40 Random Acts Of {Christmas} Kindness
ANY DAY OF THE YEAR ACTUALLY
December 24, 2014
It’s Christmas Eve! Can you believe it’s already here? :-) I can’t! This Christmas season has gone SO fast for me and to be quite honest, I was in a pretty “grinchy” mood up until about a week ago! That was when I was stopped in the grocery store by a woman who had been the recipient of one of my Random Acts Of Kindness last Christmas. She happened to spy me in the store and made a point of tracking me down to tell me a story.
It seems the day I was inspired to give her some extra cash (Christmas Eve) was also the day her 3-year-old grandson had moved in with her. Sadly, her 27-year-old daughter had recently passed away from cancer and the father of the ***** wasn’t able to care for him any longer. She informed me that she hadn’t had the money to buy him any Christmas gifts and the extra cash had allowed her to do that.
I left the grocery store that day feeling happy and humbled. I was so happy to know that my RAOK had such a positive affect, and I was humbled that up until that moment I had temporarily forgotten the “true spirit” of Christmas. Ever since my chat in the grocery store my heart has been full of gratitude and the holiday season has been shiny and bright again!
This experience also reminded me why I love doing Random Acts of Kindness at Christmas! Even though it takes some initiative, planning, courage, and even a little faith…ROAK’s are a rewarding and memorable part of Christmas that I wouldn’t change for anything!
Instead of talking about me and my family’s Random Acts of Kindness this year….I thought I’d give you all some ideas and inspiration to start doing your own! I promise, if you take the time to do even ONE of the things on the list below, your Christmas will be made that much merrier!
Pay for someone’s layaway.
Pay for someone’s groceries behind you in line.
Take flowers to the nurse’s station at your local hospital – the nurses will know who needs them most.
Pay for the lunch of people behind you at a fast food restaurant or behind you in the drive thru.
Take lunch, cookies, or cupcakes to your local fire department and/or police department.
Donate stuffed animals to police and fire departments to use during emergencies to help calm frightened ********.
Leave extra time in the parking meter or fill an expired or about to expire parking meter.
Put change in a row of vending machines.
Buy extra groceries for the local food bank.
Pick up the tab when dining out. Approach the waiter and pay when no one is watching.
Leave a nice waiter or waitress a generous tip.
Buy dessert for someone eating out alone.
Pick up the tab for a random table at a restaurant.
Tape cash or a gift card on a random gas pump.
Pay the toll for the person behind you.
Put sticky notes with positive messages in public places.
Sing Christmas Carols, play board games, or just visit with senior citizens at a nursing home.
Tape a plastic bag of quarters to a washer or dryer at the laundromat.
Purchase some extra dog or cat food and drop it off at an animal shelter.
Leave a $5 taped to the entrance of a car wash or tape a gift certificate for a free car wash to a stranger’s car.
Hand out gloves and mittens to the homeless, or leave them on park benches.
Bring coffee to construction workers, police on detail, or anyone working outside.
Pay for the coffee, the toll, or the bus fare for the person behind you.
Be understanding of traveling parents with the grumpy or noisy kids.
Sing an employee’s praises to a manager or on a comment card — a little recognition goes a long way.
Help someone load their groceries.
Offer to return someone’s shopping cart to the store.
Let someone go ahead of you in the checkout line.
Leave a favorite book in a public place with a note that’s it’s free for the taking.
Hide a few dollar bills around the Dollar Store.
Volunteer an afternoon at a soup kitchen.
Paid past due library fees for 5 people and while there, put dollar bills in some of your favorite books.
Put a comment on someone’s webpage that you really like……let them know you enjoy it. ;-)
Leave nice comments on Twitter, and Facebook.
Drop off a toy or game at a hospital or a homeless shelter.
Donate coloring books and boxes of new crayons to the pediatric wing of a hospital.
Leave a big bottle of laundry detergent at a laundromat.
Give a hot drink to the person ringing the Salvation Army bell.
Leave candy canes on the windshields of random cars.
Invite someone you suspect will be alone to spend your holiday celebrations with you.
How do you spread kindness at Christmas?