Inside: Help kids spread kindness and cheer this holiday season with this 24 days of Christmas Kindness for kids advent calendar to help them focus on giving.
My kids were sitting around the table writing out their holiday wish lists. They had all the toy catalogs spread out and were pouring through them and circling what they wanted.
Since we celebrate Christmas and Hanukkah and one of my kids has a December birthday, the lists were kind of long.
Actually, they were ridiculously long.
My kids were sucked into the commercialization of Christmas, like most kids, and were focused on what they wanted.
But that’s not what Christmas is really about.
If we want our kids to focus on others, to focus on giving, to focus on spreading joy and cheer and kindness, we have to make it happen.
We can’t just hope our kids figure out how to not focus on toys and Santa’s impending visit.
Instead, we need to show them how.
And there’s no better way to show kids how to be kind than to give them easy ways to act with kindness each day of December as we count down to Christmas with this Christmas Kindness for Kids Advent Calendar.
Why Christmas is the perfect time to focus on Kindness
December is usually the busiest time of the year. We’re trying to fit in all the regular life things and chores and school and work.
But then we add in all the festive and special activities in December: holiday shopping, decorating, baking and cooking, holiday cards, wrapping and shipping gifts, and Santa visits.
So how in the world can we fit in one more thing?
I get it.
But when we pause the craziness of the holidays and intentionally focus on spreading kindness, we focus on what’s really important.
We’re intentionally raising kind kids.
We talk about it often with this 60 Kindness Discussion Starters and this Skittles Game.
We volunteer year-round and use this 365 Days of Kindness Calendar.
And we read books about kindness and make kindness gifts.
But at Christmas time, with the focus on gift getting and wish lists, it’s crucial to balance out the “gimmes” with the giving.
We use this tradition to help my kids focus on giving rather than getting.
But we also set ourselves up to intentionally spread kindness and give to those around us.
And to make that easier and not let the days “slip by,” we use these Kindness Elves and this Christmas Kindness for Kids Advent Calendar to make it easier.
How to Use this Christmas Advent Calendar
1. Download and print out the calendar. (Download it below)
2. Hang up the kindness advent calendar somewhere you’ll see it every day like on your refrigerator.
3. Each day, help your kids perform the act of kindness for the day.
For the 4th, here are directions to make Kindness Rocks.
For the 15th, here’s an idea for an easy sibling gift they can make each other.
For the 17th, here is a fun and easy Christmas craft kids can make.
For the 20th and complimenting neighbors on their holiday decorations, you can leave them these printable “awards” and compliments.
4. Each day, celebrate their act of kindness and praise it.
Ask them how it felt to spread kindness.
Talk to them about why we are kind.
Related: Why is Kindness Important? and How to Explain it to Kids
5. Mark the act of kindness done by crossing it off, coloring it in, or covering it with a holiday sticker.
6. Celebrate their kindness this holiday season and that they focused more on giving than on receiving.
Related: How to Help Kids Focus on Giving in December
Get the Christmas Kindness for Kids Advent Calendar here.
Jeanne Phenow says
I am unable to download your advent kindness calendar, even though I have clicked on the “download here” button several times. I continue to get the registration screen asking for my name and email address. What am I doing wrong?