25 Days of Simple Christmas-Simple Acts of Kindness

Welcome to the 25 Days of Simple Christmas!  Each day I will be posting an idea of keeping the holidays simple- so that we can focus on Christ and the real meaning of Christmas!


While Christmas is such a special day, so much of the joy gets lost in the busyness.  
Each day I will be writing about a simple way to celebrate the season.  To focus on family, joy, and memories, without the elaborate extras that can bring added stress. Simple can be more meaningful if it gives us more time to focus on the huge GIFT we are awaiting-Jesus Christ, our Savior.

Now, we can do these all year round, but it is especially fun to do these at Christmas.  You can do them for 25 days, or you can do them sporadically.  Get involved as family.  The most important thing is to show our kids that doing these acts of kindness are a way of giving ourselves without expecting anything in return!

Here are some ideas:

• Bake cookies, make candies, etc. and leave at a neighbor’s door, just because.
  
• Rake a neighbor’s leaves while they are not home. When they come home, what a surprise and treat to have this much dreaded chore complete!
  
• Babysit a friend’s kids while they go out Christmas shopping {alone}. I have had this one done for ME in the past, and it is a wonderful treat at Christmas time!
  
• Leave dollars in the toy section of the dollar store randomly among the shelves. Leave  a note saying it is a random act of kindness-what a treat for someone!
  
• At our grocery store we have carts where you deposit a quarter, and then get it back at the end after you have returned your cart. I have been leaving my  quarter so the next person doesn’t need one.
  
• Buy a coffee treat or latte and bring to your favorite local store owner, police station, firemen, etc.
  
• Bake cookies for your librarian. We use the library so much, we are definitely doing this one this year!
  
• Leave an unexpected treat in the mailbox for your mail carrier.
  
• Give the UPS delivery person a treat-cookies, chocolates, etc.  I am sure they are working hard this season.
  
• Stop at a local playground and hand out small gifts to the children.  I can imagine the surprise of this unexpected treat.  Enclose notes that these are random acts of kindness, or a gospel tract.
  
• Bring in your neighbor’s garbage cans on garbage day.
  
• Offer to do errands for an elderly neighbor.
  
• Let the person behind you in the supermarket go ahead of you-even if they have a BIG order. How often we do this when they have only one item, but imagine their surprise when they have  a LARGE order?
  
• The list of possibilities are endless for these random acts. They don’t have to be big or elaborate. A small act of kindness can go a real long way.  Even better when it is done anonymously. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4
  
  
• Share with me your favorites!  Get out there and show God’s love this season.

25 Days of Christmas: Home for the Holidays @ Graceful Abandon 

25 Days of Easy Christmas Crafts for Toddlers & Preschoolers @ Sidetracked Sarah 

25 Days of Christmas Traditions @ Sharing the Journey