25 Days of Christmas Kindness

December can be a month full of love and joy. Or a month full of dread and chaos. I like to strive for the first one. Here is how you can too with the 25 Days of Christmas Kindness.

Similar to how I feel about travel, 25 Days of Christmas Kindness has brought more joy, positivity, and gratitude into my life. It’s simply doing one small act of kindness each day of December leading up to Christmas. This has made a huge impact on my holiday season. I’ve provided examples below to infuse more generous holiday cheer into the next 25 days.

Why I started 25 Days of Christmas Kindness

Christmas time is my favorite time of year. It always has been.

However, years ago, when my childhood excitement surrounding Christmas had worn off, I felt like something was missing during the holiday season. I loved Christmas when I was a child. Waking up on Christmas morning to presents under a tree was magic. I remember spending hours decorating the tree, listening to Christmas music 24/7, baking cookies with my mom, and peeking through my window to look for reindeer.

(Okay, I still do some of these.)

I’ll admit, some of the magic had to do with believing in Santa Claus. I was a kid. For a while, I believed that one man could travel the globe and bring gifts to children. I believed that he could bring hope to all children. And I really liked believing this.

Once I realized that Santa’s feat was impossible (sorry, Elf) and that the holiday season was a whole lot of consumerism, Christmas felt a little less wonderful.

It took me years to truly find Jesus, and in that in-between time of feeling like Cindy Lou Who singing Where are you Christmas, I tried to come up with something that would make the holiday season more meaningful. Something that I still do now.

I now believe that it’s up to each of us (not Santa) to spread hope and joy to others.

The 25 Days of Christmas Kindness.

I decided that from December 1st through December 25th, Christmas Day, I would purposefully do something kind everyday.

If you’re thinking, “but I’m already kind everyday”… that’s great! I like to think that of myself most of the time too. But we can always, always do more.

I found that being intentional about these kind acts made such an impact on my holiday season. My happiness increased while bringing joy to others.

The kind things you do each day do not have to be grandiose gestures. They can be simple. They can be thoughtful. Your kind acts can even just be words.

P.S. This does not only apply to Christians. Anyone can make the month of December a month of kindness, regardless of what you believe.

Read Next: Traveling for the holidays? Decide between an All Inclusive Resort vs Hotel or Airbnb.

To offer some Christmas Kindness ideas, here are some of the things I have done in the past:

Send an uplifting text to a loved one.

Bake cookies for work or neighbors.

Send Christmas cards to the troops.

Let someone hop in front of you in line.

Volunteer in your community.

Donate to your favorite charity.

Put some money in the Salvation Army bucket and thank the person ringing the bell.

Buy a cup of coffee for the person behind you in line.

Send a gift to a friend who is far away.

Invite someone over for dinner.

Tip a server or barista extra.

Participate in Toys for Tots/buy gifts for children less fortunate.

Send someone a thank you card.

Go out of your way to compliment others.

Help someone with a house project.

If you have the ability, give someone money to travel.

And if you’re traveling abroad during the holiday season?

Spread some love wherever you are!

Shop at the local shops rather than the touristy ones.

Send postcards home.

Make meaningful connections.

Learn some complimentary phrases in that country’s language.

You can be kind to your four-legged friend too 🙂

These are just a few examples. Be as creative as you can!

25 Days of Christmas Kindness will look different for everyone.

I find that planning some of them out ahead of time helps. I’ve even made a list before. Once you start, it just snowballs (no winter pun intended). The more intentional you are about being kind, the easier it is to keep finding more ways to be kind.

This is important:

25 Days of Christmas Kindness is not meant to cause more stress. If you miss a day, no biggie. I bet you made a difference in someone’s day without even knowing it. If you don’t want to spend much money, no worries on that either. Like I said, kind words can often matter way more than gifts. There are plenty of free ways to be kind. This is meant to be a joyful time, not a stressful one.

Be purposeful with your actions. Really listen to others. Recognize what others need and try to fulfill that. And continue to do all the things you usually do to be kind, no matter how busy the mall is.

Don’t let the chaos of shopping, the stress of hosting, or the pressure of gift giving bring down your December. Instead, watch the snowflakes with wonder, be grateful for what you have, and let your thoughts wander to ideas of what you can do for others. Let this be a time of joy and love.

Let me know if you try this, and please let me know if you have new ideas that I can use!

And share with a friend if you think this would help their holiday season too.

Happy Holidays!

Pin this and share the love 🙂