I was probably 15 years old the first time this long little paper showed up.
I’m sure it was a Monday night, and I’m pretty sure I brought my 15-year-old attitude to the family room.
Thirteen years later, I’m pleased to tell you I’ve grown up a little bit and that this long little paper, the TURKEY TICKET, is now one of my favorite parts of November.
I remember mom passing it out and telling us that we were invited to Thanksgiving dinner (a few weeks later) when our papers were full and our lists complete of the things we were grateful for. It didn’t look like it would be any kind of challenge. The thing looked tiny. But then someone started to unroll the thing. All six feet of it.
The list seemed to write itself initially. Names of family members and friends, favorite foods and the simple truths I’d learned came easily. As the month progressed though, I found myself discovering and recognizing blessings that had been there all along but that I had been too busy or too casual to see.
Every year, I’m surprised by what I learn and relearn as I make my list. And every year-no matter what may be happening or not happening in my life-no matter where I am or how I think life is going at the time-I’m taken aback by the blatant goodness of God.
It’s a great exercise for any time of the year-every time of the year really. But for us, it kicks off and marks the beginning of the busy holidays by reminding us what we truly have to celebrate.
The Turkey Ticket is easy to make and works for families (great Family Home Evening!), children, or youth classes. Younger kids can draw pictures along the strip of what they’re grateful for. We found rolls of cash register paper rolls on Amazon, cut each ticket about six feet long, and rolled them up and tied them with a bow. (If you live nearby and want to make your own turkey tickets, we have plenty of paper! Come on over!)
Natalie
If you love the Turkey Ticket, be sure to check out our Gratitude Scavenger Hunt and our DIY Turkey Tag. To see more great holiday and family ideas, like “Let’s Get Together” on Facebook! Click here.
so cute!
Love this! Such a cute web design! Thanks for all the cute ideas. I’ll be stopping by often! 🙂
Would you mind answering a few questions:
Do you make a new ticket every year?
When do you read these?
Do you give these out at the beginning of the month?
Thanks for taking the time 🙂
I really like this idea and would like to implement it with my kids
Hi Jessica! Thanks for stopping by! We make a new ticket most years, but there have been years we haven’t gotten to it though. We don’t necessarily read the whole thing – the purpose is mostly to help each of us think of what we are grateful for on our own. But we do share some of the things we wrote down when we sit down to eat. My mom would usually give them to us a few weeks before hand, so the beginning of the month works 🙂 Hope you enjoy making your turkey tickets! We sure love it.
Love this Idea. I think this is a super cute way for us to all remember how truly blessed we are and how thankful we should be for what we have. I’ll definitely be borrowing this idea. 🙂
This is a really wonderful idea. I particularly like that you hand it out early enough to let everyone be thoughtful about their answers. I also like that the goal is to turn the heart and mind towards gratitude, and not necessarily sharing the lists. Truly, a blessing of a way to kick off the holiday season. We will be adding this to our traditions! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks, Holly! We love it and we hope you do too! Thanks for stopping by.
I love this idea for my classroom. The tags are darling. Did you hand write them or print it off?
Hi Jenni! Thanks for stopping by. We wrote on the tags. Hope it goes so well in your classroom!
What a wonderful idea! I love anything that helps us put the holidays in proper focus. We have so many reasons to be thankful. This is a great way to be reminded each year of the ways God has blessed us.
What a great idea! Wonderful for kids and adults to remember our blessings. Will try this with our family this year. Our great-grand children will love it. Thank you for sharing.
What a perfect way to step back and focus on the important things. Thank you for this! I can’t wait to start this tradition with my family. Happy Holidays!
I stumbled across this on Pinterest. I think this idea is FABULOUS!!!
I have a link party that I’m trying to grow. I invite you to share this ideas (and a couple of others) because I think my readers would really like it.
I’m joining with 4 other hosts for the Party in Your PJs. You can find it on my Grandma Ideas site at http://grandmaideas.com. It runs from now until Sunday night at midnight. I hope you can make it!
All the best,
Nina
This is wonderful!! Do you write down the questions as thoughts starters or just leave the paper blank and each person is responsible for string out there own? Thank you for sharing.
Hi Kristin! We don’t write down any questions on the rolls. They’re completely blank and waiting to be filled up! Hope you enjoy this tradition as much as we do!!
how can I do this for Christmas. hand out at thanksgiving