Gratitude Journal Prompts Printable

Printable gratitude journal prompts can help children and adults create the habit of noticing the blessings in life and find acceptance and gratitude for what is–so they can feel greater joy and happiness. (First published October 7, 2019; this post is updated and republished to improve the content.)

If gratitude is the cure, this printable list of gratitude journal prompts can help remind us of everything we have to be grateful for–so that we can feel greater joy, happiness, and abundance every day. Use this list of printable gratitude journal prompt ideas to help children from preschoolers to teens learn how to practice gratitude for life! Feel free to use it with the “I Am Thankful for” gratitude printable for kids and adults.

Children don’t need to read or write to use the gratitude prompts on this list–all you need to do is ask them! That’s why this printable list of gratitude prompts also makes excellent dinner conversation starters–especially at a fall harvest feast and the Thanksgiving Dinner Table. 😉

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude brings abundance. To feel grateful, we must open ourselves to the wealth of experience occurring all around us. It is about noticing and expressing appreciation for all the good things in life that bring you joy and sharing those feelings of thankfulness with everyone you meet.

In other words, being grateful is about focusing on the blessings in life instead of focusing attention on the negative aspects of life, social media, or what one does not have. It is an acknowledgment of the kindness, generosity, or positive aspects of people, situations, or events.

Feeling grateful can lead to various psychological and social benefits, including improved mood, increased overall well-being, enhanced relationships, and even physical health benefits. And the body of research proving the many benefits of gratitude continues to add up.

Practicing gratitude is associated with increased happiness, well-being, and fulfillment. When we focus more on the positive aspects of life and what brings us joy, we can find greater satisfaction in our lives.

Gratitude is not just a fleeting feeling but can also be cultivated as a consistent mindset or way of approaching life. Expressing gratitude can be done through words, actions, or even simply through the thoughts and feelings one experiences internally.

Practicing gratitude can take many forms, such as keeping a gratitude journal where you regularly write down things you’re thankful for, expressing appreciation to others, or taking time to reflect on your life’s positive aspects. Use the gratitude journal prompts provided in this post to help you get started!

Thankful tree with gratitude quote, "When we are thankful for what we have, we will be given more of what we are grateful for." by Nell Regan Kartychok. — *How to Make a Thankful Tree with Clay Gratitude Leaves*

30 Printable Gratitude Prompts

Starting a gratitude journal and using printable gratitude prompts can help children and adults establish the habit of paying attention to the good things in life. And this list of 30 gratitude journal prompts can help children and adults find simple things they are thankful for and learn to express their gratitude.

Giving more of our attention to the people, events, places, and things we are thankful for can lead to the simple pleasure of feeling grateful and fulfilled. Use these printable gratitude journal prompts to help create gratitude journal entries, or pass them around the table on Thanksgiving to share your gratitude with family members.

Or, if you are a teacher looking for creative writing ideas, ask your students to choose one of the gratitude prompts on the list below to write a more in-depth essay about gratitude. I promise the whole class will feel better once they are finished. You might also enjoy this list of Gratitude activities and reading gratitude books. Either option is a fun and easy way to help children learn to express gratitude and thankfulness.

Related: Thanksgiving Traditions

Gratitude Prompts Printable

Did you know that gratitude journaling is an easy way to create the habit of feeling grateful for life? Below is a list of questions and thought-provoking ideas to prompt gratitude that you can use for gratitude journaling.

Download and print 30 gratitude journal prompts —> HERE.

What was the best thing that happened today?
Who makes you feel loved and why?
Name something that makes you happy.
What is your favorite outdoor activity?
Name someone that helps you.
What is your favorite thing to do on the weekend?
Name something that you are grateful to have.
What do you like to do with your family and why?
Name someone nice to you.
Where is your favorite place to go?
Name someone that makes you smile.
Who is your best friend and why?
What do you like most about school or your job?
What do you like most about your favorite subject?
Who was the last person to give you something?
What is the best gift that you have ever received?
Name the best thing that has ever happened to you.
What is your favorite game or sport, and why?
Where is your favorite place to play or relax?
What do you like most about your family?
Name an animal that you feel thankful for.
What is your favorite thing to do at home?
Name a person that you love and why.
What is your favorite hobby, and why?
Who do you like to spend time with?
Name someone that you feel grateful for.
What is your favorite food and why?
Name an activity that makes your heart sing.
Describe something that you like about yourself.
Name something that makes you laugh.

photograph of printable list of gratitude journal prompts on a wooden tabletop — Get printable gratitude journal prompts–> HERE

How to Use Gratitude Journal Prompts

Gratitude is an important and powerful emotion that contributes to our overall happiness and helps build stronger connections with others. Reminding ourselves of everything we have to be grateful for is a powerful way to increase feelings of happiness and abundance.

“Gratitude makes sense of your past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.”
~Melody Beattie

Use this handy list of gratitude journal prompts to help you find your way out of darkness and sorrow–and into the light of gratitude.

1. Download and print gratitude journal printable prompts.

Click HERE to download and print printable gratitude journal prompts.

2. Use gratitude prompts to help start entries in your gratitude journal.

These free printable gratitude journal prompts make creating meaningful journal entries easy. Anything you can write in or on, including lined paper, a sketchbook, a Moleskine notebook, or a blank journal or diary, can be used for gratitude journaling.

You can find other excellent gratitude journals for kids and adults at your favorite local bookstore. Or journal somewhere outside where nature will wash it away. Writing with a stick in the mud or sand is a great way to do this.

As a teenager, I recall spending countless evenings down by the seashore, writing everything I was grateful for with a twig in the sand because I didn’t want my brothers to read my diary. Use whatever works for you!

