I hope you each had a Merry Christmas! I am recovering from strep throat — super-fun! But I am taking a little down time today to make sure my thank you note lists are up to date. Did you keep lists of gifts as they were opened at your house? .

Making these lists is part of my practice of gratitude. I used to think of thank you notes as a chore, but I have turned them into on of my habits of gratitude in the last few years. After all, they aren’t just good manners; thank you notes are a means of expressing your Thanks after receiving a gift.

So before you put away all of the gifts you received, take a few minutes to write them down and give thanks for such thoughtful blessings from your family and friends! .

I have lots more about gratitude and thank you notes today in a new section on MidModernMama: Gratitude.

I am launching this new Gratitude section with a piece on How to Write Fabulous Thank You Notes and a list of suggestions for Host & Hostess Gifts. I also have a review of AJ Jacob’s new book, Thanks a Thousand where he sets off to thank everyone who makes his morning cup of coffee possible.

And just for fun I have a new list of Bubbles for New Years — champagne and sparkling wine to ring in the new year.

I hope you will stop by and check it out! And thank you! Thank you for being my loyal readers and for setting off with me on this new venture!

XOXO

Angela