paper out of the bowl and read it out loud to the group. To make it even more fun, try to guess whose gratitude strip you're reading!

For What Are You Grateful Board

Set up a chalkboard or dry-erase board in a room where your guests will be hanging out. Encourage everyone to write at least one thing on the board for which they are grateful. At the end of the celebration, take a picture of the board and share it on your favorite social media site. (Share it with us on Instagram too! @perfectlyprintedparties)

Grateful Hands 

Have each guest (both children and adults) trace their hand on a piece of paper and cut it out. Then, have them write on the cutout their name and what they are grateful for. After everyone is done, you can string them together with ribbon to form a banner to hang, or place each person's hand on their placemat or plate.

Grateful Sign

Provide each guest with a small canvas, paint and stickers. Using these tools, have them each create a sign they can take home and hang to remind them to be grateful every day. 

Gratitude Journal

Provide each guest with a small notebook (it can be handmade or store bought). Encourage them to write a note each day listing what they are grateful for. Have your guests bring their journal back next Thanksgiving to share some of the things they wrote throughout the year. This is a great way to help them remember to be grateful every day, not just on Thanksgiving.

Grateful For You Notes

Before your guests arrive, write down each person’s name on a small piece of paper and place it in a bowl. As your guests arrive, have them randomly select one of the pieces of paper from the bowl and write why they are grateful for that person on the back of it. Go around the table reading them out loud after dinner.

Scavenger Hunt 

Before the big day, put together bags and a list of items that can be easily found outside near your home. Thanksgiving Day, divide your guests into teams, with both children and adults on each team. Have each team work together to find the items on the list. When all teams have returned with their collected items, have some people share what made the scavenger hunt enjoyable. Besides being a super fun activity, you might also notice your guests showing a sense of togetherness when they return.

Nature Walk

After you've finished eating turkey and watching football, go outside! While you're out there enjoying the fresh air and walking off some of the calories you ate, talk to each other about what you love most about nature and being outside.

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