As a group, we can choose to share the magic of Christmas, in December and all year round, to make people happy and make a difference in their lives.
I believe little things we do can make a HUGE difference.
That is the power of we and the theme of this year’s Blog Action Day – which happens to be today 🙂
Can our love of Christmas really make a difference?
I think we who love Santa and Christmas can make a difference to the world.
And even if each of us makes small changes, the total could end up being spectacular and absolutely world-changing.
Just making people smile can make a difference
making a child smile is what we aim to do
Whether it is sharing a lovely story (like so may people do here I’m pleased to say), giving a special Christmas gift, putting out Christmas decorations and simply smiling at a stranger, being able to make someone else smile is a great power we all have.
You never know the impact of that smile either. Maybe you make a sad person smile so they are more productive or nicer to people that day, maybe you just inspire them to smile at others, maybe you are the difference between them feeling alone and worthless and feeling ok.
Here are a few ways to make people smile about Christmas and Santa, but I’d love you to share more ideas as a comment…
- put up Christmas decorations that people can see outside your house
- put up fun or unexpected decorations (such as legs sticking out of a chimney or tinsel forming a shape)
- make a Christmas resource and give it your clients – maybe a shopping list template, an email message, a card holder, a website graphic, a pattern for a Christmas craft or a bookmark
- include a fun token with every Christmas gift you give this year (eg a funny bookmark, a Santa magnet)
- make the effort to see people during the year, not just at Christmas events
- wear a Santa hat or Santa earrings, maybe even a Christmas-themed top
- do some baking (at home or at the office) to ge that cinnamon scent wafting around
- SMILE!
Inspiring others
Being generous and kind often inspires others to be generous and kind.
Think of the movie ‘pay it forward’ where I do something incredible for you on condition you do something incredible for others.
I recently heard of someone who mentored a new person in his industry – on condition she handed the information over to someone else new later on.
Consciously looking for ways to be generous, as a group, will make our world better. Not only have we helped some people directly, but hopefully we have inspired them to also be generous and given people hope and belief in other people.
Santa in a dress?
To put some of our belief into action, I’m going to put Santa into a school dress.
What on Earth am I talking about, you ask.
Well, there is fundraising campaign called Do it in a dress that I think is a very worthwhile cause.
Girls in Sierra Leone often don’t get much formal education or opportunity. In fact, they are more likely to be assaulted than go to school which is awful.
Do it in a dress is an orgnaisation that is raising money for these girls to go to school.
So, if lots of people get together and donate a little here or there, we can get some Sierra Leone girls to school – making a huge difference to their lives and the lives of their families and communities.
If we raise enough for one girl to get to high school ($150), we’ll add a graphic of Santa in a dress to our site.
If we raise enough to give any girl access to school for a year ($240), we’ll make that image our Twitter profile for 2 weeks and add it to our Facebook cover image indefinitely.
To donate, simply visit our Do-it-in-a-dress profile page and pay online. To make a bigger difference, share the link to this page or our donation page with your friends so we can get even more girls to school.
Together, we can make a difference and bring ‘Christmas’ to those girls’ lives.
Love these ideas. There’s a kind gent near us who festoons his home with lights and interactive dispays. It brings the whole neighbourhood together.
What lovely images that conjures up, Annabel – the neighbourhood together enjoying the lights and sharing the Christmas magic.
I think many people get in the giving mood around the Christmas holidays. But your reminder that the spirit of giving is not just one time of the year is so important. Thank you!
Hi Sara, thanks for dropping by and I’m glad you found the reminder valuable 🙂 Have a Merry October!
Wow, I love the Do It in a Dress idea. I haven’t heard of it before. If I can I’ll try to donate, though it wouldn’t be a lot. I’m in a dorm right now, and I think I’ll probably put up some tinsel or Christmas-y pictures on our door so when others walk by they see it!
Do it in a dress started last year I think so it’s fairly new but no less important for that. If you can give anything to help those girls get to school it is a step closer than they’d be without you. Alone, many of us can’t afford to help much but together we can raise more and make a huge difference so thanks for joining in.
Decorating your dorm door is a great way to share the Christmas spirit with the other students (and their visitors!)
This reminds me of my two Sisters, Tammy and Teresa. They inspire so many people with the little things that they do. At Christmas they will give the cashier at the store candy canes and tell them how great and patient they are. One year, my sisters left the grocery store and decided that the casier needed more than a candy cane. They went to the florist and bought her a red rose and a bottle of water. They returned to the store went back in line and when the cashier seen this she cried. I was just the on-looker but they do this all the time. I am honored they are my sisters. They truly inspire. One smile, one thank you, one helping hand does make a tremendous difference in the people around us.
Oh, Lisa what lovely, lovely sisters you have – generous too.
Making the people around us, even the people we hardly know or interact with, feel better and appreciated can make such a difference to them and our world.
I am proud to know people like Tammy and Teresa are doing special things for people at Christmas time – and the rest of the year I bet.
The movie ‘Pay it Forward’ is one of my favorite movies. It reminded me of what my Mum told me. When my siblings and I were young, my Mum had a neighbor who had teenagers. That neighbor was a tremendous help to my Mum, along with her teenagers helping with babysitting. My Mum asked her what she could do in return. This neighbor told her to pay it forward, that when we became teenagers, help young Mums. And that is exactly what my Mum did. My Mum became like a 2nd Mum to a couple of neighborhood children. And I try to pay it forward as well.
What a lovely example of paying it forward, Clauzetta, and one close to my heart as I think too many young mums are isolated and struggling 0 it’s not like 50 or 70 years ago when the neighbourhood was full of kids and Mums could yell over the fence for some help or support.
I hope I can remember to do that when my youngsters are not quite so young.
making people smile is so simple and affordable, yet can have such an impact. Thanks for reminding me to do this, especially as my Christmas Gift to the world.
Off to see what I can do in a dress, too…
Oh, just read all the comments here.
Erica, I don’t think it’s about giving a lot but a lot of us giving a little – and shwoing those girls we care.
Lisa, what awesoem sisters you have. Love them to bits from afar!
I just read another exmaple of how a little gift turns into a lot more than expected – one woman gave a poor boy a Christmas gift and over 100 years later, his organisation continues to give poor children gifts for Christmas morning. That woman wanted to help one boy but has inspired others to help hundreds of children as well.
http://www.thestar.com/santaclausfund/article/1278770–santa-claus-fund-star-readers-keep-woman-s-kindness-alive
I love your ideas how to make people smile about Christmas and Santa. I must say that all of those will imrprove our mood and we’ll prepare for Christmas more effectively.
Glad you like them, Trissandra. Making people smile is often so simple yet has a lasting impact.
Nothing to do with CHristmas, but last night I helped a young girl learn to ride a bike – the smile on her face when she yelled “I did it!!!” was well worth the effort and it gave her so much pride and self-confidence.
Sometimes the small things you dont think matter does matter. You can always be friendlier, smile to someone you dont know, help someone in need. Remember the small things matter. Try it out this christmas and why not post here what you did?
Absolutely the small things make a difference. I remember going for a walk one day, feeling a bit down, then someone passed me, smiled and said hello – it brightened my whole day yet was so simple for them to have done. I now smile and greet people I walk past as much as possible, even if I can’t do anything else for others that day.
I LOVE your idea of everyone trying out small things and sharing the joy and impact here, Holunderminze 🙂 THAT idea is itself a small idea that matters.