Advent acts of kindness

[JasperDamerel]

I'd like to have an advent jar with ideas for kind and helpful things to do, so that we could choose one each day and do it. So things like picking up litter, writing to grandparents, donating to a food bank etc.

Do you have any good suggestions? Especially for things that are helpful to people in the wider community its, not just family and friends, and which primary school aged children can do with not too much help.

I've seen this idea on Facebook and I really like it. Get a box and put something in it each day to donate. So it could be food for a food bank or toys for a children's centre.

Amnesty have a card sending campaign in advent - Christmas cards to prisoners and persecuted individuals.

Ooh! I want to write to prisoners on death row.

I also want to start visits to lonely people all year. There was a Bisto advert last year about offering a chair to a lonely person at Christmas. That sounds like a lovely thing to do.

Donate items to local animal shelter.

We did this one year. My DC picked a toy and a dog/cat treat and I included old blankets and towels and tins of food.

Take card/flowers/chocs to neighbours.

I think Boots do a toy collection. They could pick a toy/book to put in. We did the John Lewis one last year.

Give up your seat on a bus or train to an older person/Mum with a baby etc

Collect old pairs of specs and donate them via a local optician.

Go to a local jumble sale/carol concert to support a cause close to your heart.

If Blue Peter still do a Christmas collection join in with it.

This year we are making up a foodbox for the foodbank but in the past we have gone without pudding and saved up what we would have spent , along with any loose change, and boys put 1/3 of their pocket money in the fund and then we take the money to buy a toy for the childrens ward.

1. Donate our outgrown summer shoes (local shoe shop passes them on to a charity)
2. Extra long brushing of teeth and share our sparkling smiles with everyone we meet
3. Make up a box of food for the food bank
4. Go shopping and buy a present for a child who might not get many gifts
5. Donate our old books and toys to a women's shelter
6. Bring a basket of art supplies to the children's hospital where we stayed when we were sick
7. Leave back the shopping trolley without taking the coin out
8. Make pine cone bird feeder "decorations" for the garden
9. Feed ducks

10. Feed birds in garden 11. Leave some wishing pennies near the fountain 12. Visit someone we love who hasn't seen us in a while (e.g. Montessori teacher) 13. Be extra kind to daddy today ( simple but really fun with little kids!) 14. Make thank you cards for people who help us (e.g school caretaker who gets overlooked at Christmas) 15. Tell everyone we meet today one thing we like about them

Whenever we go to Tesco during November/December we pick up 5 or 6 of the 50p advent calendars and pop them in the food bank box, that could be one of your acts of kindness?

My list is geared towards 4-7 year olds. How old are your kids?

We do this every year. Typical things are:
Make mince pies to give to neighbours.
Buy socks/hats/gloves/undies/blankets for a homeless charity.
Give gingerbread to friends.
Make Christingle oranges for church.
Give nice choccies or xmas pudding to the food bank.
Cook dinner for the family.
Carol singing with the scouts.