Christmas has come and gone and the boxes of our Advent calendar are empty, but our hearts are full. Full of memories that we will carry with us forever.

When we first decided to do 25 Acts of Christmas Kindness as a family, we didn’t know what God might have in store for us. It produced an excitement and expectancy in each of us as we opened the box for the day and read the little slip of paper which told us what we would be doing for someone else. I’m excited to share with you what we learned and how we grew from these experiences.

Some Ideas from Our Calendar

Some of the girls favorite acts of kindness we did this year were:

~ Taking flowers, chocolate, and a card to an elderly neighbor and spending time visiting with her

~ Taking a donation to the DC Humane Society and spending time playing with the cats there – this was Abbey’s favorite!

~ Buying a big box of granola bars to keep in the front seat and hand out our window to those in need around town and at traffic lights

~ taping quarters to candy and gum ball machines at the grocery store so that kids would be able to buy a treat

We visited an old folks home in D.C. where their oldest resident, a lady of 103 years old, loved to read the Bible but couldn’t see anymore. She asked Grace to read to her:

Give – And it Will Come Back to You

One of the greatest blessings of our 25 days came as I watched my girls learning the joys of giving. We handed out small candy canes to people entering into our church one Sunday. They loved handing candy canes to folks and saying, “Merry Christmas!” Their faces were filled with smiles and laughter as they saw that they were making others smile.

We talked before and after every act and processed with one another what we were doing. We prayed for God to use us and open up doors of opportunity to bless others who really needed encouragement.

One thing that repeatedly happened, surprising the girls, is that when we would give something to someone, they would give the girls something back.

This happened when we bought a drink for a man who was ringing the bell for the Salvation Army outside of a grocery store. We bought him a drink and he pulled out a big Rice Krispy Treat and said, “Would you girls like this? I don’t want it and they give it to workers to snack on.” You would think the girls were just given gold they were so excited!

When we walked back to the car and I split the treat in three equal pieces, I said to them, “Did we expect to get this when we gave him his drink?” “No, Mama!” they exclaimed.

We don’t give to others with any thought about getting something back, but sometimes – that is exactly what happens. Giving produces more giving.

It Opened My Eyes

As the mother in all of this, I have to say what this month of intentional kindness did to help me grow as a person. I planned out our acts prayerfully and logically based on which days I knew we would be seeing certain people or in certain parts of the city. These were not errands or events we would have done otherwise, but we planned for them.

We carved out time to focus on others and it paid back in abundance – mainly in the joy that we experienced with each act and encounter.

This month also opened my eyes in a new way – I became more aware of the people around me – people walking down the street beside me or the car next to me at a stop light. I began to look for needs around me so that we could meet them.

Even though Advent is over, we’ve caught a bug that’s the best kind – a love for giving. And as we go into the New Year, my prayer is that we would keep making the most of opportunities that surround us each day to bless, encourage, and beautify the lives of others.