i have seen posts like this floating around pinterest and thought it was a great idea! it even inspired me to make up my own Christmas challenge (obviously haha). i enjoy the Christmas season much better when i give back. i remember one Christmas, my family and i had signed up to deliver angel tree gifts to several families around the area. i remember being woken up REALLY EARLY on a saturday morning to do so. me and mornings do not mix well! they should be illegal! haha. on top of that it was freezing cold outside. i remember having the worst possible attitude ever. i did NOT want to deliver gifts and i certainly did not want to be cheery about it. we went to church to pray over the families who would receive the gifts and went on our way. we had been assigned to three families. YES! at least we didn’t have that many to go to. then i could get back to doing what was really important: SLEEPING. when we walked up to the first house to deliver gifts, i remember getting a little nervous. i was definitely not prepared for this and had no idea what to expect. when the mom and her kids answered the door, their faces lit up! i was not expecting that. they were SO grateful to see us and here i was being a brat. we gave them their gifts and the kids were overjoyed. i started getting this warm mushy-gushy feeling in my stomach and it made my heart grow three sizes bigger. before we left, we even got to pray with them and over their family. WOW! such a humbling experience. i left that house having a whole different outlook on what Christmas really was about. yeah yeah yeah. you see it in the movies: it’s better to give than receive. at that moment i really understood what that saying meant. when we went to the next two houses i had a complete attitude change and was bummed that we couldn’t go to more. those families were so grateful for those few gifts and it changed my perspective for the better.

this Christmas season i want to challenge myself (and YOU!)  to make a difference. i’m not saying to do EVERYTHING on the list. it’s just something to give you inspiration. it doesn’t even have to be on the list. i just want to give back and make someone’s spirit a little brighter. don’t you? the great thing about this is nothing is too small! show the love of Jesus by loving others. that’s what Christmas is all about, right?

oh, and if you have anything else you’d like to add, feel free! i would love to have some more options! good luck and do it out of love!

♥

1. pay for the person behind you in the drive-thru

2. leave an extra generous tip

3. bake cookies for your local fire department or law enforcement

4. make a shoebox

5. buy a hot cocoa or coffee for the bell ringer

6. donate to the salvation army

7. make a trip to goodwill

8.  hold the door open

9. rake someone’s yard/driveway

10. send out encouraging notes

11. leave change for a vending machine

12. post up encouraging notes in random places

13. bring a snack to some local employees

14. adopt a soldier

15. smile!

16. bring dog/cat treats to an animal shelter

17. pay a toll for the person behind you

18. leave a candy bar with a note of encouragement

19. make cookies & leave a note for your mailman

20. get the kids to make cards for the assisted living home

21. bring flowers to the hospital & hand them out

22. donate to the food pantry

23. muffins or cookies to the library?

24. collect all the carts around the parking lot & return them to their home

25. hide a couple of dollars in the toy section of the dollar tree

26. leave diapers and wipes on a changing table in a public restroom

27. pick up trash

28. let someone cut in front of you in line

29. leave laundry detergent w/a ribbon & roll of quarters at a laundry mat

30. diapers & wipes to the pregnancy center

31. make dinner for someone

32. coloring books & crayons to an ER waiting room

33. hang up clothes that have dropped on the floor at stores

34. feed parking meters

35. buy a grocery gift card and hand it to a person behind you in line

36. buy coffee for the person behind you at starbucks

37. hand out balloons to kids shopping with their parents

38. drop off stuffed animals at the children’s hospital

39. give coffee to a toll booth worker

40. help someone with their groceries