The 25 day Advent Calendar is used to pass the time until some people's favorite day - Christmas! However, there are so many cultures and religions and celebrations, we must re-brand the Holiday season as something more universal. And what's more universal than spreading good cheer by doing some good for the people and community around us?
Pick 25 of the below suggestions (or 2 a week, whatever you honestly can muster) and write them on scraps of paper and put them in a jar/ bow/ empty something and reach in a grab one each day - an act of service that will most-definitely lift yours and others' spirits during a sometimes challenging time of year.
Being happily and usefully whole is the strongest gift, and is the true source of the joy people seek.
I'm grateful for the moments we can communally share in that, religious title or not.
All the love. x/Amy
DELIVER TREATS
to neighbors, to a police or fire station, to those less fortunate, etc.
Bring hot drinks to someone who’s been outside in the cold all day
DONATIONS
Used clothing
Used books to library
Home Items and Toys
Give blankets to the homeless/ make Homeless Care Packages (don’t forget feminine hygeine products!) and keep them in your car or in your purse.
To a local religious, philanthropic, or community institution
Choose non-perishable food items to donate to a local food bank // find or help create a food bank.
Together choose an unused toy to donate to a charity, such as Toys for Tots
Gather games to donate to children at a children’s hospital
Donate food to an animal shelter – it’s a good idea to call ahead to see what type of food is needed or if there are special needs
Donate new pajamas to a local youth shelter
GENEROSITY
Pay for a stranger’s coffee.
Or library fines
Over-tip your waitress
Bring a DIY cooking or craft treat to someone who lives alone.
Adopt and partner with a low-income family via The Giving Tree – a Giving Tree pairs families with families in your area who can’t afford gifts for their children.
Leave a bag of quarters – with a note – on a washer at a laundromat or on a parking meter
Make a card and deliver it with flowers to an elderly neighbor
Deliver cases of bottled water to a local shelter or the Red Cross – you could also call ahead and ask if there are other emergency supplies that would be helpful to donate
GRATITUDE
Write gratitudes on strips of construction or metallic paper to make a paper chain or decorative flowers for easy, thoughtful holiday decorations.
Write lists or what you’re thankful for, alone or in groups.
Make a “grateful jar” for each family member and whenever you think of something you’re grateful for about that family member, write it down and place it in their jar
THANK YOU LETTERS
Mail deliverers
Garbage collectors
Create a Thank You basket (and see if you can empty it by Christmas!) – fill a basket with small gifts and supplies to write thank you notes and every time you have opportunity – the mail deliverer, the garbage collectors, the recycling truck driver, etc – grab a little gift or write them a thank you note to honor their service and tell you how much you appreciate them
Teachers or Supervisors
PRAY, formally, or in your own unique way - write “Let So-and-So be happy” once a day for the 25 days; Say, “Please,” in the morning and, “Thank You,” at night.
For all the people in our lives
To be happily and usefully whole
WRITE handwritten letters.
Mail a card to a relative that you have not seen in awhile
Send a birthday card or Christmas card to a missionary or to a member of their family
LET SOMEONE ahead of you in line.
HOLD THE DOOR open for someone.
VISIT nursing home.
Deposit coins in some parking meters downtown.
Serve at local soup kitchen.
HOST friends for dinner.
Take meal to a family.
Give your siblings a gift.
Record an audiobook for Librivox
With your child, fund a $25 micro-loan via Kiva.org and help them track how the loan is paid back. This is a FANTASTIC way to interface lessons about generosity, financial stewardship, and economics.
Pack a Christmas shoebox for Operation Shoebox
Draw a cheery picture for someone who’s ill or grieving.
Eat at least one meal a week as a family. If appropriate, volunteer ahead of time to help make or serve meals as well.
Read at a local nursing home
Sing Carols
Deliver or donate blankets to those who sleep in the cold – If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable delivering blankets yourself, take the blankets in person to a shelter.
Create a card to send to a hospitalized child
Sweep the walkway, shovel the sidewalk, or rake the yard for a neighbor or someone in need
Offer to carry someone’s groceries at the grocery store
Clean up trash in a park or playground
Help neighbors bring in their trash cans on trash day
Make a meal for someone
Participate in or organize a work bee at church, at the local community center, or in your neighborhood
