25 Acts of Kindness For The Whole Family

Doing random acts of kindness is a wonderful way to spread happiness throughout the year, and the best thing about kindness is that it’s completely free! Keep reading for 25 acts of kindness for the whole family to try this year.

25 Acts of Kindness For The Whole Family

1. Deliver heart grams!
Create little paper hearts with sweet sayings to deliver to all sorts of places. Deliver them in person, leave them in bathrooms, put them in mailboxes, wherever you want! This is one of the easiest acts of kindness to accomplish – all you need is paper, scissors, and something to write with!

2. Donate soda tabs.
If your family drinks and buys soda cans, save up those tabs! You can donate them to the Ronald McDonald House charity to help sick kids and their families. This is a great one for younger children to help with.

3. Leave encouraging notes on mirrors.
Every time you stop by a public restroom, leave a sticky note with an empowering message for people to see! A little encouragement from a stranger can go a long way.

4. Set up a meal donation week.
If someone in your community is going through a tough time, set up a committee of people who are willing to cook dinner a couple times for them to help them out. This is a great way to give back to your community and it can benefit everyone in their time of need.

5. Give a compliment to a stranger.
It can set someone’s day on the right path to hear a compliment from a stranger!

6. Use Amazon Smile.
Amazon Smile allows you to select an organization to donate a portion of the sales to. This is completely free and is one of the easiest acts of kindness there is!

7. Thank people in uniform.
This small gesture can go a long way in making someone feel good.

8. Visit elderly people.
Sometimes these visits can be the highlight of their day! Visiting elderly people in homes is a great way to learn and hear old stories as well as give back to the people who raised us. If you are great at teaching, consider teaching residents how to craft or a new skill they might not know!

9. Encourage coworkers.
This is one of the best acts of kindness because it’s totally free and can make a huge difference in morale at work. Work can be a stressful place sometimes, but encouragement from coworkers and friends can make all the difference. Be part of that difference!

10. Believe in someone!
Even the most genius of inventors had to do a lot of convincing to get their ideas taken seriously. If someone you know wants to achieve something, believe in them!

11. Pay for someone’s food or drink.
This is always such a special surprise when it happens and often times, it has a sort of domino effect and continues on! These acts of kindness can frequently touch the hearts of many people in one day. Be the one to start that reaction!

12. Invite someone over for dinner.
The holidays can feel especially lonely to people who aren’t surrounded by large families during this time of year. Invite someone over for dinner to raise their spirits and spend quality time with them!

13. Paint rocks!
Painting rocks is a rising trend and it’s a wonderful way to spread some kindness. Paint rocks with inspirational quotes, cute pictures that make you happy, and more. Then, leave them around town as surprises for strangers to find! Join some local rock painting groups on Facebook to see if your rocks are found and posted for extra fun.

14. Pass on a favorite book.
Read something recently that you loved? Share it with a friend, family member, or neighbor! Great books are always a wonderful discovery and recommendations are always loved. Discussing the same book is a great way to bond!

15. Write a letter.
Write a letter to someone and let them know how important they are to you. Receiving snail mail is so much fun and it sweetens the deal when the letter is kind too!

16. Bake something for a neighbor.
It’s becoming less common to have a relationship with your neighbors. If you don’t really know your neighbors, consider baking something for them to enjoy this holiday season! This can be a great way to form a relationship and having friendly neighbors is always a positive thing!

17. Bring a souvenir.
If you go somewhere to visit, bring a souvenir home for someone you love.

18. Try a new recipe together.
They say the family that cooks delicious food together eats delicious food together! Try a new recipe together and rate it to see if it’s worth adding to your recipe repertoire.

19. Start a garden.
Find out how and where you can start a community garden. This is a great way to give back to your community and one of the coolest acts of kindness! Not only will you be doing something kind for your community, your community will get to reap the benefits!

20. Support a local business.
Have a local business that you love to frequent? Spread some word of mouth recommendations and/or stop in to give your support during the holiday season! Online reviews can be really helpful to businesses, so consider leaving a review on Yelp or Facebook as well.

21. Leave a note in a library book.
Leaving a kind note in a library book can be a great surprise for someone who checks out the book after you. It takes a few seconds and can turn someone’s day around!

22. Donate!
Get the entire family to go through their things and start sorting things into a donation pile. Consider donating nail polish to elderly homes, clothes to your local Salvation Army, or even books to a library! If you have food in the pantry that is non-perishable that won’t get eaten, donate that to a local food bank.

23. Send a care package.
Whether this is for a deployed service member or just someone who has moved across the country that you love, sending a care package is a great way to make someone happy! Care packages can be small items that the person needs or just things you’ve collected that make you think of them.

24. Leave coupons by their products.
Got some awesome coupons this week that you won’t end up using on something like cold medicine? Leave the coupons in front of the product in the store – you might just make somebody’s bad day a whole lot better! These acts of kindness are super simple to do and can help someone who is in need.

25. Offer to run an errand.
Know somebody who is struggling more than usual lately? Offer to run an errand for them like dropping something off at the post office, picking up some groceries, or even just doing some laundry. Lightening the load can really make a world of difference for someone going through a tough time.

What are your favorite acts of kindness on this list? Which ones will you commit to do this year? Share in the comments below!