Ripple this holiday

So I am embarrassed to admit it but I have been dreading the holiday season.  Don’t get me wrong I love the time with my family and the joy it brings my children, but I even worry about how healthy it is for them to have and get so much “stuff”. .So with some soul searching, a little help from the internet and a very close mama friend we have a special plan to make Christmas more personal and less commercial.  We are going to focus on giving love instead of receiving stuff.   For the month of December we will complete as many random acts of kindness (love) as possible and document our progress.  We even have a play/kindness date planned on 12-12-12 where together with our friends we will complete 12 acts on one day.  How fun is that!!  Here is the beginning of our list that is growing by the moment.

v      Mail carrier homemade gift/card (fast food card lunch is on us today)

v      Trash man homemade gift/card (fast food card lunch is on us today)

v      Leave quarters on a soda/snack machine with a note

v      A dollar in the dollar store toy section with a note

v      Gather the grocery carts and return them in the store

v      Leave diaper and wipes on a public changing table

v      Care packs for the homeless

v      Clean out toys and donate to charity

v      Clean out clothes and donate to charity

v      Pick up trash

v      Send a thank you letter to a solider

v      Help someone load their groceries in the car

v      Visit a nursing home with lots of hugs

v      Take canned goods to a food bank

v      Collect coins and give to charity

v      Hold the door for someone

v      Leave coins at a laundry mat with a note that says laundry is on us today

v      Write 5 things you like about someone and give it to them

v      Make daddy breakfast in bed

v      Allow someone behind you in line to go ahead of you

v      Place a note on someone’s windshield

v      Take old towels and pet food to an animal shelter

v      Smile and speak to 10 strangers

v      Sweep a neighbors sidewalk

v      Leave candy and a note on a stranger’s door

v      Give bags of microwave popcorn to people in line for redbox

v      Quarters on gumball machines

v      Gatorade to construction/outside workers

v      Shop for stockings for needy kids. (have stockings one for boy and one for girl)

v      Return neighbors trash cans after trash day

v      Tape lottery tickets to gas pumps

v      Hide notes/gifts on a playground for children to find

v     Put change in meters (the courthouse/downtown would be a good place for this)

v      Buy flowers and after paying for them hand them to the cashier and say thank you

v      Bring hot chocolate/coffee to bell ringers

v      Take cookies to the kid’s doctor’s offices and thank them for caring for them all year

We will include a note of love and a rock in the ones we can and visualize a ripple effect. I know a few of the items we will still have to buy “stuff” but it will be in the spirit of giving and minimal.  We will reuse and recycle as much as we can.  The Christmas gifts we give this year we will work to make very personal and give with our hearts since we are limited on money anyway :).  I think these are good habits to teach our kids all year around.  We will not need an “Elf on the Shelf” in our house either.  I prefer my kids to be guided by their hearts and learn to listen to their conscience not behave because a plastic doll is watching them.

A ripple is an amazing part of nature. A rock causes a huge splash at the beginning. There is a middle where the circle is perfect. Then the tiny ripples go out from there. It is a perfect symbol of love and kindness.