Thanksgiving Ideas for All Ages

As we enter the season of thanksgiving, we’re invited not only to celebrate but to practice gratitude as a way of life, not just a holiday. Over the last decade and a half, the Network has gathered a rich collection of resources for individuals, families, children’s ministries, households, and congregations to help deepen this practice across generations and contexts.

Below are some featured tools, as well as some ideas for how you might use them intentionally.

Multigenerational “Thanksgiving Ideas for All Ages”
This resource includes suggestions such as learning to say “thank you” in different languages; using a short inter-generational, multicultural video of people expressing thankfulness; and inviting each person to keep a small “gratitude notebook” (drawing or writing what they’re thankful for) that begins in worship and continues at home. These ideas support the goal of making thanksgiving intergenerational and embedded beyond just the meal.

“Helping Children in Your Ministry Express Gratitude”
This blog post offers practical and simple strategies for children’s ministry settings: for example, creating a “Wall of Gratitude” where kids write what they are thankful for on Post-It notes; engaging children in naming thanks using the alphabet; and doing thank-you-note projects where children write to people they appreciate. These tools help anchor gratitude in children’s daily routines and ministry environments.

Thanksgiving Table Cards & Conversation Starters
One powerful tool: printable table-cards that include a Bible verse and a question to spark reflection and conversation at the table. These work especially well for families, small groups or intergenerational gatherings. To use them, you can place one at each person’s seat, invite guests to pick or exchange a card, then share responses before or during the meal.

“How to Help All Households Grow in Gratitude at Thanksgiving (and Beyond!)”
This is an ideal resource  for congregational outreach: it suggests providing households with “I AM GRATEFUL” paper strips, a writing tool, and instructions (for example, by writing daily what you’re thankful for, forming a paper-chain garland, or using them at the Thanksgiving gathering to share and read together. Great for equipping every home in your congregation or community to engage gratitude as a practice.

Gratitude is more than polite acknowledgment; it’s a spiritual discipline rooted in the Christian life. When practiced across age groups and within households, it builds a culture of thanksgiving that extends well beyond the holiday table.

When children are invited to lead or participate, when adults model gratitude, and when congregations make space to reflect together, we begin to see thanksgiving as a living practice of faith, not just a seasonal ritual.

Let us know how you've been able to develop practices of gratitude in your everyday life in the comments below!