Our Thanksgiving Box

When my sister and I were young (before our brother was born), we used to make a yearly "Thanksgiving Box." We would decorate a box, usually a kleenex box, with drawings and colored paper, and then we would cut small strips of paper and each day in November we would write one thing we were thankful for on them. Then at dinnertime on Thanksgiving day, we would read all of the things we had written. I remember how excited we would get about it, and we would come up with some very interesting things to be thankful for (I wonder how often my parents laughed about the things we put on our pieces of paper).

I had kind of forgotten about this tradition until my mom reminded me of it over the weekend. So I suggested making one, and my boys got SO excited they started right away, just like I did when I was young.

They decorated the box themselves. I suggested using paper, but they just wanted to draw straight on the box.
Then Ethan cut the strips of paper out and set them next to the box. Since Saturday, each boy has filled out at least 10 strips of paper with things they are thankful for. (Christian and I have each done a couple too.) (The pictures, if you are wondering, are two turkeys, a blue fire, a Christmas tree, and of course I♥U.)And here is what our table looks like right now. It will definitely need to be cleaned off before we eat Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.Even though Thanksgiving is only three days away, if you have children, make a Thanksgiving box today. Your kids will be so excited. But, if they're like Aidan, you may have to remind them eight or nine times that you are not writing these thankful notes to Santa Claus. Sigh.