99 ACTS OF KINDNESS

Small acts of kindness have been shown to help people deal with stress and make them happier overall.

Our family sat down together to compile this list of 99 acts of kindness to help us focus more on kindness this coming year. Some ideas we have done in the past, some ideas we had heard from others and some ideas are ones we want to try this year.  We decided to share our list with all of you, but of course we encourage you to come up with more ideas too!

This list includes some acts of kindness for yourself as well. We need to learn to be kind to ourselves if we want to truly learn to be kind to others. Enjoy!

99 Acts of Kindness

1. Pay for the person behind you 
2. Shovel a neighbors driveway
3. Say hello to a stranger
4. Offer to carry groceries for an elderly person
5. Take your child to the library and read to them
6. Forgive someone
7. Offer free babysitting to a young family
8. Give a compliment to the store clerk
9. Volunteer at a soup kitchen
10. Send a postcard
11. Write a nice message to someone on their Facebook wall for others to see
12. Let someone cut in front of you at the grocery store
13. Invite someone for dinner
14. Tell your child a story about your grandparents
15. Donate clothes to a shelter
16. Overpay for a glass of lemonade at a kids lemonade stand
17. Donate blood
18. Send a handwritten letter in the mail to a friend
19. Say something kind to someone who who has wronged you
20. Plant a tree
21. Serve breakfast to a family member in bed
22. Buy something from a local maker
23. Give a handmade gift to a friend
24. Leave a big tip to server who seems to be having a bad day (yes, even if they don’t deserve it)
25. Visit a care home
26. Leave a sticky note with a smiley face and nice message in a public restroom
27. Sell 3 things and donate the money to a charity
28. Give your partner a back rub
29. Eat supper together as a family and put your phone down
30. Bring a welcome basket to a new neighbor
31. Call a friend you have not talked to in a long time
32. Donate pet food to an animal shelter
33. Offer a hug
34. Tell someone in person how much they mean to you
35. Pray
36. Buy something you really want, and give it to a friend
37. Invite some young people over for a night of board games
38. Put extra money in a charity box at a store
39. Pay it forward
40. Thank a police officer for their service to the community
41. Bake cookies for a coworker
42. Hold the door open for someone
43. Say thank-you to the gas attendant
44. Buy that box of chocolates or magazine the neighborhood child is selling
45. Take your kids with you when you volunteer
46. Get some friends together to rake leaves for a widow
47. Put your shopping cart away on a rainy day
48. Make a care package for someone who is not feeling well
49. Stop to help the person having car trouble
50. Tell someone you are happy for them
51. Leave a copy of an inspirational book on the bus
52. Draw a happy face on all the bananas in the fruit bowl
53. Take a break when you need one
54. Make homemade bath salts to have ready to give a friend when she is stressed
55. Make a treat for the birds
56. Drop off muffins for the school staff room
57. Offer someone a ride
58. Drop some change on the sidewalk
59. Write a note to put in your child’s lunchbox
60. Tell your siblings you appreciate them
61. Save up little things to put in a box for Operation Christmas Child
62. Give someone the benefit of the doubt
63. Tell your family you love them
64. Pick up garbage at a local park
65. Buy some extra canned goods for the local food bank
66. Go to bed when you are tired
67. Help a mom with her stroller
68. Offer someone to sit with you when the place is packed
69. Put money in an expired parking meter
70. Talk nice to yourself
71. Leave the close parking space for someone else
72. Plan a cookie exchange with friends and donate a plate of goodies
73. Buy coffee for the crossing guard
74. Smile when your child walks into the room
75. Call your grandparents if you are lucky to still have them
76. Buy a plant for someone
77. Leave some extra change at the local laundry mat
78. Make homemade dog treats for your friends dog
79. Deliver a Christmas hamper
80. Smile when you don’t feel like it
81. Lend your umbrella to someone when you are caught in the rain
82. Just listen
83. Say something really nice to your supervisor/boss
84. Go out with a lonely friend, even if you really want to curl up at home
85. Email your child’s teacher telling them that you appreciate them
86. Bring a meal to a parent
87. Donate books the children’s hospital
88. Take a moment. When you are frustrated remember “STOP” (S- stop, T- take a breath, O-observe what is happening around you, P- practice responding rather than reacting)
89. Leave a $5 on a random windshield
90. Smile, really smile
91. Don’t honk the horn (even if they deserve it)
92. Help someone move
93. Buy extra tissue boxes for your child’s classroom
94. Sponsor a child
95. Buy a tin of coffee to donate to a homeless shelter
96. Make a get well card for someone
97. Babysit for your friends one night so they can go on a date
98. Give a stranger a compliment
99. Be kind to yourself

What acts of kindness would you add to this list. Have you ever had someone surprise you with a random act of kindness?

You can print this acts of kindness sheet – see how many you can do this year.  (edited to add: One reader said she is printing one to put up at her local post office – I love that idea!)

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