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Grateful, Thankful, Blessed.

The holidays are here, y’all. In just a little more than a week we will celebrate Thanksgiving. This may be an unpopular opinion but I like Thanksgiving the best. No gifting. No pressure. Just food and family and friends. It really is a time for me to slow down a little and reflect on all the goodness in my life before the “Christmas Craziness” ensues. I want to encourage you to take some time over the next week and a half to practice gratitude. To help you along, here are 9 Ways to Practice Gratitude this Thanksgiving Season.

1. Keep a Gratitude Journal

This can be as simple or as detailed as you want. For me, I only have about 5 minutes to myself in the quiet of the morning, so this is the Gratitude Journal that I have. It keeps my thoughts organized in one place and I will have it to look back on. It is also beautiful, which helps!

2. Gratitude Affirmations

Affirmations are phrases that we repeat to ourselves to help shift our mindsets. During this time of year, it may be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that seems to creep up on us, consume our lives for 6 weeks and then disappear as quickly as it came. Some examples of Gratitude affirmations are:

“I understand that today is a gift and I will live in gratitude.”
“I am grateful for each person that has taught me something in the past and led me to be who I am today.”
” I am grateful for the love and support I have in my life.”

Here is a great blog that has a lot of affirmations to get you started: Gratitude Blog.

3. Express Your Gratitude to others with Notes

Even if your love language isn’t “Words of Affirmation,” it still feels good to get a note telling you that someone is grateful for you. So, why not spread the gratitude to others. Take a few minutes to tell your spouse, friend or coworker “thank you.” It can be on a beautiful card or on a post it note. Either way, expressing your gratitude is simple yet can have profound effects.

4. Use Family Dinner as a time to discuss Gratitude

I know our schedules are busy but if you can make time for family dinner to be around the table even just one night a week, that’s a win. Use that precious time wisely and start a conversation with your family about gratitude. Use prompts like: What are you grateful for? Do you think gratitude is important and why? I am definitely doing this with my kids at the dinner table this week. Here is a great site with 21 questions to start that gratitude conversation in your home: 21 Questions.

5. Gratitude Craft

My kids love crafts. Even though they can’t write, they can color and glue with the best of them. Here are a few cute kid crafts to do with your little ones:

6. Give Thanks Before Meals

Growing up, we would always pause before eating and say a prayer of thanksgiving. It was a good practice to teach us to be grateful even as children. It doesn’t have to an eloquent speech. Speak from your heart, given thanks for your blessings. Amen.

7. Get Outside and be Grateful for the Beauty of Nature

Take a walk. Look around. Breathe in the cooler air. Be grateful for where you live. It is so easy to keep your head down, nose to the grindstone and not take the time to just look up. I challenge you to look up.

8. Be Grateful for the Routine

This one is a reminder for myself. It is so easy to lose sight of all of the goodness that is in your life. Take a second to think about how truly wonderful it is to have a routine. So many people long to have the job, the marriage, the children, the messy house, the little league games, the weekly grocery store trip. It may seem ordinary to you but it is certainly something to be so very grateful for.

9. Express Gratitude by being KIND

Allow your gratitude to inspire you to spread kindness to others. Hold the door open for someone. Pay for the Starbucks drink of the person behind you in line. Out of your fullness, give to others. I would bet that it will make you feel even more grateful than you could imagine.

I hope that you found this Gratitude Guide helpful. Shift your mindset this season. Be grateful. Enjoy the little things. Happy Thanksgiving, friends!

If you like this blog, check out some of our others: 5 Current Favorite Things for the Working Parent, 33 Random Acts of Kindness, Mommaw’s Easy Chocolate Pie