Fun Gratitude Games

Grateful people are happy people because they view life as a gift instead of a burden. Some people express gratitude by telling people they are grateful, some people pray and thank God, others think thoughts of gratitude. A great way to encourage gratefulness in a group of people is to play fun gratitude games.

Make up cards, some with pictures of things the group might be thankful for, and others that simply say the word “Gratitude.” Place the cards inside a bag and pass them around so that each participant can select one. If they pull out one of the picture cards, they show it to everybody and tell the group why we should all be grateful for this image on the card. The “Gratitude” cards allow players to express something they are thankful for based on their own lives, be it people, things, health or anything else.

Give everybody a blank sheet of paper and a pencil. Set a timer for two minutes and tell everyone to write down things they are grateful for, listing as many things as they can in the short time. Each entry should be two words or less to encourage speed and quantity. When the time is up, everybody counts their number of entries. The person with the highest number then reads them off and everybody with a duplicate entry must cross it off their list. The winner of the game is the one with the highest number of unique answers.

Everybody thinks of someone who has supported and encouraged them in their life. Write a letter of gratitude to that person going over specific details about how he was helpful and how he made a positive impact on your life. Participants have the option of sending the letter, if the person is still alive. An alternative gratitude letter is to write it to one of your heroes, such as an author or some other person who has had a significant impact on your life.

The group forms a circle and designates one person to start the game. The first player says something they are thankful for about the person on the left and right. The next person does the same until everybody in the group has spoken praise to their adjacent neighbors. Encourage participants to be specific with their praise as much as possible.