I like to think I’m a good person. The good person in me looks for opportunities to help others, but mostly at my convenience – something I am consistently working to change about myself. Then Christmas rolls around and slaps me in the face like a magnifying glass to my heart. Questions like “How much of you have you given this year?” and “how have you improved somebody else’s life?” dance around in my head, and I hesitate to answer. Because for me life is shiny, and it can be blinding.

To me, Christmas is wonderful because I am one of the lucky ones who finds joy in these chilly months. Honestly it’s too easy for me as it is for many of us who have what we need & some. It’s easy to be joyful when you’re on a mountain, which I definitely feel this stage of my life to be with our new baby boy. It’s easy to be joyful when we are cuddled up in our warm home with the new blankets we purchased on cyber Monday watching Christmas movies with hot cocoa and presents under the tree. Think that’s a mouthful? Me too. Like I said, it’s wonderful but can be damaging if taken for granted. My inspiration for this post is as much as a reminder for myself as I hope it will be for you to give back this season. So today, I share with you 8 ways to spread JOY at Christmas!

But before I share these ways, let’s talk about intention. Do you remember that episode of “Friends” in which phoebe insists that “there is no selfless good deed” and spends the day trying to do one deed with a completely selfless intent? In watching this I have since presented myself the same challenge. Why am I doing good? To check a box and feel good about myself? To some degree yes, as would any human with a desire to be proud (so, any human). I believe that the best way to approach a good deed with a genuine intention is to gain perspective, so imagine for a minute what the holidays might look like to those who aren’t so joyful. While we can all agree that there is need year round, the Holidays bring with them an extra dose of darkness and emotional stress to those who are in a valley. While you are warm and comfortable, consider the people who aren’t feeling the “cozy vibes” with a warm cup & fire and are instead hit with a rush of chilling anxiety about staying warm through the frigid months. Consider the people who use Cyber Monday as a relief to purchase necessities for their children instead of splurging on “gifts” that will inevitably be kept for oneself. Join me in challenging yourself to approach your “good deeds” with these considerations and they will be done with a more selfless intent!

One final note before I get to the good stuff. There are always going to be people who will cast judgement to those who volunteer at Christmas, shaming them for not recognizing the same needs year round. And there is truth to that, most people are less giving after the pomp and circumstance wears off. If you’re like me and find it more challenging to keep up the “do good” momentum after the start of the year, I have a suggestion. Provide yourself with an active reminder. I particularly needed this reminder last year following the Houston flood. There was an urgent and massive need in my city and, being unaffected, Matt and I went on a spree of helping others with our days off and time to spare. But then, time passed. We went back to work, and the news coverage ended. I realized that the need was still there, but it was no longer on the forefront of my mind. So, I wrote down the verse below and posted it to my fridge, where it remains today. It is a small reminder, but I’m reminded of the lasting need each time I see it.

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people…” – Galations 6:10

I hope we can all use our “opportunities” to be selfless and serve others this season and beyond, and the best way to do that is to spread JOY :). Below are 8 ways you and your family can spread joy this season – whether you have time, money, or neither!

Ways To Give Back & Spread Joy

I’ve split these 8 ways into 3 categories to suit your current “opportunity” – if you have “time” , “money”, or “neither” – in hopes to make giving more achievable (I’ve been through seasons of all three myself)!

If you have TIME:

1. Volunteer at a local Children’s Home

Find your local children’s home and volunteer your time wrapping presents, reading to the kids, holding the babies (yes that’s a thing – my saint of a mother volunteers at the Wichita Children’s Home by going to hold and rock the babies). If you’re in Houston, you can hold infants or spend the afternoon playing with kids at Casa de Esperanza .

2. Make and Deliver “Joy Bags”

Spend a morning making fresh goodie bags – with holiday treats, Roasted Turkey Sandwiches, Even hot cocoa in a thermos and spend the afternoon bringing these goodie bags to those asking for food. There is more than enough opportunity for this in Houston and it requires little more than time & effort! If you decide to do hot cocoa, bring to-go coffee mugs to pour into as needed (or splurge and provide each goodie bag recipient with their own thermos to stay warm – cheap thermos’s can be found at Academy for $6/piece)!

