Christmas "Thank You's": Encouraging Thankfulness in our Kids

It’s easy to get caught up in the joys of making sure your kids get everything they want for Christmas. Often we miss a perfect opportunity to teach them how to show thankfulness! My husband and I love to buy gifts for our kids. We love to see their excitement on Christmas morning! Also, we have a large family who all love to buy gifts for each other. Let’s face it, Presents are fun! They are fun to give and fun to get! Giving and getting gifts is so exciting, (and usually chaotic) that sometimes two little words are forgotten!

“Thank you”, two words that say a lot!

Everyone loves to hear the words thank you! We always try to teach our kids during the excitement of opening gifts to stop and say “Thank you”. To stop and give their grandma, grandpa, aunts or uncles a hug. Ever since they began to talk we have tried to remember to have them say thank you for every little thing they have been given. We decided we wanted them to say thank you whether they are given a cracker, or they are getting new toy they’ve wanted. I am seeing now, as they get older that thankfulness is becoming a part of their heart. When my 5 year old boy runs over, hugs me, kisses me, and says “thank you mom” over a small reindeer that plays jingle bells it fills me with indescribable joy! I love to hear those words come out of my kids mouth on their own!

Let’s not stop there..

Now as my kids are getting older and learning the heart of thankfulness I definitely don’t want to stop. I want to keep teaching them ways to show people how thankful they are! This week, even though we are taking a break from our regular homeschool schedule I decided we are going to get in a little project. So, I made some Christmas themed thank you card templates. I am going to print them and they will color the cards and write a note to people who gave them presents! We can get in a little reading and writing this week, and my kids can learn how they can continue to be thankful! Also, it’s a great way for the kids to show thankfulness to people far away that sent them gifts.

I wanted to share my Christmas thank you card templates with you! These templates are simple
black and white, one-sided, thank you cards that the kids can fold and color. Simply print out the cards you want, fold on the lines, let your kids color the picture on the front and fill in a simple note on the inside. Below are 3 separate links for the cards for you to print: