Mommy & Me Monday: Harvest Blessing Mix & Gratitude Journal Activity

I have two ideas for you this week. I have done both of these in the past, but not for a few years. The first idea is a little Gratitude journal that you make with your family on Thanksgiving Day when everyone is gathered around the table. All you need are some shipping tags (or you could use pieces of cardstock or even index cards), some sticker letters (or you could write the letters with markers), and some ribbon or string to tie the tags together once you are done.

Below you can see ours from 2008. Ahead of time you need to put one letter on each tag, one for each letter of the alphabet. You can also make a "title" tag like I did which says "Gratitude" and the year. Do not attach the tags together yet. At your Thanksgiving gathering, pass out a tag to every person present. If you have fewer than 26 people, some people will get multiple tags. Each person has to write one (or more) thing they are thankful for that begins with the letter on their tag. Then you gather all the tags, place them in ABC order, and tie them together. You'll have a great little keepsake of your gathering that you can look back on in years to come. If you like this idea, don't make it too hard. I think I literally slapped the one shown together about 30 minutes before we went to my mom's house on Thanksgiving Day. Just use what you have on hand to make it work.





Here is a page from the inside to show what a completed tag looks like. Wilma wrote this one!!




The next idea is called Harvest Blessing Mix. I like to make up bags of these to give out as little gifts in November. (Although I have not made them for at least 5 years until this year.) The boys helped me (kind of..........mostly they just ate the pieces that spilled out of the bowl) make these. They will each take a bag to their teachers this week. I'll also give some to my co-workers and we'll pass out some to our relatives when we get together with them on Thanksgiving. Each item in this mix represents an aspect of Thanksgiving. If you would like a copy of the tag I used, please email me and I'll send it to you. Blogger doesn't allow me to upload a document for download, unfortunately.


To make this mix you'll need: Bugles (I have never seen these at No Frills locally, but I did find them at Newman's; Dollar General also has them); orange slices (you could substitute dried fruit, but I LOVE orange slice candy, so that's what I used); pretzel twists; peanuts (or you could substitute sunflower seeds) and candy corn.




Mix it all together in a big bowl and then divide it into individual bags for giving. I like to attach a tag that tells the significance of each item. Here is a list of that if you are interested:


The Bugles represent a cornucopia or horn of plenty; the Pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer; the Candy Corn represents the five kernels per day the Pilgrims were given during the first winter; the Orange Slices represent a successful harvest; and the Peanuts are seeds which represent the potential for a bountiful harvest next season.

Wouldn't you just love to give out bags of these this year? Be sure to save some to munch on yourself! I have the extra orange slices stashed away in a place only I can find!