28 Random Acts of Kindness Ideas

I love being the random recipient of kindness.  Even if it’s as small as someone opening the door for me when my arms are full of a wiggling toddler, it always adds a smile to my face.  With kids, it’s easy to get distracted when I’m out and around town to remember to look for chances to pay it forward, but something I want to focus on so my kids will learn to look around to others and not be so focused themselves.  There are 28 days in the month of February, the month of *love*…so here are 28 ideas for Random Acts of Kindness. Take one for each day and even let your kids be in on it!

FOR STRANGERS
1. Leave your quarter in your Aldi shopping cart (or fill up a bunch of carts before leaving!)
2. Pay for the person behind you in the drive-thru lane.
3. Have your kids do a lemonade and cookie stand – for free!
4. Make bags for the homeless.
5. You know those candy machines in the mall or store fronts? Put a quarter in those, crank for the candy and leave for a recipient to find a double dose of candy!
6. Let someone go ahead of you in the checkout line.
7. Smile at someone.
8. Offer to take someone’s cart back to the shopping cart return.
9. Go through your clothes, pantry and toys to see what you can pass on to homeless shelter/food pantry.
10. Leave a $1 in the toy bin at the Dollar Store.

FOR YOUR FRIENDS
11. Pay part of a friend’s bill – you can call OG&E, ONG or the respective city to pay all or part of someone’s bill.
12. Bring extra water bottles to a play group for some one who inevitably forgot one!
13. Send a text to someone you haven’t seen in awhile to say “Hi! Miss you! Thinking of you today.”
14. Make dinner for your neighbor. Better yet – invite them over!
15. Offer to babysit a friends kids – just because!  You know that mom probably needs a few hours to herself.
16. Make heart shaped cookies – with lots of sprinkles – for some favorite people in your life.
17. Organize a dinner out and bring them a small gift.
18. Tell a friend how great of a parent they are. Praise their child’s behavior.

FOR YOUR SPOUSE/FAMILY
19. Write “love letters” to grandparents.
20. Write on a fogged up bathroom mirror “I love you”. (It goes away and reappears after each shower – so there isn’t a mess on your mirror!)
21. Call your mom or dad just to say “hi”.
22. Turn down the covers for your spouse.

FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
23. Leave cookies for your mailman in the mailbox.  You can actually call up to your local post office and ask for their first name to leave a note to say thanks!
24. Offer to bring your babysitter a Sonic drink.
25. Leave an encouraging note on a bulletin board at work for your co-workers.
26. Have your kids draw pictures for their teachers at school.

MISC
27. Make a positive comment on a blog (I know a good one!)
28. Be kind.  To anyone and everyone.  We all enjoy being the recipients of kindness.

Whether it’s on purpose, or spur of the moment, we all enjoy being recipients of these and would be blessed by paying it forward.

What’s your favorite Random Act of Kindness?