7 Ways to Spread the Holiday Cheer
- tidbitsfromemily
- Dec 17, 2014
- 3 min read
Hello everyone!
I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season. I came across this photo whilst looking through a few childhood albums the other day and it inspired me to create this post! It's me (left) and my sister (right) way back in the day and we had built our very own snowman. Looks like we forgot to give it some hands, a scarf, and a few buttons, but we were proud nonetheless. Anyway, now that I am home and on break from school, I have time to update this blog again and write a few posts. Feel free to leave me any requests; I’d love to hear from you!
With the holidays upon us, many of you are spending time with your family, friends, and loved ones, and I think it is important to remind ourselves what this time of the year is about.
I think it is about spreading love, joy, kindness, or acts as simple as smiling at someone you may not even know. Whether it may be donating to your local salvation army, giving toys to kids in need, volunteering, or something as simple as making someone smile, the littlest things can really make a difference in someone’s life.
This year I had the privilege of volunteering at local hospitals and participating in outreach events within my community. One of the programs I participated in was a cooking program that taught middle school aged children the basic fundaments of health, nutrition, and culinary skills to positively influence their food and nutrition related choices, as well as increase their confidence for cooking. The kids energy and enthusiasm for the program was such a joy to see—they really seemed to like making the recipes and learning about nutrition and health--and it felt so great to be a part of that!
Spreading acts of kindness and compassion to others is a wonderful thing to do this holiday season (or really ANY time of the year). If you are unsure of how you want to give back, or are simply looking for a few ideas, here a few tips you can try out.
1. Share a smile with a stranger. That stranger might be having a bad day and who knows, your smile may put them in a great mood and brighten up their day!
2. Speaking of strangers, helping a stranger is great as well. Help pack up groceries, hold a door – spread the love!
3. Donate. Donate toys, goods, money, etc. It’s very likely that your local grocery store, schools, and hospitals have collections being held, especially during this time of the year.
4. Volunteer. Call up your local food bank; a non-profit and/or charitable organization to see if there is something you could help with.
5. Surprise your parents, siblings, and/or friends with a lovely meal, whether it may be their favorite breakfast, a delicious dinner, or even homemade goodies made from scratch.
6. Give compliments. Sometimes, I think we don’t give ourselves enough credit. We are often pressured to be perfect people with perfect jobs, perfect lives, etc., and if anything goes slightly wrong, we tend to blame ourselves and feel like crap. But we need to stop this! Which is why I think we should take the time to compliment others…there’s something great about a genuine compliment from someone and if we could just take the time to acknowledge a success—no matter how big or small—of another person, I think we would not only brighten that person’s day but also feel better ourselves.
7. Hug a friend. Even if your friend doesn’t like hugs…I’m sure they will appreciate it :)
Taking time out of your day out of the kindness of your heart is one of the greatest gifts you can give. The beauty of doing something for someone else, no matter how big or small, is that it is good for YOU too. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself benefiting from a dose of happiness and gratitude in the process.
So how are you spreading the holiday cheers? Leave me a comment below, I’d love to know!
Happy Holidays!
Emily x
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