25 Days of Giving

Who doesn't love a good advent calendar? I remember as a kid getting to pick my little chocolate out of the cardboard picture each day. It was fun to see that Christmas was getting closer and closer, even if it meant my chocolate stash was dwindling. 

Now I buy them for my kids. But we also do 25 Days of Giving. 

I made this advent calendar two years ago, and it's such a great way to instill a spirit of giving during the Christmas season! I found an old piece of plywood, painted it red, wrote the words on top with a sharpie, and super glued the clothes pins to the board. Then I cut out the circles and broke out my calendar. 

Each year I start from scratch, sort of. I use some of the same ideas, but I try to plan each day according to our schedule.  For instance, this year I planned the "bring your dance teacher a Starbucks drink and a muffin" on a Tuesday, because that's when they have dance class. With three kids under the age of 5, it needs to easily fit in the day. Otherwise it will get lost in the shuffle and forgotten. 

Here are some ideas to get you started if you so choose. I can't give all 25, because there are some surprises in our calendar for some special people who will read this! So I'll give you 18. Deal?

1. Give someone a hug. (Start off easy!)

2. Visit Santa and give him a gift. (This is my favorite! Last year I bundled three candy canes together with a bell for each of my girls to give him, and they enjoyed it so much. Santa did, too!)

3. Color a picture and give it to a friend. 

4. Give your friends some stickers. 

5. Give your neighbor a special treat. 

6. Take candy canes to the residents in the nursing home. (We go all the time to visit Nanny, so I think my girls will enjoy this one a lot!)

7. Give your Sunday school teacher a gift card. (Planned on a Sunday...for obvious reasons.)

8. Bring your dance teacher a Starbucks drink and a muffin. 

9. Take gifts to the volunteers at church. 

10. Pay for the person behind you. (We've all heard of this one, and I'll be the one doing it instead of my kids, but it's easy to include them and they still experience the joy in making someone's day!)

11. Bring flowers to the pediatrician's office. (A great one if one of your littles has a check up scheduled.)

12. Bake cookies for all the families on your block. 

13. FaceTime with family and sing them Christmas carols. 

14. Put quarters on the rides and gum ball machines at the mall. 

15. Bake a cake and take it to one of the following: the police station, library, hospital, etc. 

16. Mail a present to a friend far away. 

17. Make cookies and milk for Santa. (I won't tell you what to do, but this is number 24 for us...)

18. Bring mommy breakfast in bed. (Okay, I didn't actually put this one on ours since I'm the one making it, but it's not a bad idea, right?!)

Take what works for you and have fun creating your own. And since this post is all about giving, we will send a gift to the first 5 people who comment below! Merry Christmas from the Holohans!!