24 Days of Kindness (Plus a Bonus)
Nov 30, 2024
24 Days of Kindness (Plus a Bonus)
1. Decorate a Tree of Festive Nibbles for Wildlife: Instead of a traditional tree, decorate an outdoor tree with popcorn strings, dried fruits, and nuts for birds and squirrels (just be sure to check online what is safe for our furry friends!)
2. Be In-Home Tech Support Assistance: Provide free tech help for seniors or those struggling with technology, assisting them with running updates on their devices, setting up holiday video calls, recovering passwords, cleaning up data storage or setting up streaming services.
3. Gratitude Jar: Create a gratitude jar and invite family and friends to add notes of what they are thankful for, then read them together on New Year’s Eve.
4. Gift card Balance Fairy: Offer to gather the odds-and-ends gift cards around the house & look up or call to get their balances. Write those balances down & make it a goal to encourage spending those funds first this season!
5. Neighborhood Shoveling Brigade: Organize a team with your kids or neighborhood to shovel snow for elderly neighbors or those who may struggle with mobility.
6. Cinnamon Roll Surprise Drop Offs: Bake and decorate cinnamon rolls to drop off to friends, family, church or neighbors - involving the whole family in the baking and decorating process. Add a note of kindness.
7. Sprinkle Compliment Cards: Create small compliment cards to hand out to strangers or leave in public places for people to find.
8. Snowman Donation Boxes: Gather old hats, gloves & scarves not fit for donation & allocate them into snowman boxes out of old Amazon boxes or grocery bags. The next heavy snow, pass them out to the neighborhood for kids to use as they build a snowman in their yards!
9. "Double your Dinner" Donation: Make a double batch of your dinner one night & offer to deliver a meal to a busy or overwhelmed family member, friend or neighbor.
10. Be the Amazon Return Sleigh: Send out an all-call to see if anyone needs help with Amazon returns. They can send you the QR codes, you have helped cut their clutter & knocked a to-do item off their list.
11. Holiday Movie Babysit Night: Organize a free holiday movie night for kiddos so fellow parents can drop off & then shop, have a date, clean, wrap gifts, etc for a few hours. Add treats like popcorn or leftover Halloween candy for that movie theater feel!
12. Complimentary Little Library Bookmarks: Create handmade bookmarks with inspirational quotes to distribute at local little libraries, coffee shops or the town library.
13. Holiday Playlist Donation: Curate a festive holiday playlist and share it with elderly neighbors who may not have access to streaming services, offering them a gift of music. Encourage friends to add their favorites and spread the joy. Post online so others think of your kindness throughout the season!
14. Ho Ho Home Cleaning Project: Help Offer to tackle a specific cleaning project: cleaning out the fridge, garage, attic, junk drawer, basement linen closet or even your own mess to get ready for the season. Reward all your hard work with a movie night or hot cocoa treat!
15. Gift Wrapping Swap Party: Host a gift-wrapping party where people can bring their gifts, paper & a snack to share with the group while you all wrap away! Or offer to wrap gifts for them if they struggle with this task. Put on a fun Hallmark Movie & make a fun night of this festive chore.
16. Lawn Care for Seniors: Offer to clean a yard, prune hedges, rake leaves or even decorate for the holiday for your family, neighbors or anyone who may struggle to do these outdoor tasks themselves.
17. E-Greeting Cards Surprise: Brighten up some inboxes this season with a surprise e-greeting card! Many websites offer these cards for low cost (like JibJab or Blue Mountain) & will really put a smile on some faces.
18. Complimentary Coffee for Customers... an oldie but goodie!: Pay for the coffee of the person behind you in line, along with a note to pass on the same kindness.
19. Community Gratitude Board: Set up a board in a public space where people can write and post their messages of gratitude and kindness. Ask a local business for some wall or table space to allow the community to show gratitude!
20. Organize Wellness Walks: Because the season isn’t just about eating! Gather a group and go on weekly walks. Get some fresh air, give each other a chance to share what's been happening & before leaving, give everyone a sincere compliment or kind words to lean on for the rest of the day.
21. Local Hero Post: Know a super duper everyday hero? Post about this amazing person online, sometime this season. Tell the world why they are so special & how grateful you are to know them! Or post several times if you can't choose just one.
22. Thank You Notes for our Everyday Helpers: Make homemade thank-you cards to give to your mail carrier, delivery drivers, garbage men, etc during the holiday season.
23. Storytime... Bigs Read to Littles: Volunteer to read holiday stories at local libraries, daycares, hospitals, classrooms or community gatherings for children, providing a magical experience for our littles and prompting literacy.
24. Share THIS Kindness Calendar: Kindness is always better in crowds! Share this calendar to those you care about & help spread some holiday cheer!
*Bonus ** 25. Reverse Advent Calendar: Instead of receiving, create a reverse advent calendar where each day leading up to the holidays, you donate an item to a local charity.
