Hello Design Dazzlers, my name is Dawn of Revel and Glitter and I’m thrilled to be back for my 6th Christmas Wonderful sharing a very special advent calendar! I love to share fun ways to celebrate the holidays without breaking the bank. From a holiday Italian soda bar to easy party tables, it is all about maximum fun, minimum work.
My boys are getting older and although the sheer quantity of gifts have gotten smaller, they are now more expensive with electronics and other gadgets. I tried to get them back into the real meaning of Christmas. Last year, we implemented an ‘quality over quantity’ rule with experiences instead of gifts, spending quality family time, going on more mini vacays, etc. Great in theory, not so much in practice when family members disregard your requests and indulge them in lots of gifts anyway.
Since they are also past the chocolate advent calendar phase, I decided to combine the two ideas into creating an Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar. It is a great way to balance out all of the gifts with serving others in our community.
We sat down as a family and brainstormed a list of easy and doable ways to serve daily…feel free to use ours or be inspired to create your own!
- Help with your school’s food or clothing drives
- Donate to the local food bank
- Return a few out-of-place shopping carts
- Sort through your gently used toys and books you no longer play with and donate to a women and children’s shelter
- Leave chalk messages of good cheer on the sidewalks in your neighborhood
- Write a letter to your sibling telling them why you love them
- Cook dinner for your family
- Make a Christmas card for the school secretary
- Make treats for your neighbors
- Do one of your sibling’s chores
- Leave a Christmas card for your mailman
- Sit next to someone new at the lunch table and be nice to them
- Smile all day
- Put some change into the Salvation Army bucket
- Send a care package to someone in the military
- Donate a toy to Toys for Tots
- Give a family member a extra-long hug
- Introduce yourself to someone new at school
- Family Movie Night!
- Give out a complement
- Over-tip the next time you head out to a restaurant or coffee place
- Let someone go ahead of you in line
- Help around the house without being asked to
- Donate pet supplies to the local shelter
I found these cute mason jar tags at my local craft store and along with 1 1/2″ round stickers and washi tape, created a simple calendar for our wall. I printed out our acts, cut into strips and filled up a mason jar. Don’t forget a little bowl of candy to enjoy. Gotta have a little something to encourage all the goodness! Countdown to Christmas by randomly choosing an act to fulfill. But don’t stress if you don’t get to do all of them, it is all about getting the kids to understand and appreciate the ones you do.
The best part? You can keep a few of your favorite acts and turn them into an annual Christmas tradition!
I hope you have been inspired to start a new tradition this year. Do you have a favorite Christmas tradition you celebrate with your family or friends? 
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Dawn, what a fantastic idea and such a great way to keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts! Thank you so much for doing such a fabulous job! We have loved having you be a part of our Christmas Wonderful Series!