I saw a friend making RAK (Random Acts of Kindness) cards with her toddler on Facebook and have been doing the same with my girls this month. We just take a piece of colorful cardstock and write “A Random Act of Kindness for You” at the top of the card. At the bottom, we think of something sweet to say like… You are awesome! You make me smile! You are generous! Then the girls decorate the card and we pass them out to teachers, neighbors, leave them on strangers cars, etc. We have also sent a few to some of our relatives we don’t see often.
It is never to early to teach your children about kindness and learning to GIVE without limits and without expectations. I want my girls to learn that we do not give in order to receive, we give in order to show kindness and appreciation. Here is a list of ideas of Random Acts of Kindness to do during this holiday season!
- write with chalk on a neighbor’s sidewalk why you are thankful for them
- text someone out of the blue a sweet message or a compliment
- send a thank you card to someone
- rake someone’s yard
- select toys and books with your kids to donate to a charity
- donate clothing
- leave a lottery scratch off at the gas pump
- open a door for someone
- invite someone over for dinner
- bake cookies to share
- leave coins taped to a vending machine
- pay for someone’s meal behind you in a drive through
- pay for someone’s meal at a restaurant
- leave a nice tip for your server at a restaurant
- pay someone’s library fee for them
- bring hot cocoa to the donation workers at Goodwill or Salvation Army
- drop coins in someone’s parking meter
- leave a treat for your mail carrier
- make a blessings bag filled with snacks, a few dollars, first aid kit, etc to give to someone in need.
- return shopping carts to the store from the parking lot
- leave a postive note like “You look AMAZING” taped to the mirror in the dressing room at a store
- leave a dollar on the shelf in the toy or candy aisle at the dollar store
- buy a few boxes of crayons and coloring books and drop off or send to a children’s hospital for their waiting room
- pick up some trash in a parking lot
- leave a box of microwave popcorn on a red box machine
You can print out RAK cards to leave when you complete a Random Act of Kindness that describes what a RAK actually is here.
What is this list missing?