Good News + Gratitudes Jar :: Oakland Portrait Photographer

On January 1, 2014, my family created a Good News + Gratitudes jar. The idea behind the jar was simple: write a brief note any time you felt grateful for someone or something, or had good news that made you feel proud. With no rules of when or how often to write, this random jar sat in our dining room throughout the year. I felt immense gratitude when, sometime in the spring, I had to switch our jar from the tiny jam jar we started with (which now conveniently holds pens and pencils) to a larger clear vase. The jar was working! We all took time to write little notes during the year, not just about one another but about ourselves as well.

The goal was to read the notes on the last day of 2014. Since we were out of town with friends, we opened the jar last night and took turns reading the notes aloud. What an incredibly simple, yet meaningful way to recall all of the positive things that happened in 2014 and what we were all grateful for.

What you're grateful for grows.

We will definitely be doing this again in 2015 and have already started filling the jar...and this time we're starting off with the big vase!

Does your family have any special traditions or activities that you do to mark the end of the year/beginning of a new one? I'd love to hear! xo