The Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar (It’s chocolate free but still good)

I love advent calendars but something has never sat well with me about giving them treats every day leading up to Christmas.

I mean, yeah kids, come to all these parties and smash candy canes all day every day then eat the yummy stuff mummy is baking for everyone, now make sure to grab your chocolate from the calendar when we get home. Why are you guys acting so mental today? Behave, stop bouncing off the walls, DON’T MAKE ME CALL SANTA!

So I was doing some research about alternatives to chocolate advent calendars and I found a whole bunch of ‘random acts of kindness’ ones. (Or Random acts of Christmas as I like to think of them.)

Awesome – the kids can learn how doing things and giving things to other people is soooooooooo much freaking better than getting stuff and also that not everything is about them.

Settled.

Buuut, I wanted to make it special to us, so I wrote our own list of 24 random acts of kindness to do this December.

We already have a tradition of letting the kids open their gift from us on Christmas Eve (it’s always new PJ’s and a Christmas book) so now they will have 24 days of ‘giving’ (and watching me give) leading up to the moment where they get to ‘get’.

Obviously some of this stuff on the list won’t get done, that’s life but we are aiming to do it all – on whatever day it suits, it doesn’t need to be in order. So if you want to play along please do! But mix it up, make sure it suits you.

24 Random Acts of Christmas Ideas

1. Compliment someone on how well they are rocking parenting, their job or their outfit.

2. Write a nice comment on a blog your enjoy.

3. Buy someone a coffee.

4. Give someone a list of things you love about them.

5. Donate new PJ’s, razors or fancy shampoo and conditioner to a women’s refuge.

6. Leave some love notes around to remind people they are wonderful.

7. Write a letter or email to someone telling them how awesome they are.

8. Buy a box of mangos for your kids’ teachers.

9. Put money in a collections box.

10. Smile at everyone you walk past.

11. Bring a huge box of ice blocks to the park.

12. Offer to help someone with something.

13. Pick up rubbish in a public place.

14. Tape some coins to a vending machine.

15. Leave a gift for the postie in the letterbox.

16. Call a local charity, like the ones that house families of sick kids near the hospital, and ask them what they are in need of, then put a call out on Facebook.

17. Deliver a bunch of flowers (hand-picked or not) to the fireys to say thanks.

18. Generously tip someone.

19. Buy Christmas presents that donate to charities.

20. Leave some pencils and a colouring-in book with a note attached somewhere a bored child will find it. Like a waiting room or the RTA.

21. Bring someone who is working in the sun a cold drink.

22. Buy you dog, or your neighbour’s dog a bone from the butcher.

23. Offer up your services; if you’re good at taking pictures, offer to take some portraits for a friend. Are you a hairdresser? Give away a free chop.

24. Help someone unco to wrap their presents. (I’m looking at you mum)