3. Sort and/or Deliver Toys

No matter what city you live in, there are TONS ofÂ toy drives happening around town! Check your local fire stations, schools, and churches for opportunities to volunteer – this is a great one to bring the whole family along! If you are in Houston, a great opportunity for toy sorting with the family is with BeAResource. Also, the Houston Children’s Charity has opportunities to volunteer for Toy distribution – fill out their volunteer application for more information! If you live in the Katy area, we go to Parkway Fellowship church and they always need help with toy distribution as Christmas approaches!

4. Bring your Baby (or kids) to a Local Nursing Home

As Matt and I were considering our options for how to volunteer our time with a newborn this year, this is the best we could come up with! My sister mentioned to me that she does this with her 1 year old from time to time and the residents LOVE it. Last year I brought my cheer squad to have a meal with the residents at the nursing home and it was a super fruitful experience for both the residents and my girls. Many of the nursing home residents who remain there over the holidays are without family to enjoy and time spent with others – especially adorable young babies – is a great way to bring joy to their day when the home seems to have emptied! If you decide to go this route, I recommend you do so right around Christmas when the halls are at their emptiest and desire to connect is at it’s greatest :). If you take the kids, you can also bring handmade Christmas cards when you go! And if you live in Katy, TX, you can go to Grace Care Center to enjoy a meal with the residents (just give them a call beforehand to let them know when you’re coming or to ask when the best time would be)! I’m sure there are PLENTY more around Houston, this is just the one we went to and had a great experience!

If you have MONEY…

5. Build a shoebox Online for a Child in Need Overseas

You can virtually build a shoebox to be sent to a child overseas by Christmas! It is called “Operation Christmas Child” and, while the physical shoebox collection has ended, you can still build one online quickly for $25+ dollars! This is great to do at home if you are strapped for time but have money to spare :).

6. DONATE to any of the following places:

Local Food Bank (Houston Food Bank is always looking for donations and volunteers)
Children’s homes (see links above)
Toy Drive – you can purchase toys for all ages and drop them off at your local fire station on your way to work (Help them out by indicating the age group and gender of the recipient via post it note before dropping off)!
World Vision or Love146 – These are both a wonderful organizations that our church partners with each year! World Vision connects you with a child in need and you pay monthly to support the needs of his/her community overseas. They even send you report cards and letters from your sponsored child and you can do the same! You can also make a one time donation if that better suits your opportunity. Love146 fights to stop human sex trafficking (and without Houston being one of the biggest cities for sex trafficking in the world… this hits really close to home). Donations to either of these two organizations will be money well spent this holiday season!
Your local Church or school programs – They are always accepting donations and these will be put towards great causes (especially since you can be sure that the money will be spent on children in YOUR community).

If you don’t have either of those things (time or money)…

Maybe this season is your busiest of the year and finding spare time to enjoy with family is already hard enough. Maybe you are also struggling to put presents under your own tree. You can still spread joy without excess amounts of time or money to spare! It’s all about getting creative with YOUR OPPORTUNITY, whatever that may be! Here are a few simple ways to spread Joy under these circumstances!

7. Write and mail letters to soldiers overseas

From the comfort of your own home and in no time, you can write a thank you note to a soldier who will be spending their holiday away from family. We all know someone (or know someone who knows someone) who is missing their loved one this holiday season due to their selfless sacrifice for our country. Think of these families this season and send a small token of your appreciation to soften the pain of a Christmas far from home. Even if you are seeing this too late for the note to get there in time, they will still arrive shortly after and will be no less meaningful! This is a great thing to do with kids also 🙂 I did this with my cheer squad when I coached and they loved writing letters to the soldiers (and kissing the papers with lipstick… haha)!

8. Send Prayers

Perhaps the best way you can serve your neighbor is to pray for them, especially this time of year. Spend a little extra time in prayer each night and say specific, deliberate, and genuine prayers for those who are less fortunate.

And there’s my list of ways to SPREAD JOY this season! If you have other ideas, I would LOVE to hear them – drop a comment below!! Above all, remember that this season is meant to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ by loving one another. So the next time you go to the grocery store with a giant list to fill, take it slow and smile at the people around you! Maybe even wish them a Merry Christmas (without being weird about it)!

With LOVE,

Kelsie