If you’re looking for a fun way to create some Thanksgiving memories, try making an A to Z Gratitude List with your kids this year!
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to help your kids think about the unique things they’re grateful for.
While there are many different ways to focus on gratitude, we really like this A to Z Gratitude list because it is super simple and easy to do!
Keep reading to find out how to do this simple gratitude practice with your kids.
What is an A to Z Gratitude List?
Completing an “I’m Thankful For…” list is a common activity for kids and adults to do around Thanksgiving time. Sometimes kids make their list as part of a school assignment, or adults write down theirs during Thanksgiving dinner.
An A to Z Gratitude List is a lot like an “I’m Thankful For…” list, except it’s just a little more structured.
To make an A to Z Thankful List, you and your kids need to come up with something you are thankful for each letter of the alphabet.
On our A to Z Gratitude List printable, you’ll see that every letter of the alphabet is printed down two columns of the page.
For the letter “A,” you might write that you are thankful for apples, ants, or any other word that starts with “A.”
Certainly, there are some letters that can be more challenging – like Q or Z, but this is where it’s fun to get creative!
Related article: 80 Thanksgiving Would You Rather Questions the Whole Family Will Love
Why We Love the Alphabetical Thankful List
At Jen Bradley|MOMs, we love this simple twist to the typical “I’m Thankful For…” List because it helps kids in a few helpful and educational ways, such as:
- Reinforcing sorting skills
- Teaching list-making
- Teaching alphabetical order
- Encouraging creativity
Of course, we loved that this list helps kids to focus on feeling and recognizing many of the things they have to be grateful for.
In an article on The Greater Good from the University of California, Berkeley, helping our kids develop gratitude includes at least four parts:
- NOTICING things, people, and events in our lives for which we can be grateful
- THINKING about why we have been given those things
- Understanding how we FEEL about the things we have been given
- What we DO to express our appreciation for what we have
We feel that the A to Z Gratitude List is a great way to notice things that we have to be grateful for that we may not think of on a typical “I Am Thankful For…” list!
Free A to Z Printable Gratitude List
To get your free copy of the A to Z Gratitude List from the Jen Bradley|MOMs Free Printable Library, click on this link right here or on the image below.
You’ll find over 100 other awesome printables in the library, such as Thanksgiving I Spy games, scavenger hunts, Thanksgiving mazes, Thanksgiving word puzzles, and more! We hope to see you inside!
If you’d prefer not to leave your email address to get your free A to Z Gratitude List, you can also purchase it from our Etsy shop right here!
Related article: Thanksgiving Mad Libs – 3 Fun and Free Stories for Thanksgiving Fun
How to use the Gratitude List
This fun gratitude list can be filled out in lots of different settings.
Here are a few ideas:
- at home as a family
- as a fun Thanksgiving Day activity
- during Thanksgiving Dinner with family and friends
- as part of a Thanksgiving class party or classroom celebration
- during a church youth activity
- passed out at a harvest festival, Farmer’s Market, or corn maze
Another thing about the A to Z Gratitude printable is that it works for all ages: kids, tweens, teens, and adults! Adults can help younger kids write their lists, while older kids can come up with their own lists instead.
We highly recommended keeping or taking a photo of the gratitude lists that your kids write. It will be awesome to look back in a few years and see how much they’ve grown!
How to make a game out of your A to Z Gratitude List
If you have a large, active group or are hosting a Thanksgiving event, you can easily make this A to Z Gratitude list into a simple game.
To make this printable a fun party game, have a race to see who can fill in the most blanks on their list in a certain amount of time.
(We’ve included a Gratitude List page and Gratitude Race page in our Printables library – so no matter which one you choose, you’ll be good to go!)
If you have young kids playing, you’ll need at least 5-6 minutes.
For adults, you could have a 2-3 minute A to Z Gratitude Challenge!
Related article: 100+ Kids’ Thanksgiving Jokes to Make Them LOL
Our A to Z Gratitude List
Because we’re so excited about this idea, we wanted to fill out our own A to Z Thanksgiving List right here!
Here are things we’re thankful for – one for each letter of the alphabet:
A – air to breathe
B – birds chirping on a sunny morning
C – Christmas trees
D – dogs of all shapes and sizes
E – eggs in nearly any form
F – fleece-lined joggers
G – golden retrievers
H – hydrangeas
I – ice cream stores
J – jumping on a trampoline
K – kangaroos
L – laughter, especially children’s laughter
M – minivans (yes, it’s true!)
N – nights with no interruptions to our sleep
O – ocean waves crashing on the shore
P – pumpkin chocolate chip muffins
Q – quality conversations
R – rainbows after thunderstorms
S – s’mores by the campfire
T – tiny hands
U – umbrella hats
V – violin music
W – waterfalls
X – Xylitol toothpaste
Y – yo-yo tricks
Z – Zoom for extended family gatherings when we can’t be together
That’s our list! We hope you have as much fun filling out yours and we did compiling ours!
Final thoughts about this A to Z Gratitude List
Remember, you don’t have to do ALL of the crafts, gifts, parties, etc, etc, etc to help your kids have a happy Thanksgiving.
You can do a few small and simple things – like printing out your free A to Z Gratitude List from our Free Printable Library and filling it out together.
(If you do not want to leave your email to get the free A to Z Gratitude List, you can also purchase it from our Etsy shop right here!)
Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving!
Related articles about Thanksgiving family fun:
3 Fun and Free Thanksgiving Word Search Printable for Kids of All Ages
21 Awesome Ideas to Make the Most of Your Virtual Thanksgiving
9 Awesome Thanksgiving Day Activities for Kids and Toddlers
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