Gratitude Board Ideas

Friends and family can collaborate in making gratitude boards.

Gratitude boards are a fun way to express how grateful you are toward parents, friends or co-workers. They are also a good reminder to be grateful for your life's blessings. Gratitude boards can be made in countless ways. You can use many types of materials; you can also include your friends to make this a collaborative project. According to the study in the "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," practicing gratitude periodically makes people feel more secure and improves their self-esteem.

Your Own Gratitude Board

Make a gratitude board for certain time periods or events. For example, you can create a daily gratitude board where you post the good things that have happened to you during the day. These can be as simple as "I found a seat on the subway." You can also put up a permanent board and write on it once a week or once a month. You can make gratitude boards for birthdays, anniversaries or special celebrations such as Mother's Day.

Gratitude Board for a Friend

You can give a gratitude board to a relative or special friend. This gift builds stronger bonds and reaffirms relationships. Think about what you are grateful for in a close friend, and express these ideas on a gratitude board. A group of friends can collaborate on this effort.

Designing Your Gratitude Board

Use as many colors and drawings as you wish, but always keep a separate space within the board where you'll list experiences for which you're grateful. Include another space to make notes or comments on how you feel about that special person. If the gratitude board is for a friend or close person, make it about her tastes, hobbies, preferences and personality.

The Perfect Spot

Choosing the perfect spot for your gratitude board in your house is vital. An appropriate place is at the entrance to your home, so when you come in you will remember to write on it. If you don't want to use it that often, you can hang it over your desk or anywhere else you find to be a personal space.

References

• Make a Vision Board: Gratitude Boards for Kids!
• "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology"; Counting Blessings Versus Burdens: An Experimental Investigation of Gratitude and Subjective Well-Being in Daily Life; Robert A. Emmons, et al.; 2003