- Volunteer to set up, decorate, register guests, serve lunch, or sell raffle tickets at a community event for the elderly, students, or a nonprofit organization.
- Sort, wrap, organize, or deliver holiday presents for people who can’t do it themselves.
- Celebrate senior citizens or students by having a special holiday dinner. Set up the dining room, prepare and serve dinner, visit, and play holiday games.
- Prepare treats for neighbors, emergency workers, mail carriers, coworkers, military personnel, or other community members, along with a note of appreciation. Before mailing packages or letters to military service personnel, contact your local American Red Cross chapter for current procedures and regulations.
- “Adopt” a family, child, or senior citizen and spend time with them, especially during the winter holidays.
- Call an animal shelter and find out what donations they need. Collect things like treats, food, first aid supplies, toys, cat litter, and blankets for the homeless animals.
- For a charity, volunteer to distribute or deliver clothes, food, and gifts.
- Dress up as a holiday helper and visit neighbors and friends.
- Make or teach holiday crafts.
- Mentor, tutor, or teach youth, especially before final exams.
- Organize, clean up, or provide entertainment for holiday parties and get-togethers.
- Give a donation to a charity as a gift for someone who already has everything.
- Donate gift certificates to be given to families in need during the holidays.
- Volunteer for a meal delivery service. Bring kindness and warmth, as well as food, to the homebound.
- Collect coats, hats, gloves, socks, scarves, boots or other warm items for the various homeless shelters to be distributed before the cold sets in.
- Delay adopting a dog or cat until a couple of weeks after the winter holidays. Just like other gift returns, far too many dogs and cats offered as presents end up in animal shelters.
- Visit a neighbor and help him or her prepare for the holidays.
- Help decorate a senior center or an elementary school for the winter holidays.
- Sing or carol throughout your neighborhood.
- Volunteer at an animal shelter or pet-sit for a neighbor during the holiday season.
- Organize a diverse holiday exhibit or parade to kick off the holiday season. Showcase different celebrations, such as Kwanzaa, Christmas, Hanukkah, and Ramadan.
- Plan and help with holiday activities for homeless children.
- Participate in family-oriented activities, such as helping together in a soup kitchen or sponsoring a homeless family.
- Design and send homemade holiday cards and send them to people in the military, homeless shelters, or nursing homes.
- Perform acts of kindness rather than buying gifts.
- Provide transportation for elderly neighbors to help with their holiday gift or grocery shopping.
- Serve holiday meals at a shelter, soup kitchen, community center, or faith organization.
- Put together a notebook and fill it with holiday kindness stories. Share these treasures with your peers and family.
- Cut out the pictures from holiday greeting cards, and send them to a charity that uses them for projects.
- Help an elderly neighbor or nursing home resident with holiday decorations.
- Give police and fire dept thanks
- Send cards or letters of appreciation to people you read about in the news who have done good deeds. Send kind thoughts to people you hear about in your community who have suffered a setback.
- Provide homework help to younger relatives or neighbors.
- Create art or crafts, such as quilts, afghans, or baby blankets, and donate them to be auctioned or given away by a nonprofit organization or group.
- Sew comfort items for the police trauma unit or a children’s hospital. Traumatized children and pediatric cancer patients appreciate small quilts or stuffed animals for cuddling. Chemotherapy patients often need head coverings.
- Write a kind note to relatives and friends, letting them know why they are special.
- Create photo albums for your family and friends to remind them of special times.
- Help a neighbor or friend who has lost a job write a resumé or cover letter.
- Gather a collection of kindness stories from friends and relatives. Copy these stories and give the collection as a gift.
- Communicate by e-mail with a friend, sharing kindness stories and your current kindness projects.
