When I received an email last week linking to this post about a “Jar of Joy,” I immediately knew it would be perfect for the final, 12th day of Christmas gift for the boys (which is today, by the way). I tied a piece of jute around a fairly large glass jar and attached some scrapbooking tags to it: nothing fancy, but something we won’t get tired of seeing throughout this year. I typed up some writing prompts, printed them on white, letter-sized cardstock, cut them into strips, and put them in the jar:
I even got things started by writing out the first one, which was something Liam said the other day when we were discussing the merits of various vegetables:
I love his unique turns of phrase and this one in particular struck my funny bone. I couldn’t stop laughing and I knew it was exactly the kind of thing I want this jar to document.
So whenever something happens this year that we want to remember, we’ll choose a strip of paper (or drop the ticket stubs in or write on a piece of a card we received from someone), write down the memory, fold it up, and place it in the jar.
The prompts I’m using are:
- LOL You’re so funny
- a special memory
- what a trip!
- counting my blessings
- Kudos! You did it!
I’ve created a PDF file to download if you want to do something similar. Happy 2014!
> Click here to download <
Thank you for the download!! I knew I wanted to do this starting in January and your download was exactly what I needed!!
Excellent idea for both kids and adults, Melanie! I might have to try this too. Thank you.