Thanksgiving seems to be the forgotten holiday. We enjoy everything Halloween and push right on to Christmas. I mean, they were putting out Christmas stuff at Hobby Lobby in JULY! Yes, like when it was 2 degrees shy of the face of the sun here, they were decking the halls with boughs of holly. CRAZY. Today I am sharing my Thankful Jar Craft.
I LOVE Christmas time but I also want to enjoy Thanksgiving and be Thankful! Michael is learning all about seasons and the holidays that go along with them so we took some time today to make a “Be Thankful Jar” and talk about Thanksgiving. Side note: He thinks “Thanksgiving” is a time frame, as in the month of November. “Mom, it’s already Thanksgiving, duh, it’s November!” He cracks me up!
First I took a large glass vase/hurricane that I had used for the candy bar at our wedding reception. Next took some raffia and tied it around the jar. We painted some small plaques from Michaels ($0.49 each) with chalkboard paint.
After they were dry I let Michael “prime” them with a full coat of chalk per the directions. We wiped them clean afterwards with a rag. I wasn’t sure how I would use them so we ended up only using 1 of the 3 we originally painted.
Next I looped the chalkboard plaque through the raffia knot using some orange ribbon and hot glue. We wrote “Be Thankful” on our plaque.
I cut some fall colored card stock into small rectangles. Each member of our family has a color.
We wrote some things we were thankful for right away. Michael’s are great! He thought of these all on his own!!!
“I am Happy For Books”
“Jesus in my heart” That Catholic Preschool is paying off 
We added a few for Ryan such as, balls, balloons, walks and “Elmo’s Peek-a-boo book” (all thought of by Michael) and then Daddy wrote down some of his own also. We folded them up and dropped them in, with plenty of empty cards to still be filled through out the month.
We will read these on Thanksgiving! It was nice to see Michael really thinking about what he was thankful for. Later in the day, he’d run off to write something else that popped in his mind. He has really been choosing things that are meaningful also, not just every toy he owns! That is nice to see!
So Be Thankful! Take time to enjoy Thanksgiving during the mad dash to Christmas! November is a great time, let’s not just pass it over!
Comments & Reviews
Laura @ Laura's Crafty Life says
I love this idea. I have been wanting to do something similar. My son has been into the what am I going to get with his birthday just being over and Christmas around the corner. I really want him to focus on how great is life is without all the material stuff. :)
JeannieP says
My son in kindergarten said he is thankful for cereal and hippos. I guess he isn’t listening in Sunday School! My oldest son is away at college. I told him what his little brother said he was thankful for. I asked him what he was thankful for. He took a few moments to think it over (scary) and replied, “I am unable to tell you.” Lord, hear my prayer…
Cheryl says
That just made me laugh out loud! We will just go with him being thankful for clean laundry and food that is not Ramen. I won’t even begin to mention what he is really
thankful for being that he is in college and I fondly remember those days :) Thanks for reminding me what I have to look forward to!
JeannieP says
Just to refresh your memory (if you still have one being a mother and all), I am the one who thanked you over the summer for Car Bingo. I have the preschooler who is obsessed with STOP SIGNS, and speaks non-stop while I drive… Yes, a child in college, in high school, kindergarten and preschool, plus two neurotic beagles, a husband named Mike which I found that “MIKE” is not a name but a condition, and an ex-husband and his patronizing, condescending boney wife. Those are the nice things about her. God thinks he’s funny when he is dealing with me.
Cheryl says
Jeannie, I totally remember now! I remember thinking that 2 things could happen if we let our boys meet: 1. They would ask each other enough questions to let us go get a drink or 2. the world might implode. :)
Maureen says
Che,
You are awesome and an inspiration. Thank you so much for the idea.
Maureen