75 Random Acts of Kindness for Families

Our family has an advent calendar that we have done for several years. It isn’t the traditional, biblical advent calendar that walks you through the Christmas story. We do that with our kids too, but for our calendar we just draw out fun activities for the day. We do many different activities like sleeping under the tree one night, making gingerbread houses with cousins, baking and decorating sugar cookies, going caroling to our neighbors, etc.

Some of our favorite things to do, though, are random acts of kindness for people in our community. We enjoy all of the activities but even the kids look forward to being able to bless someone else. I love it because it takes the focus off of us and puts the focus on serving others. I also like it because it brings awareness to our kids that there is a world out there that is hurting, cold, hungry, without gifts, etc. I want them to be grateful for what they have and feel blessed, but also realize that they need to share those resources and talents to bless others.

Here is a list of 75 random acts of kindness. We’ve been doing this for over 7 years. We don’t do them all every year. This is a list that my husband and I choose from when we’re filling the advent calendar. We also do random acts of kindness all through the year. We don’t have them written down or planned, but we try to be very aware of the needs of others and randomly bless them. Many of these will have a Christmas or holiday theme/timing but many will be random acts of kindness kids, and you, can do all through the year.

1. Give hot cocoa to the volunteers collecting money for the Salvation Army (the bell ringers we call them lol).
2. Deliver bottles of cold water to construction workers.
3. Pay for the car behind you in the drive-thru line.
4. Tape quarters to snack vending machines in your office building, a hospital waiting room, or at the store.
5. Donate games to teachers at your local school for indoor recess.
6. Tape quarters to toy machines and gumball machines at the store.
7. Adopt a family from a local elementary school and donate toys for them to have at Christmas.
8. Pay for the person’s coffee in line behind or with you at Starbucks.
9. Volunteer to teach a class (or an extra class) at your church.
10. Drop off dry socks to construction workers standing in the rain.
11. Deliver some cheeseburgers and fries or pizza for lunch or donuts and bagels for breakfast to the teachers’ lounge at your child’s school.
12. Order pizza for a neighbor.
13. Pay for someone’s groceries.
14. Deliver blankets to the homeless or homeless shelter.
15. Buy a box of small bags of chips and give it to a local coach for his team to snack on before games or practice.
16. Leave little chocolates with encouraging notes in the teachers’ mailboxes at a local school/schools.
17. Deliver homemade cookies or brownies to the staff at your church.
18. Mow your neighbor’s lawn.
19. Pay for someone’s tank of gas.
20. Take encouraging notes to nurses and doctors in the ER or ICU.
21. Tie scarfs and hats to trees at a local park for the homeless to take.
22. Buy a carton of Sprinkles, divide it into 45 small baggies, and deliver to the local teachers with a note: “Thank you for sprinkling our children with your knowledge, love, and kindness this year.”
23. Take brownies or cupcakes (store bought) to a local fire station.
24. Offer to clean a friend’s house if they’re in need (new baby, illness, working long hours, etc.).
25. Deliver hand-made cards to a local nursing home.
26. Drop off a big bag of chocolates to a local police station.
27. Rake leaves for elderly.
28. Deliver notes with candy to nurses in the maternity ward.
29. Make a home-cooked meal for your neighbor or friend who isn’t even in need of one.
30. Offer to walk a dog for someone you know.
31. Go to a restaurant, order just a small appetizer or drink…then leave a $50 tip or more with an encouraging note.
32. Deliver a home-cooked meal to a new mom or friend in need.
33. Send cards to military.
34. Go caroling at a nursing home.
35. Offer to babysit (for free) for your neighbors so they can go Christmas shopping (or on a date if not Christmas season).
36. Leave encouraging notes for your children and spouse to find around the house.
37. Do all of your children’s chores for them for a day and still pay them.
38. Drop off new or gently used toys at a local daycare.
39. Offer to go for a walk with a friend.
40. Volunteer to hold babies at a local hospital.
41. Have a Friday night cookie night for your neighborhood once every month or two. Delivery little plates of homemade cookies to them.
42. Deliver fun Band-Aids to a local daycare or preschool.
43. Donate new or gently used toys to a local church’s nursery.
44. When traveling, slip an encouraging note into the diaper changing station for the next mom to find.
45. Take prepackaged food and snacks to your local Ronald McDonald House for the families and children there.
46. Take frozen pop-ice popsicles to a local parade and hand them out for free.
47. Volunteer to help a teacher make copies or laminate.
48. Go downtown or to a homeless-populated area and hand out hot cocoa and protein bars.
49. Write & deliver thank you notes to city bus drivers.
50. Wait for the garbage collectors and take coffee, hot cocoa, or water out to them as they pass by, depending on the weather.
51. Make little “survival” kits to keep in your car, include a pair of socks, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, small bar of soap, washcloth, and razor. Keep them in your car to hand out to homeless people.
52. Tape quarters to rides at a local mall.
53. Take an Uber ride just so you can leave a big tip.
54. If you have a talent or resource, offer it for free to someone in need (photography, free Pink Zebra or Pampered Chef, making a decorated cake/cupcakes, dog grooming, etc.).
55. Take encouraging notes to local church staff.
56. Shop with coupons or from clearance racks (after school starts) for school supplies and deliver in the middle of the year to a school or classroom.
57. If you see someone is having a bad day, drop a card in the mail for them.
58. Pick wild flowers and drop them off to your child’s teacher for no reason.
59. Gather up gently used clothing and deliver to a family in need.
60. Buy a bag of groceries for your neighbor.
61. Find out your friend’s favorites and put together a little basket of faves (candy, color, drink, snack, etc.) for your favorite friend.
62. Pick wild flowers and deliver them to the workers at your local diner or coffee shop.
63. Take photo booth props to a nursing home, take pictures of everyone/anyone who lives/works there.
64. Then develop the pictures and deliver them with kind notes written on the back to each person who participated.
65. Deliver jingle bells to grocery store employees with notes of kindness.
66. Put red hots or Hershey Kisses in little baggies and write notes of encouragement or verses that you can tie to the bag. Deliver to church staff at a local church.
67. Head to a park and hand out Frisbees, beach balls, and other outdoor toys to kids/families.
68. Take cold bottles of water to a parade and hand them out for free.
69. Go to the mall and tell moms they’re beautiful (works best coming from other moms). Scenario: One mom to another at a playland: “Excuse me, I just think you’re a beautiful mom.”
70. Offer free babysitting for parents at your local church, or for donation only and donate to a local food shelter.
71. Pick weeds for free for neighbors or people in need.
72. Pass out free pre-packaged healthy snacks to children at a park.
73. Sit with moms in waiting rooms at local children’s hospitals.
74. Deliver warm cookies to a local prison.
75. Deliver protein bars to a soccer team before practice or a game.
76. Make cinnamon rolls for your neighbors and deliver them warm in small round foil disposable pans with a note on top.