Gratitude Journal Tips

Use the gratitude journaling tips below to help you derive the most benefit from the practice.

1. Feel it in your heart.

Creating meaningful entries in a Gratitude journal is a much more effective way to produce lasting feelings of thankfulness. So, instead of quickly jotting down a list of items, create lasting gratitude by taking the time to feel what you are grateful for.

Gratitude journal prompts make it easy to find something that you are grateful for to write about. When we feel gratitude in our hearts, we are more likely to extend our feelings of gratefulness to the world around us.

Taking the time to doodle or create drawings that go with your responses is another excellent way to feel gratitude in your heart as you make each gratitude journal entry. I like to call it gratitude art therapy!

2. Make it personal.

Spend time personalizing each gratitude journal entry. Create art, doodle, or draw anything or anyone you are thankful for in life. If you like that idea, THIS printable gratitude journal page makes drawing and doodling your gratitude journal entries fun and easy.

This activity can help you focus more on your gratitude for the blessings in your life–instead of what you don’t have. And spending time thinking about what we have to be thankful for specifically, can help increase happiness and well-being.

Have fun personalizing your gratitude journal with gel pen doodles, gratitude stickers, and anything else that makes you feel good!

3. Focus on people and events more than things.

When practicing and expressing gratitude, turning the spotlight toward people and events instead of material possessions is like choosing the deluxe chocolate cake over a tiny cookie crumb. Focusing on people and positive events can help create stronger feelings of thankfulness and gratitude. Meaningful events and the people in our lives usually bring us more joy than the things we have.

While material things can bring fleeting happiness, connecting with the people who make your heart do a happy dance and cherishing the memories of unforgettable events creates a deeper and more lasting sense of gratitude.

Moments like that time your best friend busted out their dance moves at a wedding or the heart-to-heart talk with your sibling that left you laughing until your sides hurt. When you focus on these moments, you’re not just enjoying a tiny little slice of joy but baking a whole gratitude cake of meaningful experiences.

4. take a moment to think of your life without them.

Increase gratitude by thinking of what your life would be like without them. In other words, consider the absence of the people, places, things, and events that you are most thankful for as a way to increase your feelings of gratitude toward them. Thinking about what life would be like in their absence helps make the heart grow fonder, and increases feelings of gratitude toward them.

5. Revisit feelings of gratitude during waking hours.

Remind yourself of things that you are grateful for throughout the day, especially as you are experiencing them firsthand or immediately afterward. This will bring the habit of grateful thinking into your daily life and you will become habitually thankful.

When you cultivate gratitude as a mindset and way of approaching life. It’s like sending little happy sparks to your brain whenever you pause and remember things you’re grateful for such as a delicious cup of coffee, a funny moment with friends, or a text from that special someone. These sparks help keep your mood sunny and your stress levels low.

Gratitude isn’t just a one-time magic trick. It’s more like a wonderful playlist that you keep on repeat. The more you hit the gratitude button throughout the day, the more you remind yourself of all the awesome little things that often get overlooked. Your brain starts to notice these good moments like a detective on the trail of happiness clues.

Plus, gratitude isn’t a solo act. When you share your appreciation with others; whether it’s thanking your coworker for being an office superhero or telling your pizza delivery person they’re a real-life magician, you’re not just making them smile. You’re creating a ripple of positivity that bounces back to you, turning your day into a joy-filled boomerang.

So, in a nutshell, reminding yourself of the things you’re grateful for during your waking hours is like giving your brain a bouquet of happiness flowers. It keeps your mood sunny, helps you find the spark of magic in the everyday happenings of life, and spreads joy to everyone that crosses your path.

It’s like putting on gratitude-tinted glasses and seeing the world in a colorful, heartwarming way. And hey, who wouldn’t want to wear those glasses all day?

6. Create a new meaningful gratitude journal entry at least a few times per week (if not daily).

Believe it or not, daily gratitude journal entries are not as effective as writing what we are grateful for less often. (source) So, use a gratitude journal prompt to create a new ‘meaningful’ gratitude journal entry at least a few times per week to help increase feelings of gratefulness.

Why? Writing down what we are grateful for daily can desensitize us to the things that matter in our lives, especially when it’s a quick list made every day without any feeling. With that said, if you would like to write in a gratitude journal daily. Use the helpful tips above to bring the emotion of gratitude into your heart, and it’s likely to be effective.

Gratitude Journal Printable Prompts

Printable gratitude journal prompts can help children and adults learn how to express gratitude for life. If you are interested in knowing how to teach kids about gratitude, look at this fun collection of gratitude activities. It includes information, activities, games, crafts, and other great resources for parents and educators that make it easy to teach kids how to be grateful. You might also enjoy this list of Thanksgiving gratitude activities for kids and families.

Learn more about Rhythms of Play HERE!

Gratitude Journal Prompts Printable

More Gratitude Activities and Crafts

List of gratitude journal prompts for kids and adults

Comments

Sheryl says

at

Hello,
I’ve been trying to download the free-to-use PDF Gratitude prompts by clicking on the links given…and all that happens is I go in circles to another page that states again to “click here!” Could you please tell me how to download the PDF you mention is free to use? I would be full of gratitude if you would do so! 🙂

- Nell Regan M.A. says
  
  at
  
  Hi Sheryl, I’m so sorry that you are having trouble downloading the gratitude journal prompts. I just tested it myself and it worked for me. Sometimes it does not work on mobile. Have you tried to download it on a desktop or laptop computer?

Gratitude Journal Prompts Printable

What is Gratitude?