Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Random (and not-so-random) Acts of Christmas Kindness 2012!

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December is almost here . . . are you ready?  I know I’m enjoying this extra week between Thanksgiving and the reality of December and all it’s craziness.  I’m using it to finish wrapping gifts and addressing cards, but it’s also time to get organized for our Random Acts of Christmas Kindness project.  It was a huge blessing to the kids and me last year!

Last year, the school calendar gave us more than a week between the end of the school semester and Christmas day.  That was the time when we did most of our RACK projects.  This year will be a little more complicated, with the last day of school falling on December 20.

So this year’s Acts of Kindness will be a little less Random and a little more Planned.  I’ve got my list of RACK ideas and my December calendar, and I’m going to try to map out a few ideas for each week.  On my list, I’ve got one set of projects that we can do as we go places we already go . . . the bank, the grocery store, restaurants, etc.  There’s another set of ideas that will require a little extra planning or an extra trip somewhere.

And because it’s fun, but just not practical, to hand out money all over town, I’ve starred some ideas on the list that can be accomplished for less than $10.  Print out some cards and buy some candy canes, and you’re ready to spread Christmas joy with very little money required!

If you need some inspiration, check out my list of RACK ideas below or click on the link to download a PDF.  And here’s a PDF of the cards I print out, mount on card stock, and hand out along the way.   Leave me a comment and let me know what RACK you are planning for this December!

 

 

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How will you spend December?

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If you are anything like me, when someone asks, “How are you?” the answer is usually:  “Busy!”  There’s a lot on your plate.  Free time is almost non-existent.

And then December shows up.  You are expected to do all your normal stuff PLUS . . .

buy (and wrap and possibly ship) gifts for dozens of people,

produce a trendy photo card with all of your children looking well-dressed and filled with Christmas joy and mail it to everyone you’ve known since high school,

decorate your house and then try to keep your toddler from pulling the tree over on herself,

coordinate and execute a 3rd grade class Christmas party,

(what?  you didn’t sign up for homeroom mom this year?  good for you!  but this one is on my list.)

and bake fabulous goodies and deliver them to your neighbors while singing Christmas carols with your kids in three-part harmony.

We all know this list (plus the rest of the Christmas trappings) takes HOURS to complete.  Hours that you and I don’t have in our normal days, let alone the turbo-charged days of December.  And yet we are expected to do all this while maintaining some semblance of peace and joy.  We are celebrating the birth of our Savior, after all.

I have good news for you!  There is another way!  A few years ago, my sweet friend Karen introduced me to the idea of finishing all my Christmas preparations by December 1.  (Click on the link on the left and you can read more.)  Imagine a December with no shopping, no wrapping, no yelling at your kids to smile because if you don’t get this photo today you might as well send out valentines instead.  Imagine spending December preparing your heart to celebrate the birth of your Savior and making memories with your family.  (Last year, Karen also introduced me to a great way to spend the month of December:  Random Acts of Christmas Kindness.  But we’ll get to that later.)

How in the world can you finish all your Christmas preparations by December 1?  All you need is a head start and some planing.  I start by making a list of everything that I need to finish by Christmas:  shopping, wrapping, Christmas cards, decorating, baking, etc.  I list every step of the process and work backwards.  For example, in order to ship gifts to out-of-state relatives, I need to wrap gifts, buy wrapping paper, buy gifts, and ask relatives for their wish lists.  Then I plan out when I am going to do each of those things, working backwards to know when I need to star the first step:  asking for wish lists.  (My request is going out this weekend, by the way.)

I begin my checklist at the end of September, so don’t put this off!  But if you feel overwhelmed, just remember that anything you complete now will save you time in December.  This can be the year that you experience the joy of celebrating Christ’s birth rather than being weighed down by the burdens of the holiday season.

Click here to download my checklist and get started on your own.  When you’re snuggling under the Christmas tree, reading “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” to your kids, you’ll be so glad you did.

 

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RACK Recap

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Our Random Acts of Christmas Kindness project is over for 2011, but my kids are still talking about it, pointing out ATM machines as we drive around town.  Our Christmas by December 1 effort really made the Random Acts of Christmas Kindness project possible, because I was relaxed and able to put the time into it.  Next year I’d like to plan ahead for the RACK project and have bags decorated and labeled for each day of December, like an Advent calendar, with cards inside to let the kids know what we are doing that day.  (See my friend Karen’s blog for photos of her bags.)

If you have never tried finishing your Christmas preparations early or Random Acts of Christmas Kindness, I would encourage you to consider it for 2012.  Just make a mental note or a note on your calendar to start planning for Christmas after you finish with back-to-school madness.  You won’t need to start shopping in September, but if you at least sit down then and map out what you need to do and when you are going to do it, you will be on the right track.

