#7 in our Holiday Blog Series:
Our KIND of Christmas.
As I walked through Walmart yesterday, I felt a bit disheartened. I know what you’re thinking, “And?? Isn’t that how most of us feel when we’re in Walmart?” That’s why I rarely go anymore. I’ve found ways around my two-hour, all-inclusive grocery shopping debacles and I don’t miss it one bit. Thank you grocery pick-up and Amazon! It was a little worse than usual, though. It’s November. As I walked past aisles and aisles of pre-packaged presents, mostly stuff that no one would really want, all I could think is what good could be done with the time, effort, thoughtfulness and money spent on all this junk. “It COULD be the most wonderful time of the year…” I sighed to myself as I felt, “bitterly bummed out.” My mind immediately went to The Grinch and the part in the movie where he tells the Whos that he finds all of their tossed-out presents at the dump on top of Mt. Crumpit. Dump it to Crumpit!
Truly, though, in some ways, it really probably is the best time of the year. Maybe not as unrealistically imagined in Hallmark movies, but still, it's better than just about any other time of year. Many people are more generous. Thinking of others wiggles its way to the forefront of our thoughts. We seem to suddenly care a little more about other’s feelings or happiness…though we didn’t seem to care at Walmart or in the school car line. We want others to have a good Christmas…though we don’t seem to care much about any other day. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s all a lovely sentiment and in this day and age, I’ll gladly take what I can get. It’s just a shame it’s only one day, or one month, out of an entire year. A few years back, I decided to do everything I could to see just how far I could stretch this temporary influx of goodwill. It turned out to be the best gift I have ever given or received. I shared how it worked out in a blog post last year. You can read it HERE. However, before you read this one, I encourage you to read the very first post from Our KIND of Christmas, Holiday Blog Series to get the most out of the Series. Link below!
So, while the holidays truly do seem to be the most wonderful time for many, we simply cannot forget it’s also the most stressful. Whether it’s finances, time constraints, illness, loss of a loved one, being away from family, not having a family or maybe even no home, the holidays are also the most gut-wrenching, depressing time of the year for countless folks.
As you can see, I’ve been channeling my inner Cindy Lou Who. I’ve been channeling little Cindy for as long as I can remember. I always loved Christmas the most, until I began to realize how lost it seems we have all become. I started loathing (now I’m channeling my inner Grinch!) the commercialism and dreading the obligation until I found myself just flat out dreading Christmas period. That’s a terrible feeling, especially when you have a little one who simply cannot wait for Christmas to arrive. Good ole obligation, it is not a four-letter word, but it should be. It is often the root cause of the majority of stressors during the holidays…any day, really. So, what did I do about it? I struggled. A LOT. I questioned myself. A LOT. Eventually, though, I trusted my heart and found my way.
My very first holiday blog post in this Series talks about the difference between gifts and presents. It’s the longest post in the Series. If you’ll bear with me, the others are much shorter. Each post shares a story or activity we’ve done that has transformed our holidays through the years.
If you’re reading this post now, THANK YOU. I’m honored that you would spend your valuable time, your most precious commodity with us. I hope that you’ll discover something useful, uplifting or inspiring in some small way. I am grateful for the opportunity to share our stories about how we made the absolute best changes to our holidays. As with most things, we started small. As you read, you’ll see how the changes we made for the holidays, unbeknownst to me, would lay the foundation for Come Together with Kindness several years later. Read the first post HERE.
I talk alot about the acts of kindness we have done, not just during the holidays, but year-round. We love sharing these acts of kindness with others. One way we do this is by sharing kindness kits through Operation Good Deed Doer. Our kits now come in two designs, Secret Service Missions and Giving Gifts. Members of our free, online kindness club called, Kindness Corp, can receive up to four free kindness kits per quarter in the mail. All you have to do is register to become a member. Each quarter members receive an email notification that we are accepting requests for free kits. Submit your request then check your mailboxes! While supplies last. Sign up HERE. We're mailing out THIS WEEK!!! How to get your free kits is already posted on our member page! Yay!
All of our kits are currently showcased in our new, online catalog! There are now over 40 designs, all of which are available for purchase anytime. Every kit we sell at retail enables us to provide THREE FREE! We’d love to work with your family, school, group, business or organization! We can tailor kits to meet your needs or create a kit especially for you! We work with sponsors and offer bulk discounts. These kits make great gifts and we are now offering a gift subscription service!
We invite you to join us on Our Mission:
We will do our best to help our small corner of the world come together with kindness, one friend at a time, one stranger at a time,
one act of kindness at a time.
May your heart grow more than three sizes this year!
The Mission Mom
Don’t forget to check out Drew’s new book,
The Legend of Curly Q Drew & The Message Mistake!