“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” ~ Author unknown, although some think it’s a 7-year-old named Bobby
When reading another blog, I was inspired to add Random Acts of Christmas Kindness (RACK) to my family’s Advent activities. (See end of this post below for the inspirational link.)
The Idea:
An Advent Calendar with random acts of kindness activities to do each day.
My Adaptation:
Because my family will not be able to do something every day (that would be awesome if we could, but not doable for us) I have changed this up a bit. We will put all our ideas on slips of paper and place them in a small stocking. Then starting on the first Sunday of Advent and each Sunday till Christmas, we will draw one or two ideas out of the stocking and do them that week.
Some Activities:
Buy coffee for stranger or two at local coffee shop (Tim Hortons, Starbucks, etc).
Leave basket of Christmas gifts on doorstep of a family that needs it.
Take back shopping carts and hold open doors for rushed and weary shoppers.
Donate a toy or two to a local charity (Toys for Tots, Toy Mountain, etc).
Volunteer to ring the bell (take a shift) for the Salvation Army Kettles.
I’ll be asking my kids what ideas they have as well. Do you have any ideas? Would love to here them. Please share – thanks.
This post which inspired me! She was inspired by this post. Amazing ideas!!
“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
I choose to call my family’s Christmas movie collection “flicks” rather than movies because some aren’t really movies; they’re TV Specials on DVD (even some on VHS), but we put them in our movie collection.
We have so many flicks that my hubby says that if we watch one a day, we will have to start watching in October and still wouldn’t have seen them all by Christmas. (I think he exaggerates a bit.)
As part of our Advent celebrations we watch a flick a night (when possible, sometimes 2 if they are short ones). We don’t always have popcorn or chips because that would just be too much every night. Sometimes though we eat dinner in front of the TV as a treat.
As a family, we have some MUST-see favourites – Elf, Santa Claus series, Ernest Saves Christmas, and Christmas Vacation. Hubby likes to watch Die Hard and I have to see The Ref and Miracle on 34th Street.
If you don’t own the flicks you can always see what’s playing on TV and plan a few nights (with popcorn, etc) and make it a special event – it’s all part of the anticipation of Christmas.
Reading Christmas stories by the Christmas tree is a wonderful holiday tradition my family started when our children were quite young. It started out as a Christmas gift bag with a few holiday books. My kids are much older now and the only difference is the number of books – it’s now a storage tub full (and quite heavy).
Each night, we would gather by the Christmas Tree and take turns pulling out a book (one night each) and read the story, then get ready for bed. It was a great way to end the day.
Some nights we weren’t able to read a story because of the busyness of the season, but we did what we could and the tradition stuck. My kids love it and look forward to reading.
You do not need to have many books or even children to do this. You can start with a favourite book or two. Perhaps A Visit from Saint Nicholas, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, or a favourite book from your childhood for those with children. Or A Christmas Carol, or Skipping Christmas for those without children or who have older children.
