Ideas for random acts of kindness.

[Givealittlesomethingback]

Inspired by the Acts of Kindness thread.

Me and my dc were talking about the thread and my dd wants to do some random acts of kindness in the lead up to Christmas.

I don't have a lot of money, maybe a couple of pounds to spare here and there.

Does anyone have some lovely ideas for us to make the world that little bit nicer?

Compliment a stranger on their bag/coat/makeup? I'd love if that happened to me!

There's a post doing the rounds on Fb suggesting people fill a box/ hamper with a tin or packet every day in December and donate it to the food bank or local church - bit like an advent calendar but giving not receiving.

Definitely compliment strangers on little things.

Stop and chat to an alone elderly person in your local area who may not have any one to talk to. We see an old lady walking her dog daily and always chat if passing or wave if I car.

If you know an infirm neighbour who can't leave the house go and chat with them. My toddler DD and I would do this with a lady who had chronic cellulitis and couldn't leave her house. She loved my toddler coming to visit.

Visit a care home and sing carols or just ask if there is a lonely resident who has no local family who needs a visitor.

Just helping someone with their trolley packing or unloading on to the escalator makes people's day.

For years, about once a month when I am supermarket shopping I buy a bunch of flowers - not expensive, spray carnations or the like (under £2 usually) and then wait outside and give them to some random person who catches my eye. Last week it was a man shopping with his elderly mother.
I usually just go 'these are for you' and dash off but he made a point of thanking me, saying it had been a really trying time with his mother and that he was her sole carer.

(Although I am a bit worried about continuing this as I mentioned this to a friend and she suggested it could cause trouble for someone due to their partner's reaction if arriving home with random flowers).

Someone locally planted bulbs on the verges into our estate - in spring they were simply beautiful.

Offer to walk a neighbour's dog for them.
Offer to babysit for someone who would appreciate a night out/some child free time.
Take a bin bag to the park/any open space and pick up litter.
Make sure your garden is well stocked with food for the birds.
Volunteer to help on a stall at your school's Christmas fair.

Check pay it forward schemes in your local cafes/restaurants. Or ask to pick up the tab for the car behind you in the drive thru (a friend had this done for him a few years ago - he just really needed it right then and there that random act of kindness to show him not all humans were horrible).

You could do the penny jar thing (I can't remember the name of the book), basically all year you fill a jar with say £1 coins or whatever you can and then leave it on the doorstep of someone in your community as a surprise gift.

Loving the flowers idea although knowing my luck I'd end up giving them to someone with hayfever!

How about carrying around a post it pad and pen, you could pre-write kind quotes or just write a more there and then. You could leave it on people's windscreens who you've seen harangued or just because.

You could cook a meal for an elderly neighbour or one who is pregnant/just given birth.

Keep a bunch of £1 coins in your pocket if your supermarket uses £1 coins for trolleys. You could even buy some trolley tokens off eBay cheap and give them to anyone struggling for a coin.

One thing I would recommend though is keeping a diary of what you've done, ideas for the future and noting down anything that comes back to you be it via karma or God or just good luck depending on your beliefs. :)

Bag of chocolate/sweets for emergency services - I usually give them when they're fuelling at a garage

AnnieOH1

Agree about things coming back to you. We've had a difficult year thought I was hiding it well to the outside world. A couple of months ago a neighbour and her 9 year old dd (only know by sight) knocked on the door with these. Said hoped I didn't mind but her dd had 'seen Mrs EastMids looking sad when cutting the grass and could they buy me flowers'.
I was overwhelmed and i hope she is very proud of her caring dd

I agree with pp who suggested chatting to elderly people. My DM is widowed and in her eighties, and the conversations she has when she goes to buy her newspaper mean a lot to her - it’s what motivates her to go out.