Creative for a Cause

Greet Deliveries with Gratitude

Create a display to share sweet treats and thanks.

The growing popularity of online shopping requires a fleet of bustling delivery professionals. Take a moment to say thanks!

Possible recipients

Use this new DGT™ printable, or create your own message of gratitude. Consider offering individually-packaged water bottles, sports drinks, granola bars, candy, or even a gift card as well.

The myriad of folks delivering cards and gifts through UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, and around the world

What you’ll need

  • Card stock, white

  • Card stock, decorative

  • Markers

  • Scissors

  • Tape

  • Heavy-duty straw or dowel

  • Decorative container

  • Candy, candy canes, or other simple takeaway treats. Northerners may want to hand out mitten and boot warmers!

Instructions

Tape a heavy duty straw or dowel to the back of your card stock.

  • Write your greeting on a piece of white card stock. Create your own message or use this from one of Doing Good Together's compassionate families:

    UPS, USPS, FedEx, Amazon, etc.
    Happy Holidays!
    Thank you for working so hard to deliver gifts and cards.
    Please take one!
    (Our visitors are welcome to enjoy one as well, of course.)

  • Glue or tape your sign to a piece of decorative card stock.

  • Tape the straws to the back of your assembled sign.

  • Display your sign in your decorative container filled with treats.

  • Place your display near the door where you receive deliveries. Be sure to keep it well-stocked!

Reflections

  • How would your holiday be different if you had to pick up every package and greeting card at the post office or store instead?

  • How would you feel if you discovered an unexpected treat with a thank you note?

  • Brainstorm creative ways to share kindness and appreciation with service providers in your life.

Resources

  • The Giant Hug by Sandra Horning Follow a hug on its heart-warming adventure through the postal system all the way to Granny’s house. This story offers many opportunities to empathize with the emotions of mail carriers.

  • Good People Everywhere by Lynea Gillen
    This sweet book helps children recognize and appreciate all of the kind things people do to make our communities great.

Take it Further

  • Leave a handcrafted note and a gift card in your mailbox or taped to your garbage and recycling receptacles.

  • Keep cheerful thank you notes on hand to leave for servers in restaurants or cashiers in busy stores.

  • Call store managers to "report" especially kind or gracious service.

  • Share this project beyond the winter holidays. Share Valentine's Day candy, May Day flowers, or Halloween treats. Adapt this project for any of your favorite holidays and spread cheer when you feel it most.

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.

Design a Giving Plate

Share baked goods and the gift of giving

This little bake-and-share activity is sure to become a family favorite. Create a plate designed to be re-gifted, load it with goodies, and start a ripple of kindness.

Possible recipients

Share your gift with new or isolated neighbors, sick or stressed friends, or even service providers you meet on a regular basis, like the mail carrier or bus driver.

What you’ll need

  • Plain white ceramic plate (available at any dollar store)

  • Black, fine-tipped permanent marker, such as a Sharpie

  • Permanent markers, assorted colors

  • Your choice of treats to share

Instructions

To create a plate that inspires recipients to pay it forward, write something like:

Enjoy this treat,
We think you’re GREAT!
When you’re through,
Please pass the plate.

Or, if you don’t want your recipient to feel compelled to pass it on, write:

Enjoy these sweets,
And this gift of art.
Our world is brighter
Thanks to your big heart.

  • Have your children choose one of the poems on the right, or write their own.

  • Write the words with a thin, black Sharpie around the outside edge of the plate.

  • Invite your kids to decorate the plate with a simple design. Remind them not to draw over their poem.

  • Then bake the plate in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Cool completely. Your creation will then be permanent, if washed by hand.

  • Package your treats on the newly-decorated plate. Consider adding a card full of well-wishes and cheer.

  • Deliver your giving plate to a neighbor or friend.

Reflections

  • Why might it feel good to receive a handmade holiday card?

  • What gestures of kindness have others done for you over the holidays?

  • Why is it nice to bring family and friends together to do this type of project?

  • What other holiday surprises can you come up with to show someone you care?

Resources

  • The Gift of Nothing by Patrick McDonnell. A wonderful story for inspiring a discussion about the power of friendship, appreciation for what we have, and the true meaning of gift-giving.

  • Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed by Emily Pearson. Introduce the idea that kindness is contagious, and watch kindness circle the globe in just a few days. Mary, as ordinary as any other kid, starts it all with a special delivery. The rhythm and rhyme of this book make it a fun read-aloud experience, too.

Take it Further

  • If you are giving your gift to another family with children, don't bake your plate. Instead, print these project instructions and let them know they can wash the plate clean for their own designs before they pass it on.

  • Each time you bake together, make some extra to give to a neighbor or friend.

  • Gather a group of friends and make several types of treats and several giving plates to share with lots of people.

  • Decorate coffee mugs in the same way and deliver them with hot chocolate mix or apple cider mix.

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.

Host a Card-Making Party

Add creative kindness to every holiday!

Think of all the people who would be cheered by your handiwork! Whether your cards feature ghostly knock-knock jokes for Halloween, over-the-top puns for Valentine’s Day, or festive cheer for the winter holidays, your work is sure to make someone smile.

Possible recipients

Reach out to a local nursing home or hospital to find out how many cheerful holiday cards they need and when you might be able to deliver them.

Or connect with one of these great, national organizations:

What you’ll need

  • Plain paper or blank card

  • Envelopes (optional, depending on how/where you distribute your cards)

  • Markers, crayons, and other decorating supplies

Instructions

  • Decide on your recipients. If you choose a local institution (hospital, care facility, veteran’s home), call first to be sure they can take your donation.

  • Invite friends and family over for festive card making.

  • Decorate! You may want to write happy holiday messages, but make sure to keep them non-denominational unless the institution serves only one religious group.

  • Mail your cards or take them to a local facility. If the latter, ask if you can go from room to room delivering the cards personally. If not, ask a staff member to deliver them to residents who most need cheering up.

Reflections

  • Why might it feel good to receive a handmade holiday card?

  • What gestures of kindness have others done for you over the holidays?

  • Why is it nice to bring family and friends together to do this type of project?

  • What other holiday surprises can you come up with to show someone you care?

Resources

Take it Further

  • If you deliver your cards to a local organization, think about including baked goods or flowers. Be sure to check with the organization first.

  • Make bookmarks or other flat, handmade items to include in the cards.

  • If you had fun making cards, make it a monthly tradition!

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.

Create and Deliver May Day Baskets

Deliver goodies on May 1st!

May Day offers the perfect opportunity to bring good cheer to people you often rush past. Join in this fun tradition, and celebrate your neighbors and friends!

Possible recipients

Anyone in your child’s circle who’d get a kick out of a little surprise kindness — neighbors, friends, or family.

What you’ll need

Instructions

  • Instructions

    • Create your May Day Basket. Discover tips for creating baskets from recycled newspaper, simple paper plates, recycled cans, and more.

    • Fill with flowers and/or sweets. Discover a template for flowers here. Add a packet of garden seeds, homemade cookies, or special chocolate.

    • Write uplifting, cheerful notes. Use one of the three templates

    • Deliver to recipients. Kids enjoy the excitement of trying to make their deliveries anonymously.

Reflections

  • How would it (or does it) feel to receive a May Day basket from someone?

  • How does it feel to offer a small gesture of kindness?

  • Why is it important to do small things for those in our community?

  • What other ways can we show your appreciation and love for our friends and neighbors throughout the year?

Resources

Take it Further

  • Deliver your baskets to a local nursing home, hospital or veteran’s home.

  • Create other May Day crafts to give away.

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.

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Cultivate a Gratitude Garden

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Turn gratitude into a beautiful display!

By taking the time to notice and appreciate good things in your life, you'll teach children to cultivate gratitude all year round. Use our gratitude garden printable below, create your own gratitude tree, or dream up your own display!

What you’ll need

  • Our printable template for a Gratitude Garden sign, and for our flower petals.

  • A variety of beautiful paper. Magazines, reused wrapping paper, or newspaper print work, as well as construction and scrapbook paper.

  • Recycled container for your garden – a tin can is perfect, a cracker box with the top half cut off works well too.

