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 ~ Six days until Christmas!

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We have really been enjoying our Random Acts of Christmas Kindness project!  Last Thursday we went out to eat with our friend Tara, who was visiting from out of town.  I wanted to pay for someone else, but the check process at the restaurant where we were made that a little complicated.  So Tara suggested giving our server a huge tip.  It was a great idea!  We paid on our way out, and I gave the green RACK card to the cashier and asked her to give it to our server.  Once she realized what was happening, she was happy to be part of it.  Here’s a photo of Tara and the kids at the restaurant . . .

The next day, we went to the mall to double-up on RACK projects since I didn’t think we’d have time to do something over the weekend.  We went to see Santa, and I bought a picture just so I could have time at the cash register.  I handed the cashier cash to pay for the person behind me in line, along with one of our RACK cards.  When she read the card, she had tears in her eyes.  Then we hurried away as she turned her attention to the person behind us, who was prepared with a baby in a Santa dress.  🙂

Next we headed to the food court for lunch.  At Chick-fil-a, I gave the cashier two $10 bills and two of our RACK cards and asked him to treat a couple of people to lunch.  Apparently they do this at the Chick-fil-a drive-thru quite a bit, but the counter can be a little more difficult.  But I realized at this point in our RACK project that I was bringing joy to all my accomplices as they got to pass along good news and surprise the recipients of our RACK.  I love that part of it!

Today was one of our most fun RACK projects so far.  We met friends at the post office and handed out candy canes to the people standing in line.  The first woman that Will handed a candy cane to was so excited that she gave him a huge hug.  We even saw Nana there!  (She strategically planned her post office trip when she heard candy canes were being handed out at 11:30.  🙂 )  The kids seemed to have a lot of fun handing them out, and I like to think we improved the mood of that long line just a little bit.  This project took about 15 minutes and only a few dollars worth of candy canes–it will definitely become a family tradition!

Finally, my RACK for my kids in celebration of Christmas break . . . Christmas Crunch!

Now get out there and spread some Christmas joy!  More updates to come . . .

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