This is what a "Gratitude Jar" can look like. Or, you can call it your "Memories Jar" or anything else you like!  Just decorate a mason jar any way you want! Let the kids make their own and keep stuffing them all with wonderful memories and thoughts as the year goes on.

Have you ever had a Gratitude Jar? Why not start one this January of 2021?

     That's my gratitude jar in the photo to the left. I took a large mason jar and painted some flowers and bees on it with my children's paints. And then, starting in January every year, I write on small pieces of paper - like post-it-notes, for example - whenever I have a really good day or a great time with friends or family. I just jot down a happy memory of the day and who I was with and date it, and then pop it in the jar!

    And then, on New Year's Eve, I grab a hot chocolate (or whatever a favourite drink might be at the time), plop myself down on a comfy chair, and go through the notes, one by one.

    What a happy time that is for me! It's an exercise that brings back so many memories of things that I have long forgotten - even though it has only been a year!

    And last year, I started to do something else. As I get older, I don't want to forget about those times, so instead of throwing the old notes away, I have begun to keep them in envelopes marked with the year. They are stashed away in a pretty keepsake box to be taken out anytime I need a boost in my mood.

    The New Year is always a time of New Beginnings. And 2021 is as good a time as any to start this new tradition at your house. Maybe each  person in your family can have their own jar? That sounds like a great idea!

    There will always be good times, good people, good events, and great memories in the course of anybody's year! So write them down for future remembering.