'Tis The Season For…

Kindness. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s also the season for holiday lights, hot chocolate, sleigh rides, and The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. But this week at school, we’ve talked a lot about “kindness” and ways in which we can be kinder to each other. 

So, instead of making my Christmas wish list today (it hardly changes anyway), I thought I’d come up with some simple ways I can spread kindness this holiday season.  And, as my mom reminds me, acts of kindness should be something I can do by myself or with minimal supervision so I'm not imposing people’s time as part of my giving. 

So, this month I will:

• Bake cookies (with Grandma’s supervision) and drop them off at the local fire station. This can be a stressful time of year…like the one time my Mom almost burnt down the house cooking her turkey on broil.
• Offer to take my neighbour’s dog for a walk. Mrs. B. broke her ankle and can’t walk Chuck very far. But I can! Maybe when my parents see how responsible I am, they’ll consider letting my sister and I get a pet.
• Find where I can donate books I won’t need any more.
• Shovel the sidewalk for someone on my block—if we ever get snow!
• Use my allowance to buy coffee for a stranger.
• Bring a ‘treat’ to a school friend or an acquaintance who could use a pick me up. EVEN if it’s Gordon “Lightning” Smith, my arch nemesis on the track.
• Volunteer to wrap Christmas presents at the local senior’s home. 
• Write a letter to my favourite teacher, Mrs. Kratky and tell her how thankful I am for how much she’s helped me learn.
• Take my sister tobogganing, or skating if the weather doesn’t cooperate. (Or both!)
• Clean out my closet so that when we are called, my mom will have a Donation bag of clothes ready to give away. 

Hey! Maybe we could brainstorm other ideas together? Share your Random Acts of Holiday Kindness in the comments so we can keep this list growing. 

Gotta Jet! I’m going to start on this list this weekend.

~ Chase Superman Duffy