Conversation Starters for Thanksgiving

Today I’m sharing a little project I designed for a women’s group I lead on Mondays: Thanksgiving conversation starters.

First we decorated these mason jars together in class last week. Nothing fancy. A spray painted lid. Some twisted paper bows. A craft paper tag embellished with fall-themed stickers and labeled with colored sharpies.

Then we filled our jars with pre-printed conversation starters that will hopefully help prepare our families for Thanksgiving.

The idea is simple. At mealtime, we’ll draw out a card and take turns answering the question with whomever might be sharing our table. You can let every person draw a different card or have everybody answer the same question. The choice is yours.

There are 24 cards in the set. If you start tonight and do one each day, you’ll have just enough to carry you through Thanksgiving Day.

Think about it…

None of these questions or talking points are particularly deep, as you can see from this sampling.

• What is something you like about living where you live?
• Tell about a time when a stranger came to your aid in some way.
• Share something your parents did that made you thankful.
• Name something you admire about the person on your left.
• What is your favorite pastime? Explain why.
• Share a funny story that always makes you laugh.
• Tell about a good book you’ve read. Explain what you liked about it.
• Recount a time when God calmed your fears.

But the questions are meant to be a little thought provoking and — even more importantly — gratitude cultivating. For thanksgiving should not just be a day on our calendar. It should be the posture of our hearts.

Counting our blessings is not just a good activity in November, but something we should do every day of every month of every year. Gratitude is an attitude that should characterize our entire life.

To that end, I hope you’ll give these Thanksgiving Conversation Starters a try.

The pdf will print in black ink on a transparent background. I used fall-colored card stock to print ours. But you can use any paper you have on hand.

More good questions

I hope this resource will prompt some fun and meaningful discussions at your dinner table. And once you finish this set of questions, come back. You can download more conversations starters here. Or get a copy of my book, Table Talk, to keep your family communicating all year long.

More Resources for Thanksgiving

Need more ideas for cultivating gratitude or celebrating this season? You’ll find a wealth of resources here: The Ultimate Collection of Thanksgiving Printables

Or for a personal way to adopt a more appreciative attitude, check out my devotional journal, Count Your Blessings.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul,” the psalmist writes, “and forget none of His benefits.” That’s good advice for all of us. We should be mindful of the many ways in which God has blessed us. This journal is designed with that goal in mind.

You may use its pages to remember the Lord’s mercies and be grateful for them, to count His blessings and name them one by one, to track His faithfulness to you through the past and, by doing so, to be encouraged to trust Him with the future.