Thanksgiving Activity

I got this idea from the HowStuffWorks website. What a great idea! We've been doing a "Thankful Tree" for the past couple of years (I'll be posting about this year's tree in a few days), but I think we'll do this message box next year, so the whole family can get in on the thankfulness fun!

Thankful Message Box

Help the family get into the Thanksgiving spirit with this message box.

What You'll Need:

Shoe box

Tissue box

Paints

Paintbrush

Assorted decorative art supplies

Pencil

String

Tape

Small slips of notepaper

When the pilgrims first harvested crops in their new country, they held a big party to celebrate and give thanks. When your family sits down to a big Thanksgiving dinner, everyone's stomach is probably very grateful for all that delicious food.

But what else are people thankful for? The week before Thanksgiving, paint and decorate an empty shoe box and tissue box.

Tie one end of a string around a pencil, and tape the other end to the tissue box. Set a stack of notepaper next to the pencil. Invite family and friends to write down what they are thankful for, and put the slips inside the tissue box.

On Thanksgiving Day, take turns reading the slips aloud. The shoe box can be used to store the slips, adding a new bunch of "thankful messages" each year.

You may want to paint traditional Thanksgiving symbols on your boxes, such as turkeys, pilgrims, Native Americans, and harvest foods, such as corn, pumpkin, squash, and apples.

You can print the words "Give Thanks" around the opening of the tissue box and the words "Our Thanks" on top.