25 Days of Kindness: 2014

Can you believe it is December?? Where did the fall go?! We hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend filled with family, friends and delicious food.

This month tends to get hectic and busy, but giving back to others is a tradition we both strive to do more of during this time of year. If you were around LDB this time last year, you may remember our 25 Days of Kindness campaign. Well…we’re doing it again! And we want you to join.

We’ve created a list of 25 things to do from now until Christmas, that will all bring a little joy into someone else’s day:

1. Send a hand written card to an older family member you haven’t talked to lately
2. Buy the person’s coffee behind you
3. Make a donation to or volunteer at your local food bank (or try Santa’s Milk Drive to donate milk, one of the most requested donations)
4. Bake cookies for your neighbor
5. Buy a gift off a giving tree
6. Buy a warm drink for the salvation bell ringers
7. Let the person behind you go ahead at the store
8. Make a donation to a local animal shelter
9. Share a positive/encouraging blog post with others
10. Drop flowers off at hospital or senior center for whoever needs them most
11. Add money onto someone’s expired parking meter
12. Bring an extra cart or 2 from the parking lot into store
13. Give care packs to the homeless
14. Clean out your closet and donate clothes you no longer wear
15. Be generous with compliments
16. Send a care package to a soldier overseas (try Send Santa To The Troops)
17. Send flowers to brighten a friend’s day
18. Buy coffee for your boss
19. Make a positive comment on a website or blog
20. Start a piggy bank for a cause – when it’s full, donate it to that charity
21. Donate gifts to toys for tots or to your local hospital
22. Do household chore for someone
23. Leave a gift for your mailman
24. Thank your parents
25. Leave a nice tip and card with someone working on Christmas

The important part is not that you complete each specific task on the given day, but just that you take some time away from your busy schedule to think about someone else and a way to help or encourage them. Giving back to others has a way of making you feel better about yourself, too!

We will be sharing our adventures on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (Kelly’s here and Stephanie’s here) using the hashtag #25DaysofKindness and we would love for you to join us! Hannah and Suruchi from Simply Living will be joining from Texas and London, Kelly is in California and Stephanie is in Idaho. Let’s see how many places we can spread the love! Please let us know if you are participating and we will add you to our list.

Happy Holidays, friends! Make sure to step back, breathe and remember what is truly important this time of year.

~Kelly & Stephanie