Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Advent Calendars

(*Photo taken from Katherine Marie Photography)

Every year at our house, we do some sort of Advent Calendar.  Sometimes, we do even more than one.  This year, I want to encorporate giving on a daily basis.  So when I saw the above photo on Pinterest, clicked on it and read the blog post about it, I knew this was it.

Advent Activities:

1st Take a set of holiday books and leave at a mall play area
2nd Make a street pretty for Christmas (pick up roadside trash-Santa Style!)
3rd Adopt a classroom in need (send holiday party treats; craft box)
4th Buy a hot cocoa or latte for Salvation Army bell ringers (brrrrr— it must get cold out there!)
5th Purchase toys for kids in need
6th Tape candy canes and happy holiday notes to ATMS, vending machines…
7th Send of box of mittens and hats to a school
8th Offer to buy a pack of gum or mints for checkout clerk at grocery store
9th Bring peppermint mocha to daycare workers
10th Donate Blood (K and Mom)
11th Hand out pretty Christmas flowers
12th Bake & deliver Christmas cupcakes to library employees
13th Set up a free gift wrap station!
14th Pay for santa pictures for someone at mall
15th Collect canned goods for food pantry
16th Pass out candy and spread cheer to folks mailing off their Christmas cards at the post office
17th Set up a “helping task force” – take back shopping carts, hold open doors for rushed and weary shoppers…
18th Leave small Christmas treats/gifts in shopping carts for folks to find
19th Take presents to hard working post office employees
20th Call animal shelter and find out what donations they need. Make a contribution & visit animals.
21th Leave basket of Christmas gifts on doorstep of a family that needs it
22nd Buy coffee for stranger at Starbucks
23rd Leave present in mailbox for mail carrier
Christmas Eve: Take all night drug store employee a Christmas surprise (because it’s no fun to work on Christmas Eve!)
Christmas Day: Deliver something special to folks who are working and/or recovering at local hospital

I plan on adding/editing a few here and there, but I really want to do this.  I hope you'll join in on the fun with your family, too!

Enjoy your day!

3 comments:

Kim said...

These are great ideas. I love the idea of giving to your community each day of the season.

Anonymous said...

This is the best idea. I'm working on something very similar. We will have to compare our experiences at the end :)

MichelleB said...

Great ideas! Thanks for sharing this!