[Estimated time to read: 2 minutes]
Giving doesn’t necessarily have to cost money. A simple hello to an old friend or family member you haven’t made contact with in years can be more valuable than any tangible gift. To ramp up the holiday feel, here are 21 random acts of kindness you can do this season:
1. Leave the biggest tip you can afford at the restaurant you visit all year
2. Offer to buy coffee for the person standing next in line to you at Starbucks
3. Or let that person go in line in front of you
4. Send anonymous flowers to the receptionist at work
5. Call your grandparents – it’s probably all they want for Christmas!
6. Offer to dog or cat sit for a friend going away for the holidays
7. Tell a hard working colleague what a great job they’ve been doing all year
8. Send a nice, funny video message to your parents or siblings back home
9. Donate blood
10. Offer to drive a friend who’s going away for the holidays to the airport
11. When you get that new Christmas jumper or pair of socks, donate clothes that you no longer use to charity
12. Buy extra groceries and donate them to a local food bank or homeless shelter
13. Take an old friend you haven’t seen for too long to dinner
14. Offer to help an elderly neighbour with their shopping
15. Leave a box of chocolates with a note in your neighbour’s mailbox, anonymously!
16. Leave some money on the vending machine for the next person
17. Send a letter to a friend you haven’t seen in years
18. Surprise everyone you work with by bringing cupcakes or doughnuts to work
19. Leave change in a parking meter
20. Support a cause and donate to a Kickstarter campaign that you believe in
21. Visit an animal shelter – or adopt a new pet
As you sit by the Christmas tree looking back at 2015 and forward to the coming year, wouldn’t it be nice to think of the people whose days you brightened?
It might have been a stranger having the worst week of their life or a colleague who just needed a little something to brighten their day. And you can do it so easily, often without it costing money.
After all, kindness is the essence of Christmas.
We would love to hear about your random acts of kindness, so leave us your comments below.
