#ad Helping Hungry Kids, Random Act of Kindness Style

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I love doing Random Acts of Kindness with the boys! I know, I know... you already knew that ;)

I thought the #HungerHeroes campaign, working to fight hunger and feed hungry kids, going on at Sam's Club this month sounded like something we could do simply and really enjoy. Summer has involved a lot of running around and doing things as a family, so a chance for us to focus on others was needed around here! We made it a fun, knock-and-run random act of kindness :)

Hunger Heroes is about action, turning families into superheroes that understand the awesome power of giving. My boys are already superheroes in my mind in lots of ways, but I want them to feel that potential from the inside- and thinking of others above themselves is what will give them that :)

Random Acts of Kindness Treasure Hunt: Summer Edition!

This post was originally shared over at the blog Maybe I Will as part of her summer fun series, but I wanted to make sure and share here too- a unique, service-oriented idea and freebie for something to do with your kiddos on these summer days :)

You might remember that last fall, I made a fun treasure hunt kit that turned one of our normal treasure hunts into a lesson in kindness...I really love doing random acts of kindness with the boys- nothing uplifts in quite the same way. Need a boost? Try paying for the person behind you in the drive through and not pulling away with a smile! And I want my little men to feel that same thing- to "get it" that not everything in their world has to be rough and tough- it's cool to think of others and be kind. 

Colorful, Random Gifts of Kindness with Starburst and Skittles

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#VIPFruitFlavors #CollectiveBias

I love secret, random gift giving.

(I love gift giving in general!)

I know... you already knew it ;)

I had the chance to use colorful Skittles and Starburst to create a gift for some very important people and my creative process went straight to random acts of kindness. So, today I'm sharing a free printable that can turn the Skittles & Starburst 30 Pack from Sam's Club into an actual memorable, heart warming activity for your family too.

This package is perfect for creating with because there are so many candies and a nice variety. I found it in a candy area of Sam's Club, bordering the bakery.

I gotta interject- oh my goodness, I love this picture of my little Ryder! Both of the boys were SO excited about this box of candy, and wanted me to open and dip into it well before I was ready. I really loved the actual gift delivering part of this project, but putting it together with my little guy is a very close second. Candy and color put together- perfect combo for happy kiddos :)

Last Minute Christmas Service Ideas #spreadingjoy

I can't even express how grateful I am to be part of the cool #spreadingjoy, Season of Giving effort over at Kid Stuff World. I was told about this great series by the amazing Sheila from Pennies of Time and knew immediately I wanted to join- I'm so glad she thought to ask me! So today I get to share a little list that's been gaining momentum in my head for a few weeks now... a few last minute ideas for giving service this time of year!

Christmas flies by every year, no matter what. It gets here and we think, did I really feel the spirit of it all? Did I do the things that mattered most? Will my kids remember THIS year imparticular? I know the answer for me is pretty well always "No," even if we have done some great and good things. But I do, I spend too much time at the store in the name of gift giving. Too much time in the kitchen in the name of baking and tradition. Too much time behind my laptop in the name of... what, exactly?

Simple Christmas Kindness with Extra Gum

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and it's advertiser. #GiveExtraGum #sponsored

I'm so excited about this post! I know, I know, I say that a lot, but this one just got me a bit nostalgic, which I love. Fun crafty things with mint gum are something I remember being a part of Christmas time in my childhood and I really wanted to incorporate it into something I could pass on to the boys too...

Do you remember the candy trains you made during Christmas time as a kid? I can't quite remember which part was which candy- lifesavers for the wheels I think. And a pack of gum for the body. Glued together just right to make a train ornament that I remember was just too heavy for the branches! Something about those kinds of little things just brings on the nostalgia... memories of Christmas' past :) Those kinds of little things are the reason that Christmas is so beloved to us now, that we are trying to pass on the spirit we feel to our own kids.

Random Acts of Kindness Treasure Hunt

I recently shared this post as a contributor over at Ginger Snap Crafts and wanted to share it with you here also :)

 

Is your family in thankful mode yet?

I'm not sure my boys are honestly. Have to coax them into it kinda... someone tell me most kids are kinda that way? :) I love the Thanksgiving season that get them by my side, thinking of other people instead of just themselves.

Have you ever done a random act of kindness? I'm sure you have, even if you didn't realize it. They make me feel so good inside! I love the feeling of pulling away from the drive-through having just paid for the guy behind me, or having taped a quarter to a gumball machine. It brings tears to me eyes- such a cool feeling!

I thought I could maybe take one of Coop and Ry's favorite boredom busters- a treasure hunt- and add random acts of kindness to the mix. I did give them a small treasure at the end, but it wasn't what stole the show of this activity- they enjoyed doing the selfless tasks that were part of each clue far more. I really hope the kit that I made using the fun Falling for Fall digi elements at Summertime Designs will be something your kiddos can enjoy too! The boys loved doing this- certainly more fun than the normal hunts we've done!

The Perfect Road Trip Gift and Printable Tag

This last week some great people from our ward moved their family to another state. These were people we admired and that had been so friendly to us! We really wanted to be able to go visit them before they left and let them know they were valued in our lives :)

Of course, I love any chance to give a gift and wanted to be able to give them a token to say goodbye :) I knew their move would involve a long road trip to get to their new home state and thought a "Road Ready Kit" would be perfect! What do you give to someone that's moving?!? I didn't want to just be adding to another box to pack, ya know :) 

The Most Positive Day in the World

A few weeks ago, I read in Family Fun magazine that March 1 was World Compliment Day.

I was intrigued! Who doesn't love a sincere compliment?

Looking into it, I discovered this initiative is less obscure than I might've thought!

Christmas Kindness Traditions

Last year the boys and I did little acts of kindness during Christmastime to remind them to focus on others. Not too many, just a few. And we loved it! With all the countdowns and Santa hullabaloo, I love how service efforts get their attention on something less selfish. Last year, I got all choked up as we walked away from taping quarters on gumball machines! Plus, it's truly fun too :) 

So this year, we are again on a mission to think of others more! Based on the idea I found within  a program called Light 'Em Up, we are trying to give away as many candy canes as we can. We're also doing the quarters on machines again, along with a few other random, simple things my boys can actually enjoy.  

This site offers lots of ideas for doing acts of Christmas kindness. Most of them involve money or gift cards, and are out of my boys' age range yet. But there were a few I knew they would enjoy and that I could modify a bit to get them involved.

Wouldn't it make you smile to get one of these?! :)

Light 'Em Up has lots of great resources to print, including some coloring sheets for little ones. I just took the coloring graphic and turned it into a tag for our candy canes and quarters, so they could really be from them and not just be something I put together myself :) I also wanted something with a nativity theme on it, so there are some of those too.

Cute, eh? :)

They colored these little cards and then helped tape quarters to them.

Now all we have to do once we get to the machines is tape the cards on.

They seemed pretty excited about it :) My boys are old enough to understand the good feeling of being kind and serving, but not old enough to do lots of more grand types of service. They also can't read a whole paragraph on a note yet, so these super simple ones that they could color worked great to help them feel like this is their thing and not just mine trying to convince them it's cool :)

And the bag of them is all ready to go in my purse! We've already been in town several times and wished we had remembered our candy canes or quarter sheets so we could give them out. I put the candy canes with notes on them all in a leftover can so we can keep it in the car too...

Check out the printables at Light 'Em Up, and grab these ones below if you'd like to do some fun Christmas Kindness also! These are PDF files- some to color and some with just a simple "We hope this brings you a smile" message: 

Christmas Kindness Coloring Sheets for Candy Canes and Quarters

Christmas Kindness tags for Candy Canes

Enjoy!