Book of Thanks Tutorial – A Thanksgiving Gratitude Binder

Create a Thanksgiving gratitude binder to help you remember each year’s gathering, no matter how big or small. Get ideas for how to design it and what to include inside in this post.

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UPDATED: 12/30/2025

*NOTE* I0 years into this Thanksgiving tradition and I’ve really loved it! It’s been a great way to commemorate our holiday each year, no matter where we are or who we are with.

One of the traditions our family loves is called the Book of Thanks. It is basically a journal or binder that you can bring with you each Thanksgiving, wherever you are, and have everyone write what they are thankful for (or draw a picture) in it.  Today I am sharing a tutorial on how I created my Book of Thanks.  Hopefully it will give you some ideas about creating your own.

Materials Needed

• Silhouette Cameo (or other personal cutting machine)
• Cardstock (white and colors of your choice)
• White copy paper
• Clear page protectors
• 3-ring zipper pouch
• Archival quality fine tip markers (black or colored)
• 3-ring binder (I recommend a 3-inch)

How to Design Your Thanksgiving Gratitude Binder

I designed the cover page of my Thanksgiving gratitude binder using my Silhouette Studio software and a combination of sketch pens and cut outs for the final product. Since I paid for the images I used, I can’t offer my design as a file, but you can click on the links below if you’d like to get the files for yourself to use with your Silhouette.

Images used in Silhouette Studio:

• Sun
• Love Grows Stronger Tree
• 8 Fall Leaves

Font used: Copperplate Gothic Bold (free from Fonts Geek)

 

How to Assemble the Binder

I already had a 3-ring binder so I slipped the cover in the front. Then I grabbed a small stack of white printer paper and stuck it inside to have ready for Thanksgiving day. I also printed off a variety of Thanksgiving coloring pages for my kids. (I have a post here with tons of Thanksgiving freebies.)

I bought a small zipper pouch and put a couple of scrapbooking pens inside. The ink is archival safe and won’t fade or bleed over time compared to regular ball-point pens.  Once the papers have been written on, I put them in protective sleeves and then clip them inside the binder.

Ideas for What to Include

• white copy paper
• coloring pages
• activity pages
• thank you cards
• 3-ring zipper pouch
• archival quality markers (black or colored)
• stickers
• clear page protectors
• menus for the year
• who was at the gathering
• a picture of attendees

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