Putting the Christ back in Christmas!

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 this:

and wrote an update here:  https://www.agirlandagluegun.com/2014/12/another-guest-post.html