Giving Thanks All Month Long

Last updated: November 2, 2022, at 2:12 p.m. PT

Originally published: October 28, 2020, at 1:06 p.m. PT

Man holding coat drive box

We have compiled a calendar of simple ways for you to give thanks and express gratitude as a family, one activity for each day! Challenge your family to demonstrate a way of giving thanks all month long.

November 1 – Start off your month of thanks by making a gratitude journal for the entire month of November. Keep track of all you are grateful for throughout the month.

November 2 – Create a Family Gratitude Wall

November 3 – Vote.

November 4 – Do something (anything!) outside today.

November 5 – Collect books you no longer read and add them to your local Little Free Library.

November 6 – Use the alphabet as a fun way to make a list of things you feel grateful for, as a family.

November 7 - Make or send a meal for to a family friend or neighbor.

November 8 – Check your coat closet to donate warm coats to a favorite charity.

November 9 – What is a game you are grateful for? Play it together as a family!

November 10 - Write down 10 things you are grateful for right now.

November 11 – It’s Veteran’s Day! Write a letter of thanks to a veteran you know to express gratitude for service of our country. Don’t know a vet personally? No problem – visit Support Our Troops to write letters to deployed soldiers.

November 12 – Donate canned foods to the food drive at your local grocery store.

November 13 – Today is World Kindness Day! Visit RandomActsofKindness.org for inspired ideas of Random Acts of Kindness.

November 14 – Call someone you’ve been missing and catch up!

November 15 – Tell your loved ones why you love them. Be specific.

November 16 - Draw a picture or write a poem for somebody.

November 17 - Pick up some trash that you find on the ground (at home or out and about).

November 18 – Draw a thank you picture for your teachers.

November 19 – Read books about being thankful. Here’s a great list.

November 20 – Organize your dresser and donate your too-small clothing to someone in need.

November 21 – Do a random act of kindness.

November 22 – Bake a treat for your neighbors.

November 23 - Join your local Buy Nothing group and participate in the network of hyper-local gift economies, aiming to give and get freely within your community.

November 24 – Create Gratitude Conversation Starters to elicit meaningful conversations with the family.

November 25 - Make a Give Thanks centerpiece. This is a simple project that is easy to personalize and make your own!

November 26 – It’s Thanksgiving! As you gather around the table, have each member of the family share something they are grateful for this year.

November 27 – Show gratitude to your home by doing an extra chore or two.

November 28 – Volunteer your time or donate to a cause you care about.

November 29 - Get crafty and make homemade holiday decorations for your friends and neighbors.

November 30 – Make a Kindness Advent Calendar and commit to doing a random act of kindness for every day in December.