12 Days of Christmas Kindness: Day 1

That's right! It's that time of year again! Christmas has frequently been referred to as the "season of giving"; yet, too often we get caught up in the receiving part of the season. This was where we found ourselves a few years ago. One afternoon, I witnessed an ongoing battle between the kids as to who had the most gifts under the tree. No one mentioned how many gifts were theirs to give to someone else or what they did that day to spread the Christmas spirit. As Jeff and I observed the kids' reactions to the season, we were heart broken. Had we failed to teach them the true meaning of Christmas? Did we not balance the magic of the commercial traditions with the true meaning of the season? At that point, we decided to create a tradition of giving, of service, and of kindness. For the 12 days leading up to Christmas, we perform one act of Christmas kindness. Sometimes these acts involve money. Sometimes they simply involve time. However, each of the acts is meant to spread joy and love. We wanted to teach our kids to look outside themselves, especially during a time when it is easy to focus only on ourselves and what we want to get. We wanted to stress to the kids that kindness and giving can come in many forms. We wanted to instill in them the memories of spreading joy rather than solely the recollections of the toys/gifts received. Sometimes I honestly don't know if we're succeeding. I wonder if this is just another stress on my to-do list that I could eliminate. Then something magical happens. It may be a subtle smile or tears from a recipient. It could simply be the excitement and wonder in the speculation of how our gifts of kindness were received. It is those moments that make it worth it. So tonight we started our tradition! This year we began with a family favorite - the snowball fight. We print off a cute picture of a snowball and instructions informing the recipients that they were "hit" by a snowball and they had 72 hours to "hit" someone else. We accompany the print outs with powdered donuts and milk. Prior to leaving the house, we discuss which two families we feel should be the recipients then we head out under the cloak of darkness to anonymously deliver our goodies. There is always laughter and stories about how the boys were almost caught or unintentional noises they made as they were quietly trying to drop off the goodies and run. As we return to the house, we imagine the smile on their faces and wonder who they will "hit". It was a great start to our annual tradition!