I’ve had a few people ask about our RACK cards.  Here is a PDF of the RACK cards I printed and taped to construction paper.

Here is a recap of what we did for RACK 2011.  I’m also labeling those that are easy to do with little kids (assuming you are in those places already, such as eating out or running errands), and those that can be done inexpensively.  You don’t have to get kids in and out of the car in the cold or leave large amounts of cash all over town to make a difference!

1.  Left money to pay for people behind us in line at a coffee shop (EASY)

2.  Left a huge tip for our waiter at a restaurant (EASY)

3.  Left money to pay for the person behind us taking photos with Santa (EASY)

4.  Left money for to pay for people behind us at the mall food court (EASY)

5.  Handed out candy canes to people in line on a busy day at the post office (SUPER FUN FOR KIDS, INEXPENSIVE)

6.  Delivered Starbucks and coffee cake to our pastor and church secretary . . . would be easier with kids if our church office had a drive-thru–ha!

7.  Sang Christmas carols in the chemotherapy room at the oncology clinic (ADVANCE PLANNING NEEDED BUT TOTALLY FREE–although we did hand out candy canes around the clinic, it was still inexpensive)

8.  Delivered Christmas treats to neighbors (INEXPENSIVE)

9.  Left Shell gift cards on gas pumps (EASY)

10.  Handed out candy canes to bell ringers while we ran errands (EASY, INEXPENSIVE)

11.  Taped candy canes to ATM machines (EASY, INEXPENSIVE)

12.  Took a plate of cookies to ER workers on Christmas Eve with a basket of candy canes for them to hand out to patients or other hospital employees (INEXPENSIVE)

Here are some other ideas we might try next year:

1.  Make cards to mail to military personnel overseas (ADVANCE PLANNING NECESSARY, BUT EASY AND INEXPENSIVE)

2.  Buy a candy bar for your cashier at the grocery store (EASY, INEXPENSIVE)

3.  Hand out balloons to kids at Target or Wal-mart–it’s a birthday party for Jesus!

4.  Pay for another table at a restaurant or someone behind you in a drive-thru line (EASY)

5.  Leave a gift for your mail carrier (EASY)

6.  Take flowers to residents at a nursing home

7.  Take baby supplies to the crisis pregnancy center

8.  Take coffee to the kids’ teachers in the morning

What other RACK are you planning for next year?

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RACK Update ~ Carols, coffee, and candy canes!

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We have been having a blast with our RACK projects in the last few days.  On Tuesday, we called our church office and got Starbucks orders from our pastor and church secretary and took them coffee and coffeecake.  It was so fun to see them and chat for awhile!  The boys are both very enamored with Pastor Chris, so I think they were thrilled to do something for him.

On Wednesday was my FAVORITE of all our RACK projects.  We went with some friends to sing Christmas carols in the chemotherapy treatment room at the oncology clinic.  Last December, when I was there receiving chemo, some nurses got together and sang carols for us.  I decided then that if I was able, I would bring my kids to sing the next Christmas.  So it was very meaningful to me to be able to go and spread joy to the nurses and patients there this year.  After the kids sang, I handed out candy canes to the patients and nurses and chatted with a few, then went around the clinic handing out candy canes to all my old friends.  Everyone was so excited to see my hair!  🙂

On Thursday, we got a Shell gift card and taped it to a gas pump.  Then we had a stake-out to see if it would get used.  I put it on the last pump so no one would see me, but as it turns out, the last pump doesn’t get used very often.  Despite all our cheering from inside our van for cars to pull up to “our” pump, no one did.  After about 20 minutes, we left and went to the grocery store and came back later.  The gift card was still there!  So I got out, moved it one pump over, and we resumed our stake-out.  About two minutes later, someone pulled up to the pump where the card USED to be.  We couldn’t believe it!  We waited another 20 minutes, but still no action on our pump.  We gave up and trust that the Lord brought just the right person along eventually!  We also enjoyed handing out candy canes to Salvation Army bell ringers as we ran errands that day.

Are you looking for a RACK project that only costs $1 and doesn’t even involve getting your kids out of the car?  Today we drove around taping our RACK cards and candy canes to ATM machines.  We also tried our Shell gas card trick again, this time putting them on busier gas pumps.  We got to see people get both of our cards . . . in both cases, they went ahead and paid for their gas, and then stood looking at the pump for awhile, looked around, and then took the Shell card for next time.  I guess when you encounter something that unexpected, it’s hard to know what to do at first!  We had a blast and felt like secret agents!

Our RACK 2011 project is almost done!  Tomorrow night we are hoping to take a plate of cookies to the people working at the desk in the emergency room.  Last year, I spent several hours on December 24 at the hospital receiving a blood transfusion, and I’m sure it’s no fun to work in the ER on Christmas Eve.  We’re looking forward to spreading some joy there, as we celebrate the birth of our Savior!

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