Ask your kids to give "thanks" at Thanksgiving.

Children can have fun giving thanks - and it's a great habit to learn.

At Thanksgiving try to get your kids involved in the spirit of Thanksgiving. Perhaps this is a good time for your child to write a than you note to her teacher of her coach for the positive influences in her life.

Or maybe even write a close friend to say nothing more than, "thank you for being my friend." The idea is to teach kids to appreciate the wonderful things in life - perhaps the things they otherwise take for granted and say, 'thanks.'

This 'spirit of gratitude' can be made into a fun project with scissors and colored paper for the younger kids and/or try calligraphy pens or a computer designs for the older kids. And no, try to send it snail mail and not email. A physical letter of thanks is not only appreciated more, but it is increasingly rare.

Saying "thank you" is free. But the benefits are worth millions.

Have fun and make it an adventure!