Make a card for a friend

You’ll need

A4 card
Scissors
Coloured pens or pencils
Paint
Paint brushes
PVA glue
Craft materials (for example, tissue paper, pipe cleaners, stickers)

Learn what gratitude is

Gather everyone together and ask if anyone knows what being grateful or gratitude is.
Explain that gratitude is when you feel thankful for the good things in your life, such as having a place to live, food, clean water, friends, and family.
Now, take a ball and tell everyone you’re going to pass it between the group.
When someone has the ball, they should say what they’re grateful for that’s happened to them recently. They should try to focus on things they can’t hold that make their lives special. For example, people may want to think about friends, singing, helping people, being helped, their favourite weather, or nature.
Now, this time throw the ball and, as you pass the ball, the person should say why they’re grateful for the person they pass to. After they’ve had the ball, people could sit down or step out of the circle to make sure everyone gets the ball.
Finally, do the activity again and this time people should say someone they’re thankful for and why.

Create a thank you card

Now, tell everyone that they’re going to make a thank you card for the person or people they’re thankful for.
Give everyone a piece of card. You could make greetings card or leave it flat like a postcard.
Let people decorate and write the cards however they want to.
Once everyone’s finished their cards, everyone should come together. Anyone who wants to and is happy to can show their cards to the group.

Reflection

This activity gave everyone the chance to stop for a moment and focus on something they’re really grateful for.

Everyone also got to hear what their friends are grateful for. Saying thank you to people can help us to build stronger friendships.

Sometimes people feel so busy that they forget to pause, think about what they’re thankful for, and say thank you to people. How did thinking about what they’re grateful for make people feel? How did they feel when they were making their card?

People’s answers may include feeling happy about what they have and the great friends they’ve made, or feeling satisfied for having said thanks to someone.

Everyone should try to remember to show people they’re thankful over the next week or so. Can anyone think of a specific person they’d like to say thank you to?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

Scissors: Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.
Glue and solvents: Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.