With the holiday season upon us, it seems like there is an advent calendar for everything these days; whether it’s chocolate, tea or cracking open a beer everyday for the next month. At Ideba, one of our top priorities is giving back. In the spirit of giving back this season, I thought I’d share a new twist on an advent calendar: 25 days of random acts of kindness. I challenge everyone to forget about the extended Black Friday sales and spread some joy this season by doing something kind everyday.
25 Days of Kindness:
- Give someone a compliment
- Hold the door open for someone
- Let someone in front of you in line
- Buy a friend, colleague a coffee
- Leave some money at the parking meter
- Donate a present to charity
- Do something kind for yourself
- Donate unwanted books to charity
- Smile at a stranger, or 2, or 15
- Get in touch with an old friend or relative
- Let a car in front of you in traffic
- Bake cookies and hand them out to friends, colleagues or strangers
- Write or send a thank you note to someone
- Tell someone you love them
- Pay for a stranger’s coffee
- Offer to help someone
- Donate unwanted clothes to charity or a homeless shelter
- Do something unexpected for someone
- Leave a treat for your postal carrier
- Do something kind for yourself
- Give someone your absolute full attention
- Leave a happy note for someone to find
- Support a local business
- Put back a rogue shopping cart in a parking lot
- Be present and reflect on how much joy this season brought you
Happy holidays everyone! Please share your random acts of kindness in the comments! I would love to hear what you come up with!
– Jocelyn van der Geest, Research Analyst
