Showing Thankfulness at Thanksgiving… and All Year ‘Round

Many kids these days have a lot – more than they really need – and it’s our job as parents to instil a sense of gratitude for all our abundance. With (American) Thanksgiving right around the corner, it is the perfect time to introduce kids to fun activities that encourage gratitude.

So in that spirit, we've rounded up some amazing ideas from talented bloggers; we hope they provide you with some inspiration!

Live. Craft. Eat. and Lasso the Moon: Thankful Hearts and “I am Thankful” printable

Image: livecrafteat.com
Thankful Hearts from Live. Craft. Eat. 

Apples 4 The Teacher: Giving Thanks placemats (+ 3 more)

Little House Living: The Thankful Thanksgiving Jar

Image: littlehouseliving.com
Little House Living's Thankfulness Jar

One last idea that we thought of… make a yearly “thankful” video. Whether you choose to make it around the holidays, or during some other time of year, it’s wonderful to be able to look back on what each family member was grateful for in years past. And, it’s a great tradition of gratitude to leave for future generations.

We love the idea of making thankfulness a big(ger) part of our lives by expressing it not only at Thanksgiving, but all year 'round. So, if you have a special "thankful" tradition, we'd love to hear it! Share it with us in the comments below, or on our social media pages (links are below).

And, to all of our American friends who will be celebrating in a few weeks - Happy Thanksgiving!

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Oooh, it's (almost) Halloween night...

We love Halloween because it is the only holiday where outlandish outfits, mountains of sugar and silliness prevail! It's the one night of the year when adults and children alike indulge in ghoulish fun with abandon.

The best part, though, is the lead-up to the big day. Decorating the house with spider webs, witches, ghosts and goblins is so much fun... all to make a spooky impression for those pint-sized revelers that will knock on the door!

With that in mind, we've rounded up a bunch of our favorite Halloween crafts and activities to do with your kids. From spooky-themed food to fun decorations and class treats, there's something for every age group and ability here.

And now, our favorite Halloween ideas from Pinterest...

1. Paper Coterie's FREE printables (the Bingo game is *the cutest*!) - Halloween treat bags and bingo game

Image: Paper Coterie blog

2. Cute (and FREE!) treat bag printables from Smitten on Paper - perfect for class treats!

Image: Smitten on Paper blog

3. Fun activity for the preschool set from TeachPreschool.org - get wrapped up like a mummy

4. Spooky classroom snacks from AllTheCooks.com - banana ghosts and orange pumpkins

Image: fenway / allthecooks.com

5. Halloween luminaries (we especially like the glass jar ones!)

And...

If you've got little ones going out trick-or-treating, don't forget their spoooooky Safety Wristbands... added peace of mind in case they get separated from the group. For kids of all ages, make sure their loot bag is labelled or tagged so they can easily spot which one is theirs.

Check out these designs perfect for Halloween!

Crossbones   |   Girly Crossbones   |   Zombies   |   Grafitti Monsters

We hope you have fun this month!! 

Stay tuned for more fun Halloween ideas on our social media pages...