I’m not sure who came up with the gratitude jar idea but I’m thankful that they did! This is an idea I have seen around the internet, mainly around the end of December/beginning of January, for the past few years. Each time I saw it I thought “what a cool idea!” but nothing ever came of it. This year was different. This year I was ready to hold myself more accountable. I found a designated jar (an adorable French Bulldog cookie jar my friend gave me – thanks Val!) and wrote up some guidelines to keep ideas flowing.

If you’re not familiar, the idea behind the jar is to jot down good things that happen to you and your family through out the year, and things you are grateful for. Anyone can grab a scrap of paper and add to the jar. This is a great way to think less about calculating how much we have, how much we want, how much we don’t have, and how it compares to what everyone else has (or to the visions of perfection we get from the media). This self-defeating cycle always ends with the same conclusion: We are lacking. We never have enough. We never are enough.

This practice is a great way of remembering to celebrate, appreciate, and take in the little joys, wins, and happy moments in life. Having gratitude doesn’t just happen overnight, it’s a practice we have to foster every day. You can’t expect to feel like you have enough and you are enough, without nurturing a gratitude for life and an appreciation of yourself. Typically it starts at the beginning of a new year, and is opened at the end of the year. That’s when you can gather your family and read through all of the amazing moments, memories, and happiness from the previous year! But you can start this practice whenever.

Click the image below for your FREE printable that you can put in front of your jar with the guidelines my husband and I came up with, or you can write your own! Be sure to keep scraps of paper and a pen near the jar to make entries easy.