Thankful Jar

For the last few years over the Thanksgiving holiday we have had this tradition of taking a jar and some beads. As we eat we pass the jar and beads and everyone has to think of something they are thankful for... it is neat to watch the jar get filled up! One year I was "secretary" and wrote down all the things we were thankful for. It is easy sometimes for us to forget all that we have been blessed with throughout the year. I like to re-read the list a few times as a reminder of all the things my family is thankful for! It also impresses me what the kids come up with on their own. After the jar has been passed several times it is full of the colorful beads! We sometimes keep the jar out on the table through Christmas time as a reminder of all we have to be thankful for! It is just too easy sometimes to get lost in the hub bub of the holidays or start to feel sorry for ourselves when things go wrong and forget all the blessings we do have (such as our refridgerator and vacuum breaking about the same time - neither one a cheap replacement and both happened in October/November! Nice. But when I thought about all that we DO have it made purchasing those things a little easier to accept.)

This year, I want to continue to do the jar, but also start a journal of sorts so that year after year we can look and see what we were thankful for each year. I am thinking of decorating a journal together with the kids, maybe just using a spiral notebook and covering it with scrapbook paper. I am just tossing around ideas in my head about how to make this a better tradition than what we already have... ya'll got any ideas?

I am happy for our tradition but looking for ways to make it even better!