Nov 9

Nov 9 DIY: 100 Blessings necklace (especially for kids)

A necklace that captures 100 ways to be thankful

Did you know that when you’re Jewish, everyday is a Thanksgiving Day? The reason can be found in the Talmud (a book of rabbinic teachings), where it is written to say “thank you” 100 times during a day! In Hebrew, these “thanks yous” are called a bracha or brachot (blessing(s). With Thanksgiving right around the corner, we decided to make our holiday feel extra special - and filled with an abundance of gratitude - by thinking of 100 things we are thankful for! We recently made a 100 Blessing Necklace, and we wanted to make a simpler version for children too! You only need a few supplies and a heart full of gratitude (a little human would be wonderful too)! So let’s make a 100 Blessings Necklace for kids!

100 Blessings Necklace (Kid's’ Edition)

For each necklace you will need:

1 tiny wishing capsule (with an eye screw on top of the cork)
100 seed beads
36 inches of cording (we used embroidery floss)
1 small spring ring
1 small closed jump ring

Here’s how to make this little capsule of thankfulness with a child:

1. Gather your supplies. Have your child pick up one seed bead, and ask what they are thankful for. Maybe it’s puppies, donuts, nosey kisses…

or pet chickens!

Your child can take the seed bead and drop it in the capsule. When dropping it in, your little one can say “I’m thankful for pet chickens,” or could even say, “Baruch atah Adonai…pet chickens!”

Yay! One blessing bead down, 99 to go!

Have fun thinking of all kinds of things to be thankful for!

2. Have your child pick up another bead, and ask them to think of a second thing they are grateful for. They can say “Thank you for (insert)” or “Baruch atah Adonai (insert),” and then drop the bead in the capsule. When you’re out of beads, you will have a tiny capsule filled with 100 Blessings!

3. When the capsule is all filled, close it with the cork. String the cord through the eye screw on top of the cork, adjust the length that’s comfortable for your child and tie the spring ring and closed jump ring on the ends of the cord.

Your child can wear their 100 Blessings Necklace close to their heart or keep it in a special place in their bedroom. It can be a loving reminder that on days that are good and on days that aren’t so good, there is always something to be thankful for.

Gratitude is the Jewish Value Hakarat haTov (recognizing the good). We hope you have a sweet time recognizing all that is good in your child’s life through their eyes, and we hope it fills you with gratitude, happiness and love.

You can read about more about our 100 Blessing Necklace for adults (which gives a little more information about the background of 100 blessings) and for some Thanksgiving fun in the kitchen, you can make a yummy edible baby turkey food craft! And don’t forget, Hanukkah is just around the corner, and you can visit our Hanukkah Round-up for ideas to get started on your Hanukkah celebrations!

Happy Thanksgiving!