Start a Christmas kindness tradition this year with one of these easy ideas.
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Family traditions are one of the best parts of Christmas. Decorating the tree, watching Christmas movies, baking cookies... these are all traditions that we cherish.
But there's one tradition that you might be missing. This year, add a Christmas Kindness tradition to your family's celebration. Of all the traditions that make up your holiday, this one may be the most meaningful of all.
Not sure how to start a Christmas kindness tradition? Keep reading for easy and fun ways to bring Christmas kindness to your family's holidays for years to come.
Starting a Christmas Kindness Tradition
There are a lot of ways that you can start a Christmas kindness tradition in your family. You can even reimagine some of the traditions that you already have in ways that will spread kindness.
Here's a few simple ideas to get you started.
Kindness Advent Calendars
Instead of a traditional toy or chocolate advent calendar, try one that encourages kindness!
Our Random Acts of Kindness Advent Calendar in a Jar is a fun way to countdown to Christmas and makes a fun holiday decoration too. You can find the directions and 24 ideas for Christmas kindness here.
You can also grab a fun printable Random Acts of Christmas Kindness Advent Calendar from Coffee Cups and Crayons. It doesn't get any easier than that!
Rethink the Elf
Elf on the Shelf is a popular Christmas tradition, but honestly we haven't introduced it in our family yet because the whole "he's watching you" thing isn't something I want to encourage. Instead, we've focused on North Pole visitors that spread kindness instead of spying.
North Pole Ninjas are fun alternatives to Elf on the Shelf that deliver secret missions of Christmas kindness to your kids. This is our third year with the Ninjas and my boys love this tradition!
If ninjas aren't quite your thing, then you can check out these adorable Kindness Elves from The Imagination Tree.
Sending Christmas Kindness Far & Near
To paraphrase Buddy the Elf, the best way to spread Christmas Cheer is sending kindness far and near.
You can also spread Christmas kindness closer to home with these Christmas Kindness Lunch Box Notes from The Soccer Mom Blog. They are fun for more than lunch boxes - get creative by leaving them for neighbors, co-workers, or even strangers.
Organizing your Acts of Kindness
Once you've decided which kindness traditions your family is going to try, you'll need a place to keep track of your ideas and plans. My Christmas Planner has a special Acts of Kindness section that helps you do just that! Plus over 100 more planning pages and tools to help you get ready for the holidays without all the stress. Check out the printable version here or grab a paperback copy on Amazon here.
Our Family Dinner Book Club Tradition
One of our favorite traditions all year long is our monthly Family Dinner Book Club. Since this month's theme is kindness, it's the perfect way to get started on a Christmas kindness tradition too.
To get started on this month's Family Dinner Book Club kindness theme, head to my co-hosts Jodie of Growing Book By Book for a list of children's books about kindness and to Sarah of Chef Sarah Elizabeth for a kindness themed dinner menu.
Be sure to share your kindness themed Family Dinner Book Club nights with us on Facebook. We love to see them!