50 Kindness Elves Ideas

Have you heard of Kindness Elves? They are similar to Elf on the Shelf, except the elves encourage children to do acts of kindness during the Christmas season. We got our first set of Kindness Elves last year and my boys had a blast doing the activities! We did just the 12 days before Christmas, since we didn’t get our elves before then. Anna from The Imagination Tree sells them and last year she sold out very quickly. This year she has more options to choose from and hopefully a larger inventory. These are so popular!

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Each day, the elves write a message to the children asking them to an act of kindness. The children can also write messages back to the elves and put them in the mailbox that comes with the box. So cute!

Today I’m sharing 50 ideas you can do with kindness elves. You don’t have to have the elves to do these random acts of kindness, but it is a fun way to make the season meaningful for children. You can move the elves around the house with little notes for the children to find each day. It is really fun for the kids to wake up to!

Here are 50 ideas for kindness elves:

1. Donate toys to a charity organization
2. Send letters to soldiers overseas
3. Visit a retirement home and bring homemade cards or sing carols
4. Create packages to hand out to the homeless
5. Pass out candy canes
6. Send letters to children with long-term illnesses
7. Buy gift cards for a teacher
8. Bake goodies for the neighbors
9. Buy the person’s order behind you at a fast food restaurant
10. Sponsor a child from around the world with an organization, like Compassion.
11. Bake or buy goodies for the local police officers
12. Buy a gift for a child off of an Angel Tree
13. Send letters to grandparents
14. Clean up your sibling’s room for them
15. Hug your friends
16. Donate clothes to Goodwill
17. Place $1 + tax into baggies and put them around the Dollar Store  (I recommend putting it in a plastic baggie with a note that explains this is for someone to use!)
    
18. Shovel snow off of your neighbor’s sidewalk
19. Donate canned goods
20. Pass out stickers
21. Smile at everyone
22. Donate old shoes to a charity
23. Bring a meal to a family
24. Buy the coffee order behind you in line
25. Pass out encouraging notes to friends and family members
26. Do yard work for a neighbor
27. Bring hot chocolate to your neighbors
28. Take goodies to the fire station
29. Donate old books to the library or charity organization (even the doctor’s office!)
30. Make a bird feeder for the birds
31. Pick up trash in your neighborhood
32. Deliver a surprise gift to a friend
33. Donate supplies to the animal shelter
34. Make Christmas crafts to give to friends
35. Call a relative
36. Make cards for the librarians
37. Tape change to the parking meters
38. Deliver coffee to your favorite teacher
39. Scrape ice off of cars in a parking lot (this is for older children!)
40. Write words of encouragement on sticky notes and post them around the house
41. Give your parents a massage
42. Compliment 5 friends
43. Tell funny jokes to make people laugh
44. Play a game with a sibling (without fighting!!)
45. Bring flowers to a loved one
46. Donate supplies to a local food bank
47. Make homemade playdough and deliver it to a friend
48. Hold the door open for someone
49. Donate supplies to families with foster children (ask before what they need!)
50. Do a chore for a sibling

Of course these are just 50 of my ideas and I’m sure you have more ideas! I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments.

I know this post seems early since we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving. I wanted to make sure you knew about Kindness Elves before the Christmas season and before they sell out! You can get these adorable dolls here.

Have a wonderful Christmas!