Thanksgiving is the only holiday entirely dedicated to giving thanks for everything and everyone that we are blessed enough to have in our lives. It can often be difficult to decide how to show your gratitude, so here are a few ways that you can be thankful this Thanksgiving!
1) Cook a Meal for Someone Else
Thanksgiving can often be a difficult time for those who do not have family or do not have the means to celebrate, so a great thing that you can do is cook a homemade meal for them. Doing this will make the holiday all the more wonderful and memorable for them and will put a good feeling in your heart as well. If you want to go the extra mile, you could invite them to your family dinner and include them in the celebration!
2) Make Cards for the Elderly or Sick
During a holiday focused on being surrounded by family, those who are without family feel especially alone. Take some time out of your day to make a card for some of those people. Your local hospital or senior center would be more than happy to accept these cards, and they will without a doubt bring a smile to the faces of those who receive them.
3) Host a Food Drive
Gather your friends, family, youth group, or whoever you can together, and host a food drive. Many families and individuals are in need of food during this time of the year, and there is no better way for you and your loved ones to show your gratitude than by joining together to help others. Food banks and homeless shelters are in desperate need of donations during the holidays and would be thankful for anything you can give!
4) Keep a Gratitude Journal
A way for you to silently show your gratitude individually during the Thanksgiving season is by keeping a gratitude journal. You can do this by writing down what you are grateful for each day to remind yourself of all the things you have to be thankful for. If you are having a tough day, you can look over your past entries and remind yourself that things aren’t so bad because you still have so much to be grateful for.
5) Donate Your Clothes
With the weather getting more chilly close to the holidays, many individuals are in dire need of warm clothes. Take the time to go through your closet and see if there are any jackets, hats, pants, long sleeve shirts, or other clothing that you don’t wear anymore, and give them to charity. The people who get your clothes will be much more thankful for your clothes than you are with them just sitting in the closet.
There are so many different ways to show your gratitude during this Thanksgiving season, and the items on this list are certainly not the only ways to do so. If you feel your heart calling you to do something this holiday season, lean into the feeling, and always remember to be grateful for all you have.