Recently I was reviewing Oprah’s Favorite Things and I came across one item that really intrigued me. If you read my last post, “Six Powerful Questions To Help You Reflect And Celebrate This Past Year,” you’ve probably picked up that I like to focus on the positive and I love little reminders of the good things that happen throughout the year. So, when this item crossed my path, I had to have it…not only for me, but for my family! What is it? It’s a Gratitude Jar – a place to make note of the good things one day at a time…for an ENTIRE YEAR!
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The only problem, I couldn’t find the jar in Canada, so, I made my own! Actually, I made two. One with the word “Blessings” and the other with “Gratitude.” The ❤️ heart ❤️ behind both is the same. I won’t use both; one will probably be a gift for a friend!
You can buy Oprah’s Favorite Jar here (when they’re back in stock). If you want to make your own, you can use any jar, but the larger the better. Choose a positive word to put on it e.g. Gratitude, Thankfulness, Blessings, Happiness, Joyful etc. I used my Silhouette Machine and Etching Kit, but you don’t have to be that fancy-schmancy. You can write on a jar with a paint pin or with a permanent marker. What ever works best for you!
Oprah’s Jar came with 365 cards to write a note of thanksgiving for every day of the year. Check out my free printable here if you go the DIY route. Simply print on card stock and cut!
Family Involvement
This is a great activity for the whole family. If there’s a time when your family sits down to eat together, that would make the perfect opportunity to reflect on the day. Maybe that doesn’t happen every day for you, if not, don’t sweat it, double up some days…but don’t let too many days get in between your notes.
If you have young kids that can’t write yet, have them draw a little picture and have one of the adults put words to it. Share the opportunity so that each family member has a chance every week to participate.
Jump Start Ideas
To get you started on what to write for your gratitude jar, find a few ideas below. Pretty much anything goes! Capitalize on the things that make you or your family smile!
- Special Memories
- Milestones
- Daily Wins
- Happy Thoughts
- Something You’re Grateful for
- Something Funny that Happened
Do I have to Wait A Year?
The goal is to have the jar for an entire year, but you can review it whenever you want. Maybe when you’ve had a down day, it’d be a good time to flip through the notes. At the end of the year, your jar will be full! Your cup may run over! I haven’t done this yet, but I envision compiling all of the notes and binding them so that we have a keepsake that lasts beyond the year. Perhaps this will be a new family tradition. One that trains each of us to have an attitude of gratitude, to not take things for granted, to celebrate the small wins as well as the big ones, and to always find the silver lining!
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If you want to make your own you can get your supplies here:
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Oooooo I love oprah’s Jars! I am going to have to do this with our kids this year, because we truly are blessed
Love this idea! I keep a gratitude journal but this is a really fun way to do it too. Thanks for a great post.
What a CUTE idea! I really want to try this. It’s so important to be grateful and count our blessings!
Gratitude jars are an amazing idea, we always have something to be grateful for and serves as a great reminder of our blessings when we’re feeling down.
A friend of mine used to make these at the start of the year and then read them out at the end of the year! I’ve always thought it was a great idea but I never tried it out for myself. This is a great opportunity to start! Thanks for sharing x
Gratitude is a very powerful tool. I really like how you have included a free printable to motivate others to try the gratitude jar, as well. Lovely website, too!
I really like the idea of including milestones in the jar – especially if they’re dated. Sometimes when we’re feeling discouraged, looking back at how much we’ve accomplished can give us a boost.
I love that you made your own! We have a 15 month old and definitely want to teach her to be thankful each day early on
I want to do something intentional like this in 2018 – maybe a big jar in the middle of our dining room table, or some journals or something. My kids would love this as well.
you know, i started doing this.. when 2017 began but dont know why i left all of it in the middle. thanks for the reminder i am going to start again. its a wonderful idea to see our blessings in front of us 🙂
I love this idea! I’ve never thought of doing it this way – I’ve only heard of doing a “gratitude journal” so this is really fun and creative! Thanks for sharing – I’ll be saving this one!
What a great idea! Your jars turned out great. I really need to do this with my family so we can reflect on how truly lucky and blessed we are. Thanks for such a great idea.
I absolutely LOVE this idea!! My mom was telling me about this recently. She decided to keep a journal with hers so she could re-read it easily where ever she was. 🙂
What an awesome idea!! A great thing to start in the New Year!!
I considered doing a gratitude journal for 2018. A jar might be a great idea. I like doing things together as a family. We could all participate.
Danie
http://www.thiscurvylife.com
This is such a great family activity. I bet your kids will enjoy reading through the notes!
I love the idea of opening them all on a day day- what a great way to lift your spirits!
This is an engaging activity to do with your family. I may have to encourage my family to do this during the holiday season. It will help us stay positive despite the situations that can get us into a grumpy state.
I absolutely love this!! What an amazing way to always remember to be grateful and you to remember that you’re so blessed. Great idea!! I am going to adopt one of these in my home!
Having a positive out look is so important. That silver lining is always there we just have to look for it.
How cute! This is a great idea to keep around the home!
Count your blessings name them one by one.. and it will surprise you what the Lord has done..
This is such a beauthiful way to start the new year. Counting our blessings an being gratitudious are a must in our family.
We usually end up cribbing about a lot of things in life and overlook the many good things that we need to be grateful for. The gratitude jar is indeed a novel and great idea to count our blessings.
I love this idea! And I really like getting the kids involved. My boys are too young to write, but they could easily tell us something. Now to decide if we do a big family jar or one for each of us.
i thought of doing this before great idea for evey new year
I’ll pretty much try anything that Oprah recommends but this idea, regardless of its origin, seems like something we can all get behind. What a simple and easy way to remind ourselves of the many beautiful things we have to be grateful for- will definitely try this out in the new year.
I use a gratitude journal all year long. Love this idea.
What a absolutely amazing idea!! This would be so great for my family
This is a great idea for adults and kids! It’s so important to stay focused!
Tonya- I’m so glad you like it! I’m excited to start it with my family!
I know I did something similar about finding things I was grateful for. But you are right that this could help me be grateful all year long.
what a great idea very clever great for self morals of a family
Where did you purchase your jar? Can’t seen to find that particular type hat.
I found mine at Homegoods/ Marshalls. Hope that helps!