Thankful Box
Yesterday was Thanksgiving in Canada and although we didn’t celebrate with a big turkey dinner we did make this Thankful Box Thanksgiving craft, took time to think of things we are thankful for, and share them at dinner. At the dinner table last night each family member wrote what they were thankful for, and added it to the box. We didn’t keep ours a secret but you could. Our plan is to fill the box up over the next week and read it over dinner on Sunday to celebrate all we are thankful for.
- Gather your materials. You will need a cardboard craft box ( a show box covered with paper would be great too), some markers ( one permanent), glitter, scissors and plain paper.
- Cut a slot in the lid.
- Write the words ” I am thankful for…” in permanent marker on the lid.
- Have your little artists decorate the Thankful Box with crayons or markers, you could use paint too, we didn’t because we wanted to use it shortly after but if you have the time to wait for it to dry, go for it!
- Don’t forget the lid!
- Grab the glitter. I think glitter makes everything a little more special , and a box like this deserves some glitter… or a lot. We only added it to the lid because I didn’t want it interfering with my son being able to open and close the box.
- Let dry.
- While the glitter is drying write out a few things you are thankful for. These were my son’s – I didn’t coach him one bit, I admit I thought he’d say he was thankful for Hondas before anything but he mentioned his parents and great friends . I would encourage never saying ” No” to any suggestion, model the things you are trying to get your children to be thankful for but let them come up with their own. You can’t force this- but you can lead by example.
- We folded our papers and popped them in the “dry enough” box.
- We read these notes out at dinner and added more, which was when we decided to write more each dinner for a week then read the whole lot on Sunday.
Books to Read
Thanksgiving in Canada is similar to the holiday in the United States, although we don’t have pilgrims, don’t watch football all day , and don’t line up for sales the next day either! Our celebration is a celebration of the harvest, yes we eat turkey and cranberry sauce and each family has their own traditions. These books work for Thanksgiving in both countries, something that is useful for the many families like mine that is both Canadian and American. Also I couldn’t resist adding my favorite book about home, if you aren’t familiar with Canada I urge you to find this book and flip though, it’s a great cheat sheet or introduction to Canada! All book lists include affiliate links to amazon.com.
A Plump And Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman is such a cute and funny book about a town that needs a turkey and the lengths they go to to find one, including trickery! The town is sadly outwitted by the turkey and end up eating shredded wheat for thanksgiving. The illustrations kept my little man interested even though the story”™s humor was above his head.
**Edited for 2009** Much of the humor is still above my wee man’s head although I was reminded how much this book’s dark humor makes me giggle. He was a little off put by the idea of the towns folk eating the turkey and was relived when he escaped before they shoved him in the oven. I like that he is starting to understand that the meat he eats is actually a cooked animal, we take that for granted but for many young kids this is a huge realization!

M is for Maple, a Canadian Alphabet by Mike Ulmer. This book will make you feel proud to be from Canada if you are Canadian and teach you something about your neighbour if you aren’t . It will also teach your children things about the country they live in and why we feel pride when we hear names like Terry Fox, Anne with an E and Gretzky! I love this book and have since I first read it during teacher’s college in Thunder Bay, if you can be happy about being in Canada during a very cold Thunder Bay winter you can be happy about it anywhere.
Want more Thanksgiving craft ideas? Give this post a try!
Thena says
We’re on Fall break this week for the county fair is in town. Will have to look for those books in the library. Here we are hearing about Thanksgiving less and less. In the retail world they go sraight from Halloween to Christmas. Forgetting we have so much to be thankful for.
Beverly says
what a great idea! Happy Thanksgiving!
.-= Beverly´s last blog ..Baseball =-.
Naomi says
I agree Thena! We went to look for a decorative Thanksgiving flag the other day ans we could not find anything..only a few turkey knick knacks……. UGG! So of course I will make stuff I just wish I had more time if you know what I mean. My eldest son who is 6 is just starting to read and write so I am sure he will have fun with this project. Thanks.
Ryans Mom says
I am thankful for this blog!
admin says
This comment made my day – thank you !
Amanda says
I just love this post idea and submitted it in a roundup post for a client. I hope that’s ok !!
Allison McDonald says
Of course! Thank you .