If there is anything I have learned throughout my life, it is that gratefulness will set you right. No matter what you are going through, good or bad, difficult or easy, spending a few minutes being grateful for will change your outlook on life, especially with this gratefulness project.
And when you say the things you are thankful for out loud, or even write them down, you have taken that thankfulness to another level.
Years ago my family worked on a gratefulness project together for Thanksgiving. It not only has become a treasured item but holds many many memories. And it didn’t cost us much at all, except our time!
Times were hard
This project came about several years ago when my kids were little, before I was officially homeschooling them, let alone writing about planning our homeschool or designing planners.
But at the time, things were hard. My husband was working full time while going to nursing school. I was working a part time job from home while raising my toddlers. In the middle of this, my sister and her four homeschooled kids had just moved in with us so she could get back on her feet after her divorce.
It was not an easy time.
We were living paycheck to paycheck and doing what we could to make ends meet, often with the help of our local church and friends.
The truth is, we never went hungry, we had a roof over our heads, and all our bills were paid! We weren’t living extravagant lives, but all our needs were met.
We truly had much to be grateful for!
The gratefulness project
I grew up in an artsy family and with all these kids around, we needed a project! With Thanksgiving coming soon, I decided there was nothing better than to do a project for the holiday.
I found an idea of creating a tablecloth for our Thanksgiving table that actually displayed all the things we were grateful for! And it was a project we could do together. Exactly what we needed with all that was happening at the time.
So I went out and got the basic supplies we needed and we got to work! This was not an expensive project – we didn’t have a lot of money. But something about using a dropcloth and Sharpies gives it that extra special homemade touch!
To get started, we all began thinking about things we were grateful for. We made a list and wrote the words down on the cloth with permanent markers.
I did try to make this as artistic, fun, and pleasing as possible. I didn’t let my toddler have much time to write on it. But everyone did help in one way or another! Some came up with ideas, others wrote words, and some helped by adding some visual interest to the words with pictures and shapes.
It took a surprising amount of time to completely fill up the cloth with words and things we were grateful for. And many of them ended up creating some laughs!
Here are some of the things we included:
- Friends
- Flowers
- Lizards
- Cravings
- Electricity
- Ultrasounds
- Singing
- Ice cream
- Snow
- Wheels
- Coffee
- Mountains
- Facetime
- Forgiveness
- Job
- Animals
- A/C
- Family
- Sisters
See, you can learn a lot about what life was like for us at the time just from looking at this tablecloth!
I also included a scripture around the edge of the tablecloth. This brought it all together. I chose several as there was plenty of space. The scriptures I included are all about being thankful. They are:
- 2 Corinthians 9:15
- Psalm 105:1
- 1 Chronicles 16:34
Once the cloth was all full, we set the ink with an iron – which also took forever! Now it was ready to use.
And our first Thanksgiving all together in that household was memorable and full of love and gratefulness! And year after year, we can pull out that cloth and remind ourselves of all that God has given us and all He has brought us through!
You can make one too!
If you are interested in making a gratefulness tablecloth for your Thanksgiving celebration or any time of year, I’ve got you! No matter your homeschooling style, a good family project is never a bad idea.
Here is how to make it:
Gratefulness Project Supplies
- Large canvas dropcloth that will cover your table
- Permanent markers
- Piece of cardboard for bleed-through
- Iron
- Clean white towel
- Things you’re grateful for!
Instructions
- Write out a list of things you are grateful for that you want to include on your tablecloth.
- Wash and dry the drop cloth according to instructions.
- Lay out the drop cloth on a flat surface with a piece of cardboard behind it for catching any bleed-through of the markers.
- Write what you are grateful for all over your drop cloth. Be sure to move the cardboard backing as you write in different places to prevent bleed-through onto your table.
- Feel free to make this artsy and fun by using various fonts, images, sizes, and shapes as you write!
- (optional) Write a scripture of your choice around the border of the tablecloth.
- Let the ink set for 24 hours to ensure it is dry.
- Heat the iron to the highest setting for cotton.
- Place the clean towel over the area you will be setting and iron the spot for 1-5 minutes with NO steam. Do not rub the iron over the fabric, but press then lift to prevent smearing.
- Once the entire area with ink on it has been set, allow the drop cloth to cool before use.
- Your new tablecloth can be used and washed as you like! There may be some fading over time with a lot of use.
Gratefulness Project Variations
- Have family and friends sign the tablecloth each year to commemorate who has been a part of your Thanksgiving meals through the years. Be sure to set the ink before washing.
- Each year, add new things you are grateful for rather than filling up the entire cloth in one go. Just be sure to set the ink each year!
- For a different writing experience, try using fabric markers. Follow the marker’s instructions for setting to prevent fading and spreading.
- For a nicer tablecloth, use a higher-end fabric like linen or fine woven cotton.
- Create a table runner in the same way instead of an entire tablecloth.
Gratefulness for years to come
Working on a gratefulness project together as a family can be a wonderful way to enjoy the fall season. And talking about the many big and little things we are grateful for can help us laugh and grow together.
So many memories and stories can be summed up in just one tablecloth used year after year! I hope this gratefulness project brings your family lots of joy and thanksgiving this year!
Jenn Dickerson is a homeschool mom of 3, a singer, and a planner. If she is not singing in the van on the way to homeschool co-op, you’ll find her checking off lists at home. She learned the art of list-making when young and now helps others organize their homeschools over at Homeschool-Planning.com. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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