How To Create and Use a Gratitude Jar

Foster gratitude and thankfulness with your family this season by creating and using a gratitude jar.

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The fall season always gets me thinking about gratefulness, between National Gratitude Day and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. It’s like you almost can’t help but have it in the back of your mind. Did you know that many studies have shown a direct link between gratitude and happiness? Robert Emmons Ph. D. completed many studies showing that people who practice gratitude were 25% happier than those who didn’t. Today, I want to talk about how to create and use a gratitude jar for your home and family.

What is a gratitude jar? Well… a gratitude jar is a jar, glass, bowl, or some type of container where you can place your thoughts and feelings of gratitude. It is up to you on how you use this, but I will provide some simple suggestions that work for most any family.

What is the point of a gratitude jar? We are almost trained to focus on negativity. Many people will jump on the first opportunity to complain about something, but will passively accept something positive. A gratitude jar is a conscious and tangible reminder to shift our mindset. In turn, this will help to foster grateful thinking, and a keen ability to appreciate the little things and acknowledge the positives.

Keep reading to learn more about how to create and use a gratitude jar, and thoughtful ideas to get you and your family started. Watch the video at the end that shows the steps in a quick overview.

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Supplies Needed

• Jar or container: I used an extra pickle jar we had washed out. It doesn’t have to be a jar, it can be a cup, bowl or any type of container that can hold paper pieces. If you don’t hold onto jars for no reason… like I do… then you can usually find some online or at the dollar store.
• Label: I used a peel and stick chalkboard label from the large pack of them I have laying around. You don’t have to use this, although it is convenient! I used chalk markers to write on the label. You can also just use a paper label, paint on the jar itself, or cut out a piece of paper and tap or glue it on. Be creative and do what works for you and your budget. If purchasing labels, make sure they are the right size for your jar.
• Writing Utensils: this really depends on how you plant to decorate. I used chalkboard labels with chalk markers. You can use regular markers on paper, paint markers on the jar, or acrylic paints and a paint brush on the jar.
• Decorations/Crafty Supplies: this can be whatever you or your kids want to use to decorate. We painted our jar with acrylic paints, and tied a ribbon around it. You can use paints, stickers, glue, glitter, whatever you would like! Make it yours, and make it special. Let your kids have fun being creative and crafty. Or, you can leave it simple and plain, which is also very nice.
• Construction Paper: use construction paper for a colorful flare, or you can use regular paper as well.

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How To Create a Gratitude Jar

Creating your gratitude jar should be simple and fun! Don’t over complicate it, it doesn’t need to be perfect, only perfect for you and your family.

Step 1

Prepare your container. Whatever you are using for a gratitude jar, make sure it’s ready to decorate. I used an old pickle jar, so I made sure to let it soak with some water and cleaner to get rid of the pickle smell. First I washed it with soap and water, then I let it sit for a few hours with the water and cleaner mixture.

Step 2

Prepare your craft supplies, and decide how you will place the name on. If you are using the chalkboard labels, make sure there is a clean dry area to place the sticker. Lay the sticker starting from one side and letting it glide onto the container. You can use a credit card to swipe over the label and remove any air bubbles if you want to make it neat.

Step 3

Decorate your jar to your liking. Add whatever makes you and your kids happy. Make it fun, creative, artistic, or just leave it with a simple label. Do whatever makes you feel happy with it. If you are adding a bow with ribbon, like I did, be sure to either glue it or use double sided tape to secure it in place. Hot glue works best on glass.

Step 4

Make your thought tags. These are small tag sized paper pieces that you can write your grateful thoughts on. I used construction paper to make mine. I cut the construction paper in half long ways, and then cut the tags out of the halves. They can be whatever size you please, but mine are about 1″ tall. I put these inside a small drawer organizer to hold them, but you can put them in a Ziploc bag or whatever you have to keep them together.

Step 5

You should be all set to start using your gratitude jar. Now you will need to determine how you want to use it.

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How To Use A Gratitude Jar

You can use a gratitude jar in any way that works for your family. Some ideas are:

• Each person adds one tag they are grateful for each day
• Add tags you are grateful for as you think of them
• Have a nightly gratitude talk at dinner and add your tags
• You can add names, or leave the tags nameless
• Read your gratitude tags once a week
• Save your gratitude tags and go over them for Thanksgiving Day
• Choose a tag daily to read and talk about it together

The ideas for how to use this are endless, but the idea is the same. Take the time to add your grateful thoughts to the jar, and review these thoughts as a family to spread the gratitude.

Starter Ideas for Thoughts of Gratitude

Your grateful thoughts, or thought tags, don’t need to be extravagant. The point is to shift your mindset to be grateful for all the things in life, big or small. Sometimes it can be hard to think of grateful thoughts to share, so I figured I would give some starter ideas.

Today I am grateful for…

• my family
• being healthy
• my children
• my mom/dad
• having a yummy dinner
• the nice weather
• going to the park
• spending a day with family
• watching a movie
• my plants thriving/growing
• a yard to play in
• my dogs / pets
• taking a bubble bath
• the dishes being done
• ice cream
• a warm towel out of the dryer
• making breakfast together
• the weekend!!

These ideas might not apply to you, but I hope that they have helped to spark an idea of what you are grateful for today.

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A post shared by Perfectly Imperfect – Life with Lyndsey (@perfectlyimperfect_lwl)

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