Leading up to Thanksgiving, each day I will blog about what I’m doing to be more grateful. I invite you to join me in a Month of Thanksgiving, and to share your thoughts, observations, suggestions and ideas.
Day 31: How will you celebrate your gratitude tomorrow? Is it a long tradition or a new idea?
When I launched the Month of Thanksgiving, my motive was that although we have an annual tradition of a holiday focused on giving thanks, many of us give cursory gratitude but focus on the food, football or family drama.
I have spent this month focusing on all the reasons I have to be grateful as a way to really enter the holiday mindful of my blessings and prepared for true, meaningful thanksgiving.
What does that mean when the actual holiday arrives?

Fortunately, I have indulgent hosts for Thanksgiving dinner. We have a tradition in New York of dining with a group of friends who stay put, rather than traveling to be with their families, and our hosts agreed to let me bring a little of the Month of Thanksgiving to dinner. So I plan to borrow an idea I found online — the gratitude tree.
Here’s the way it’s described on one Web site:

A gratitude tree is simply a large tree with a broad base and many branches containing colorful leaves. Each leaf has room enough to contain a short written blessing. This tree can be placed on a piece of posterboard and prominently displayed for all to see and share as family members and friends write down things in their life that they are grateful for.

On one blog I read this month, the author said she has has Thanksgiving tradition of writing one heartfelt letter of thanks and mailing it — and that she’s often been delighted by the response she gets.
What will you do on Thanksgiving to celebrate your gratitude? Is it a long-standing tradition or are you trying something new this year?