Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, and it is not celebrated at all in most of the world. I have always been adamant that the Christmas season doesn’t start in our home until Thanksgiving, because I don’t want this critical holiday being skipped. I would hate for the holiday dedicated to gratitude to be overshadowed by the holiday too often focused on obtaining more things.

Last year, I found a new favorite way to celebrate gratitude. The challenge was to write down 100 things I am grateful for. It isn’t hard. The first 20 or so go fast… even up to 50 or 60. Then it started actually requiring thought. It took over an hour of my Thanksgiving morning, and it was a truly remarkable experience. The Lord gives so much that we take for granted.

To share that experience with the kids (who I don’t think would do well sitting down for that long writing such a list in one sitting), a few days ago we started kicking off our school day by adding daily to our gratitude lists. Each child has their own daily goal, and we will continue through Thanksgiving day (maybe even to Saturday when we actually hold our Thanksgiving feast and share it with some new local friends!).

There’s only a few days left, so what goal will you set? Feel free to share in the comments what ways you have found to make Thanksgiving meaningful for you and your family. After all, as Alicia reminded the kids a few days ago in the car,

“What’s the key to happiness in life?” “Gratitude.”