9 Simple Acts of Kindness for the Holiday

The holiday season is a time of joy but for many, it is also a time of stress or loneliness. This year for the holidays look for simple ways to show kindness to others. You never know what someone's story is. A simple act of kindness can often improve someone's day.

Give these simple acts of kindness for the holidays a try and see how many days you can brighten.

• When stopping in the local coffee shop grab a hot cocoa and hand it to the homeless person down on the corner. This simple treat will help warm them from inside out.
• Shovel the snow for your elderly or sick neighbor. This is a great way to help them stay safe and be able to get help in if they need it.
• Bake Christmas cookies to drop off with neighbors and loved ones with a simple Christmas card to spread some cheer.
• Visit the local nursing home or hospital to read Christmas stories to the elderly or sick without visitors.
• Donate cat or dog food to the local shelter for feed animals found in the winter cold. While you are at it send over old blankets and towels you no longer want but are not in good enough shape to donate to the local homeless shelter. A dog or cat won't be bothered by a hole or stain.
• Donate food to the local food bank or volunteer to help sort boxes of food on your day off.
• Leave quarters in Aldi carts or put quarters in parking meters you pass that are close to being up.
• Leave a package in your mailbox for your mailman with a coffee gift card and a pair of gloves or socks they can stash as a backup on a cold wet day.
• Leave a pack of diapers and wipes, warm PJs, or other essentials on the doorstep of someone that has a baby. During the winter paying the bills comes first and affording essentials like this can be a struggle let alone trying to pull money together for Christmas.

These are just a few ways you can spread the joy of the holiday season through random acts of kindness. In doing so, we are teaching our children how to show kindness. This is a life skill that will carry with them for years to come.