November Inspiration | Expressing Gratitude

Hey there! Can you believe that we are already in November? Sheesh! This year is just flying by. The countdown til Christmas is upon us but can I confess something to you? I really love November. Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday of mine. I love the energy that the month brings and it doesn’t feel quite as crazy as December. Plus it truly feels like fall. #fallismyfavorite as you know if you have been following me for awhile. Plus pie. November brings all the pie. What’s your favorite? For me, it is a true toss-up between pumpkin and apple.

One of my most favorite words is grateful. You will often times see #grateful on my personal Instagram feed. November is Thanksgiving and the tone across the universe seems to be about giving thanks and being grateful.  While I think that these are things that we should be practicing every day, we sometimes get caught up in life and we forget to pause and count our blessings.

At several points in my life, I have taken the time to keep a gratitude journal. Every night I would write down 5-10 things that I was grateful for. I honestly think that this is such an awesome way to remind yourself that there is always something to be grateful for.

A few years ago, I created a grateful board and every night, we’d write down what we were thankful for. My kids were small and thought that this was pretty special. Now that they have gotten bigger, life has gotten crazier and they don’t think that my ‘fun’ ideas are as fun but hey, a mama can try, right?  I found some sweet + sentimental ways to express your gratitude – every day!

I saw this holiday guest book at World Market yesterday. The idea of writing in something and having it to pull out every year is pretty special. It’s also super easy to store it away or it would also be a great coffee table book.

I love this thankful garland using a chalkboard, twine and old book pages at Just A Girl.

Simply Vintage Girl created this sweet thankful tree using some branches, circle punched craft paper and a Mason jar.

Mama Miss created a thankful print and jar. You write down what you are ‘thankful’ for and stick it in the jar.

Somewhat Simple created this adorable Count Your Blessings tree. Each family member gets their own ‘tree’ to fill in as they please. It would be sweet to display them.

Somewhat Simple also created this darling gratitude garland. The girl’s got some serious creative talent!

Young Earthy Mama chose to make a garland using fabric scraps. I love this idea! I have a ton of fabric scraps and I love making little garlands out of them. Adding sweet sentiments would make them that much better.

Jones Design Company is one of my favorites. She has a serious green thumb and uses beautiful greenery throughout her home including in her version of a thankful tree with free printables.

Jelly Bean Junkyard came up with this fun way to keep track of your gratitude for the month of November. Once upon a time, I had created one of these give thanks boards but I can’t find a photo or the real thing anywhere in my house. Darn it! I can tell you that I used coin envelopes {found here}, scrapbook paper, modge-podge, and stickers for the letters and numbers. It was seriously so cute and I am sad that mine has gone missing.

Do you have a November tradition of writing down what you are grateful for? How about a daily habit? I think that starting up my daily journaling of what I am grateful for is a very good idea. It’s good to keep it real, right? #grateful

I think I shall start again right now actually.

Today I am grateful for

1. My kids
2. My husband
3. My friends
4. Mobility
5. A roof over my head

OK – your turn!