Good News + Gratitudes Jar 2.0

Every January (as in, like, the past two Januarys), we read colorful notes from a vase. The vase is ordinary but the notes are not. They are thoughtful scribbles filled with words of gratitude and appreciation, proud accomplishments, simple sketches and reflective ideas about goals and dreams. The Good News + Gratitudes Jar is a tradition that began on January 1, 2014 for my family. You may remember this post describing this simple concept and how we embraced it for an entire year. I immediately knew this would become a tradition for us, and last week we read our 2015 Good News notes. We laughed a lot, one of us had sappy happy tears at the sweet words, and we recognized and reflected on proud moments and accomplishments we reached in 2015...in ourselves and in each other. Thinking about starting a Good News + Gratitudes Jar? Here are six tips:

1. Use a transparent jar or vase so you can easily see it fill up. Colorful pieces of paper are a fun and bright visual! 2. Keep the paper and a jar of pens next to it always. Make it as easy as possible to write a quick note so everyone in your family is more likely to participate. 3. Place it in a visible, central location in the house. Ours sits on a shelf in the dining room. It gets moved around from time to time, but it mainly stays in the same spot all year long. 4. Encourage everyone to write whenever they feel motivated to do so. Younger children can draw pictures. 5. Keep the rules out of it. While we don't have any rules about when to write or how often, if it feels like the jar has been collecting more dust than notes, I'll move it to the kitchen table for a day to encourage some thoughtful writing. 6. Create a tradition around reading the notes together. We read the notes within the first few days of the new year. We also like to be in our pajamas!

Do you have a Good News Jar, or something similar? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

xo Lori