Countdown to Christmas
In preparation for today’s charity day, I recently started a social media fundraiser for one of my favorite nonprofits. A friend who made a donation mentioned that they included this gift in the family’s Gifts Countdown to Christmas. They created an Advent calendar of joy and generosity.
Giving a Tuesday can feel like a breath of fresh air after having focused on buying everything we don’t particularly want or need over the past few days at a discount and free shipping. One donation day out of 365 days a year is inadequate, but like my friend, you can use that day as a starting point for what the entire season really should be – donating to others.
From today until Christmas there are 22 days left. These are 22 ways for you and your kids to cheer up the holiday mood. If you really want to donate to charity, take a trip with a coat or a toy, that’s great! But if you want to do something every day for 22 days, you will likely need to add some inexpensive options.
With the help of my friend Rebecca and our Offspring Facebook group, I’ve compiled a list to get you started:
Day 22: Make a card for a child at a local children’s hospital. (Or you can send cards to Cards for Hospitalized Kids , which distributes them to hospitals across the country.)
Day 21: Write letters to troops overseas.
Day 20: Leave the card and gift card to the scavenger.
Day 19: Donate pet food to your local animal shelter.
Day 18: Pack your old LEGO bricks and send them back to LEGO (free) to be cleaned and donated to Teach for America and Boston’s Boys and Girls Clubs.
Day 17: Write a thank you letter and deliver it to someone who helps you at school, such as a bus driver, security guard, or office worker.
Day 16: Donate personal hygiene items to your local homeless shelter.
Day 15: Write an encouraging message on a sticker and leave it in your library book so someone can find it later.
Day 14: Send your loved one a “just because.”
Day 13: Send a lottery ticket to a friend.
Day 12: Donate neatly used books to the local Friends of the Library (or drop them off at the small free library stands in some areas of the city).
Day 11: Send a thank you note to your local police station.
Day 10: Load the excess change into the vending machine to buy the next person a bag of chips or soda.
Day 9: Create a holiday card for a special adult at school, such as a janitor, school nurse, or cafeteria worker.
Day 8: Send an encouraging note to someone you haven’t seen in a long time.
Day 7: Replacing the tape with a parking meter.
Day 6: Make a knotted fleece blanket and donate to your local children’s hospital, homeless shelter, or child care agency.
Day 5: Deliver holiday cards to your local nursing home.
Day 4: Volunteer at a pantry or homeless shelter.
Day 3: Deliver homemade cakes to your local fire department.
Day 2: Give double advice. (Tipping your waiter, bartender, or barista is double what you would normally give today.)
Day 1: Deliver a bouquet of flowers to a neighbor.
Any other ideas on how to donate or your favorite family traditions of charity? Leave them in the comments!