With all the stress of the holiday season, it can be easy to forget the reasons we gather and celebrate together. At its core, Thanksgiving and the winter holidays are all about gratitude, giving back, and spending quality time together with loved ones.
Simple conversation starters for your family can help you get into the spirit and explore the deeper meaning behind holidays like Thanksgiving. Besides the classic “What are you thankful for?” question, here are a few lists of inspiring questions to ask the kids during the holiday season and beyond.
Questions to inspire gratitude in kids
Gratitude is a feeling of thanks for the people and things we appreciate. But if we treat it like a practice that we can get better at, you’d be surprised how much more often you catch yourself feeling grateful. You can practice gratitude with your family by keeping a gratitude jar, journaling, or answering these questions together!
- Who is the person in your life you’re most grateful for? Who do you think is grateful for you?
- How many ways do you know to say “thank you” in other languages? What’s one way to show someone that you’re thankful?
- What was the best thing that happened to you this week, and how do you feel when you think back on that moment?
- What is something you use every day, and how would your life be different if that thing disappeared?
- What was the last gift you received? How do you show your gratitude when you get a present?
Questions to help kids appreciate the people in their lives
These five questions will prompt your child to think about all the people who treat them with kindness throughout their day, and how many wonderful people they have to be grateful for.
- Who helped you with something today, big or small?
- Did anyone brighten your day today or make it more fun?
- Who is someone that’s a good friend to you? What makes them such a good friend?
- Did you notice anyone doing something thoughtful today?
- What’s one thing you can do tomorrow to show someone you appreciate them?
5 questions to ask kids at Thanksgiving dinner
The holidays are all about spending time with the people we love, and deepening our bonds with family and friends. Getting the kids involved in the dinner conversation can help them feel seen, heard, and more connected with family they may not see very often.
- What’s your favorite Thanksgiving memory?
- If you could start a new Thanksgiving tradition for our family, what would it be?
- If you had to make Thanksgiving dinner all by yourself, how long do you think it would take? What would you start making first?
- If you could invite anyone in the world to our Thanksgiving dinner, who would you pick?
- If you could add a new food to the Thanksgiving table, what would it be?
