10 Bite-Size Ideas for Spreading Joy This Week

by Mom It Forward on December 20th, 2010 | No Comments »

We're down to the wire, folks. Christmas is just days away, and while the fun may be mounting, so might the stress. It's very easy to get caught up in rushing from one store to the next, one holiday party to another. Taking time to serve others is still important; indeed, it can make all the difference in the tone of your holiday and in others. Here are 10 bite-size ideas for serving others:

It can be so tempting to cut corners as you're frantically driving around: going a bit too fast, following a bit too close, or going through the yellow-light-that's-really-red. Don't. The first step to spreading joy is to not cause irritation, or worse, accidents.
Call up a friend you haven't talked to in a while, and wish her happy holidays.
Call up any friend and offer to watch her kids for an hour or two while she finishes her Christmas shopping.
Take a tin of store-bought popcorn to a neighbor you haven't met before.
This one is arguably the hardest but perhaps the widest-reaching: strike up a conversation with your Walmart checkout person as you're buying your groceries. Imagine the ripple effect if they feel their day has been a little bit brightened!
Drop 5 cents in the Salvation Army bucket. Every penny really does help.
Swap a box of children's toys through thredUP. The money you save while still providing Christmas might spread joy in your heart.
Plan on recycling your Christmas tree, spreading joy to many municipalities who rehabilitate wildlife habitat with them, mulch and compost them for park beds and highway medians, and even use them to restore beaches. Find out more at ChristmasTree.org.
Choose your favorite holiday-themed movie and have a movie night with your family. In our home, we love to watch Elf with Will Farrell. We get in our jammies and get ready to laugh over popcorn.
Think of someone old or young, related or unrelated, friend or stranger, someone who may not be as included or involved in holiday activities and spread joy to him or her with an anonymous goodie left on the doorstep, sharing how grateful you are to have him/her in your life.

How Will You Give to Others This Week?

What other ideas do you have for giving to others?
How has giving to others made a meaningful difference this week?
How have others given to you this week and what difference has that made in your life?

How Else Can You Make a Difference This Season?

Make a meaningful difference this season by taking the Season of Service (SOS) Challenge. Here's how you can participate:

Commit to do one act of kindness/service based on the week's challenge.
Leave a comment with ideas relating to the week's challenge as well as your experience(s) performing it.
Enter to win each week's giveaway. Check out this week's prize (an 11-inch Macbook Air) from SWAGG.
Join #gno this Tuesday on Twitter to connect with other Mom It Forward moms.