Hello December….glad you here…but holy. you came upon us FAST!!!
I have really been struggling this Christmas season.
Lemme explain.
I just feel like my kids have been so ….ugh! I mean UGH! You know what i’m talking about (hopefully you do so I’m not alone in this battle!)
I just feel like they are so…ungrateful?! We took our kids out to eat (it was my son’s birthday) and my daughter threw a fit because we didn’t go to the restaurant she wanted. and then the other one threw a fit cause she couldn’t get an Oreo shake after her meal. This has been going on regularly…but as I have been buying Christmas presents and spending money left and right on them it is really started to wear on me.
They just seem so entitled. Like end of the world meanest mom if I drive by a gas station and DON’T stop to get treats for them.
And holy crap If i have to run into a dollar store and they don’t get to pick out one toy….(and when I do let them pick out one toy…they want two and they end up being upset because they only get one!)
Don’t get me wrong. My kids are my whole world–I love them so much.
But I’m am constantly wondering if they act like this at 11, 9, 6….what kind of adults am I raising?
I ran across THIS article…where they canceled christmas–and I have totally admit..I LOVED the idea of it all. LOVED. But since my presents are mostly bought…and I adore Christmas morning as next as the 6 year old…I knew I couldn’t do it…
this year. ha!
But I did want my kids to experience more. More giving. more thoughtfulness.
Less greed.
I wanted to put the Christ back in Christmas.
and a button was born.
I just wanted to open my kiddo’s eyes and let them see how lucky they are. Roof over head. Shoes on feet (cute shoes even!) Toys to wake up to on Christmas morning. Their health! All things they take for granted!
So every day in December we are doing a Random Act of Kindness. Won’t you join us? I’ve got lists of fun ideas–some that cost no money and some that do. You can choose. You can add your own (I would love to know what you do!!) Use #puttingthechristinchristmas so I can see you in action!
Follow me on Instagram and Facebook to see us in action!
(I would love any shares on this to really get the word out!!!)
Today is an easy one—and FREE!
At six years old, this sweet little girl weighs in at just about 25 lbs. Her prognosis is not good + she’s been given a year to live. She loves to receive Christmas cards and her family is hoping to ensure that this holiday season, she receives enough cards to fill a lifetime.
I can’t think of a more deserving recipient of your time. We’ve made a few cards to send in the mail and I hope you will too.
Please mail your card to
Addie Lynn
Box 162
Fountain Green, UT
84632.
(You can read more about Addie here!)
So sit down. Write a card. Have your kids color pictures…(okay. I like to color too!) and put them in the mailbox! 1 day down—24 left to go!!! It’s going to be a great month!
Here is a list of fun ideas to do:
Tape candy canes around town
Put quarters in the candy machines at the mall
Deliver treats to the police station/fire station
Go through your closet and donate warm clothes to a shelter
Pay for someones past due library fees
Empty out your piggy banks with the sole purpose of taking them to the red cross bell ringers!
Buy and donate toys for Toys 4 tots
Donate gently used books to your school library.
Hide $1 bills around the toy section of a dollar store
Go through your pantry and donate items to the local food bank
Leave an extra big tip to a server at a restaurant.
Pay for the person behind you at a drive thru
Buy christmas gifts for kids in need.
Donate coloring books to a hospital waiting room
leave some Laundry detergent at the laundromat.
Make a special treat for the school bus driver, ups man, post man, garbage man.
Take dog/cat treats to a local animal shelter
Tape a $1 to a vending machine
Buy a warm blanket and hand it out to people on the corners begging for money.
Make dinner for a single mom.
Leave Quarters at a laundromat
Leave a bag of popcorn at a redbox
Find a dirty car and tape a car wash gift card to the windshield.
Let someone cut in line at a store.
Help sort food at a food bank.
Go Caroling.
Give a thank you card/small gift to the santa claus at the mall.
Have kids go through their toys and donate some.
Gather all the stray shopping carts at a store.
Offer to babysit for free
Shovel driveways and walks for people
Take cookies to the librarian.
Send letters to American soliders
Drive around and leave candy canes or treats to the best decorated chChristmasomes
Donate a pair of pjs to a foster kid
Play games with a resident in the assisted living or retirement centers
Take treats to your dentist office.
Buy a meal for a homeless person
Compliment a stranger
Donate a turkey to a food bank
Buy a Poinsettia for a retirement home.
Hold a door open for a stranger
Pay for someone’s meal at a restaurant.
Leave a copy of a really good book you have read in a cafe or somewhere else for people to enjoy.
Set up a free hot chocolate stand in your neighborhood
Deliver flowers to a headstone.
Stock the fridge at work.
Make get well cards for people in the hospital.
Be a polite driver. let people in. smile. wave.
Make a bird feeder for your yard.
Donate blood.
Put quarters in parking meters that are about to expire.
I did something similar…30 acts of kindness for my 30th birthday. You can get more ideas and read about it here
You can also volunteer to be a red cross bell ringer (I want a guarantee it won’t be cold when I do it! brr!)
You can also donate HERE for christmas books
Go here to find a good cause to donate too
Found this: https://www.thewolfleyfamily.blogspot.com/p/about-this-blog.html (send stickers!)
and this: https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/make-boy-autism039s-christmas-wish-come-true-send-mail
(along with this…we are reading a story each night from my christmas story advent!)
updated: found this:
and wrote an update here: https://www.agirlandagluegun.com/2014/12/another-guest-post.html
Ginger says
Oh my gosh! I have been fighting the SAME BATTLE with my 5 year old. I expect my 3 year old to not get it, but by 5 you’d think she would at least begin to see that there is more to this world than herself. And what is with the very public meltdowns over absolutely nothing!!! Girl, you are not alone and thank you for putting this out there b/c I nearly lost it yesterday — oh wait I DID lose it yesterday because of this exact crap.
Anyway, LOVE the RAOK idea. We are going to put a list together and get started!
Julie says
Thank you for sharing this idea and Addie’s story! Her story is so sad and to think she just lost her daddy too.
Susan the farm quilter says
I am a grandmother now, but I remember my girls, especially my youngest, acting more entitled as she went through her teens. It was a daily struggle sometimes…makes life miserable for everyone! I actually made her a paddle for her stocking one year – you should have seen her face when she pulled that out!!! Maybe it is time for a single gift at Christmas and serving dinner at a homeless shelter the rest of the day – particularly if you can find a shelter that serves homeless families. I found that “entitled” people need to serve others, give the gift of themselves a bit, to figure out that their life is really quite blessed. You could save the rest of the Christmas gifts for the rest of the year…when you catch them being good. Not every time you catch them, because intermittent reinforcement (think slot machines) works much better. And if you can let the other kids see that the one doing the right thing gets reinforcement for that act, they tend to do what is right thing themselves. All right, taking off the mom/teacher hat! Hang in there, mom – mine are all quite nice to be around now that they are grown, with only an occasional slip back into “entitlement” mode. Now I can say “I’m sorry, but I can’t” really easily!
Lisa says
There are some awesome ideas here! I think its interesting that our kids are almost the exact same ages and we have been dealing with the same thing!