  • Markers

  • Glue or tape

  • Buttons, fabric, pipe cleaners, or other embellishments

Instructions

  • Print our templates.

  • Decorate the gratitude fence and glue or tape it to your base.

  • Cut simple petal shapes out of your favorite decorative paper.

  • Cut stems in various lengths (6” to 12”) out of repurposed cereal or pasta boxes.

  • Reflect: what are you grateful for? Write one thing on each petal.

  • Place your garden somewhere nearby, along with any leftover petals and stems. Remember to add to it from time to time, perhaps after family dinner or during a weekend morning over coffee and cocoa.

Reflection

  •  As quickly as you can, list 20 things you are grateful for.

  • List one thing you are grateful for that indulges each of your senses.

  • List something you are grateful for in every season (or month).

  • Why is it so easy to forget the many things we are grateful for when we discover something new that we desperately want?

  • How can we remind ourselves to be satisfied with the good things already in our lives?

  • What if we woke up tomorrow and only had the things we expressed gratitude for today? What should we be sure to add to our gratitude garden?

Resources

Browse the books in Doing Good Together’s picture books to inspire gratitude for your next family favorite!

  • Thank You Letter by Jane Cabrera
    After getting into the spirit of writing thank you notes for her birthday gifts, Grace decided to keep going. Watch what happens as she shares her thank you notes all over town. For anyone who wonders what thankfulness in action looks like, this sweet story will be an inspiration.

  • Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
    This story is a bit like Stone Soup in reverse. Omu (pronounced Ah-moo) creates a stew so tasty, that her neighbors can’t help but ask for a bowl. Her gracious giving leaves Omu with an empty pot at dinner time. But don’t worry, her generosity hasn’t gone unnoticed! This beautiful story is full of opportunities to talk about giving, gratitude, and how we can show appreciation for those around us.Take it further

Take it further

Browse the projects in our Big-Hearted Families Tookit!

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.

Paint Comfort Stones

Offer support and hope in times of grief.

Decorate smooth stones with comforting messages and images. Then share them with people (or organizations supporting people) who are grieving.

Possible recipients

Share your creations with a local organization that supports grieving families, for example, Brighter Days Family Grief Center in Minneapolis, or with people in your life who are coping with loss.

What you’ll need

Instructions

  • Using paint markers, decorate a rock with a simple message or image of support.

  • Some examples include:

    • Words: Love, Peace, Strength, Hope

    • Images: Heart, Sun, Peace Sign, Get Creative!

  • Let your stones dry completely.

  • Deliver them in as a family.

Reflection questions

These questions are intended for families and children supporting others who are grieving. If you are supporting a child who has lost a loved one, the Dougy Center: The National Center for Grieving Children and Families, is incredibly helpful.

  • How do you think people feel about talking about death and grief? How do you feel about talking about grief? Do you have any questions about it?

  • Have you experienced grief or loss? Do you feel comfortable telling your story?

  • Death is a natural and inevitable part of life. How do you think our culture talks about death and dying? Can you recall books or movies that show examples of death or grief?

  • How does our family celebrate the lives of our loved ones when they die?

Resources

  • Cry Heart, But Never Break by Glenn Ringtved
    This simple, beautifully-told story from award-winning Danish author Glenn Ringtved, features death as a gentle houseguest. He then tells four children a story to help them understand grief, loss, and the importance of saying goodbye.

  • The Five Lives of My Cat Zook by Joanne Rocklin
    This deceptively light-hearted book features Oona, her brother Fred, and their ailing cat Zook. Oona and Fred are grieving for their father, who passed away a year before the action opens in the story. Laugh and cry with them on their journey to come to terms with the tumultuous cycles of life and death.

Take it further

  • If you’re creating stones for a grief support center, ask what other volunteer needs they may have.

  • Craft supportive, encouraging cards to share along with your stones.

  • Tell stories about loved ones your family has lost, recently or long ago. Young children love to hear family stories and it’s comforting to keep loved ones close through story.

Disclaimer:  Doing Good Together™ is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

The recommendations we offer are based solely on our mission to empower parents to raise children who care and contribute.