This time of year seems to bring out the people committing acts of kindness. Without thinking about it, you probably shows acts of kindness almost every day. You just aren't conscious that they are acts of kindness. You are just being yourself.
Well, this year I thought I would purposely show specific acts of kindness for the month of December. I found several sites online that would allow me to print off calendars for the month and even lists and more lists of acts to write on that calendar. I admit that that is exactly what I planned to do. PLANNED is the key word here.
At church the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of Advent. I loved the family Advent night our church always had in CA on that Sunday night. We would have soup made from peoples' leftover turkey carcass and there would many activities for the children to make Advent related items. Advent is such an exciting time - a time of wonder(ing), of expectation, of WAITING.
I couldn't get all of that out of my mind. So I got to thinking. Why not have my calendar of Acts of Kindness be more in line with Advent - of wondering, of expectation, of excitement, of anticipation, of waiting.
So how did I decide to do this, you ask? Well, instead of writing an "act" on a day on a calendar, I wrote the "act" on a piece of paper, folded it, and then placed it in my Santa cookie jar. Then each day I will draw out a piece of paper and see what "act" I will be showing that day. For the whole time of Advent, I will be wondering, filled with expectation and excitement, of anticipation, of waiting to see what each day will bring. (Yes, I know what is one the papers, but not which one I will draw out each day.)
Here is a list of possible acts that you can make your own:
1) Text a friend to say you are thinking about them.
2) Leave a generous tip to your server.
3) Take treats to the fire station.
4) Candy cane bomb a parking lot.
5) Let someone go ahead of you in line.
6) Call a relative you haven't talked to in a while.
7) Treat your dentist and his staff to Christmas cookies.
8) Donate books you no longer need (to the library or a nursing home)
9) Bring in the neighbors' trash bins.
10) Put money in a Salvation Army bucket.
11) Pay the toll for the car behind you.
12) Give a compliment to someone you don't know.
13) Feed the birds.
14) Leave a treat for the mailman.
15) Open the door for someone.
16) Pay for the coffee for the person behind you in line.
17) Give someone a hug.
18) Send a card to someone you don't see often.
19) Leave a happy note (on a post-it) on a bathroom mirror that says, "You look fabulous!"
20) Donate clothes to a thrift shop.
21) Give your hair stylist/barber a treat.
22) Call a friend you haven't talked to in ages.
23) Fulfill an Angel Tree request.
24) Do a load of laundry (or some other chore he/she usually does) for a family member.
25) Donate food to the church's food pantry.
26) Give a volunteer a special treat.
27) Give a loved one a back rub.
28) Take treats to the church staff.
29) Give a homeless person on the street corner a coupon for a free meal.
30) Leave a positive note on someone's blog.
and I could go on and on. If you need other suggestions, you can just search "random acts of kindness" and you will find many sites that will give you suggestions.
Would love to hear from you while you share this season of anticipation, of excitement, of wonder(ings), of waiting.
Well, this year I thought I would purposely show specific acts of kindness for the month of December. I found several sites online that would allow me to print off calendars for the month and even lists and more lists of acts to write on that calendar. I admit that that is exactly what I planned to do. PLANNED is the key word here.
At church the Sunday after Thanksgiving is the beginning of Advent. I loved the family Advent night our church always had in CA on that Sunday night. We would have soup made from peoples' leftover turkey carcass and there would many activities for the children to make Advent related items. Advent is such an exciting time - a time of wonder(ing), of expectation, of WAITING.
I couldn't get all of that out of my mind. So I got to thinking. Why not have my calendar of Acts of Kindness be more in line with Advent - of wondering, of expectation, of excitement, of anticipation, of waiting.
So how did I decide to do this, you ask? Well, instead of writing an "act" on a day on a calendar, I wrote the "act" on a piece of paper, folded it, and then placed it in my Santa cookie jar. Then each day I will draw out a piece of paper and see what "act" I will be showing that day. For the whole time of Advent, I will be wondering, filled with expectation and excitement, of anticipation, of waiting to see what each day will bring. (Yes, I know what is one the papers, but not which one I will draw out each day.)
Here is a list of possible acts that you can make your own:
1) Text a friend to say you are thinking about them.
2) Leave a generous tip to your server.
3) Take treats to the fire station.
4) Candy cane bomb a parking lot.
5) Let someone go ahead of you in line.
6) Call a relative you haven't talked to in a while.
7) Treat your dentist and his staff to Christmas cookies.
8) Donate books you no longer need (to the library or a nursing home)
9) Bring in the neighbors' trash bins.
10) Put money in a Salvation Army bucket.
11) Pay the toll for the car behind you.
12) Give a compliment to someone you don't know.
13) Feed the birds.
14) Leave a treat for the mailman.
15) Open the door for someone.
16) Pay for the coffee for the person behind you in line.
17) Give someone a hug.
18) Send a card to someone you don't see often.
19) Leave a happy note (on a post-it) on a bathroom mirror that says, "You look fabulous!"
20) Donate clothes to a thrift shop.
21) Give your hair stylist/barber a treat.
22) Call a friend you haven't talked to in ages.
23) Fulfill an Angel Tree request.
24) Do a load of laundry (or some other chore he/she usually does) for a family member.
25) Donate food to the church's food pantry.
26) Give a volunteer a special treat.
27) Give a loved one a back rub.
28) Take treats to the church staff.
29) Give a homeless person on the street corner a coupon for a free meal.
30) Leave a positive note on someone's blog.
and I could go on and on. If you need other suggestions, you can just search "random acts of kindness" and you will find many sites that will give you suggestions.
Would love to hear from you while you share this season of anticipation, of excitement, of wonder(ings), of waiting.
Wow great idea:)
ReplyDeleteThanks. I found myself wondering what my "act" was going to be this morning before I even got up from bed. So much better than filling out a calendar.
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