A few things have changed this year; I’ve mixed the calendar up a bit and added a few new ideas; thanks to all of you who shared suggestions with me. If you’re new to A Season of Giving, today I’m sharing the master calendar. We’ll start on December 1st and continue through Christmas Day, although we’ll also be including some ideas on how you can stretch your giving into 2016.
Because we often need more than a teeny, tiny calendar square to cover the suggestion for each day, please follow us on Facebook {here} if you aren’t already. Every day, around noon EST, I’ll post a detailed rundown of the day’s activity on Facebook. Once you’ve read it, please like and share–the more people who like, comment, and share Facebook posts, the more people see them, because that’s how their algorithm works.
I’ve tried to make technology work for us…you can access and download the calendar, complete with email reminders, here. Save it to your phone or desktop and it will keep you on track even if you’re not checking Facebook. Are you impressed?
Also, please feel free to share this post with any friends who would like to approach the holiday a bit differently this year!
Here’s the calendar; just click on it to open it as a PDF and print it out (mine prints best at 90% scale):
Pop it on your fridge or bulletin board and you are ready to go!
Here are the “rules”:
1. Don’t feel like you have to do all of these things! Choose the ones that are the most meaningful to you and and do the best you can. Any giving is good!
2. Tweak the ideas as needed, and we’d love for you to share how you do that with us on Facebook. It’s so helpful when everyone chimes in with their stories! We’re using #aseasonofgiving again this year on all social media channels. {Please tag us on social media with these posts–the round black icons under my photo at the end of this post will take you to our different social channels}
3. That’s it. Who wants a bunch of rules at Christmas? 🙂
We’ve talked about the Giving Manger before in this post and on social media, and we think it fits SO well with what we do this month. The whole elf on a shelf thing is really cute, but this tradition is so much more meaningful. If you decide to order one, be sure to use code MAGNOLIA for free shipping, and orders ship in 1-2 business days so you have plenty of time to order one for your family or as a gift {not an affiliate link, BTW, just something we love and believe in}.
We’ve challenged our 7th and 10th grader to add one straw per day during advent–and the grownups have to try to do the same, of course!
My family always does an evening devotion during advent; this is a new one that we’re going to try this year that’s highly recommended {use HOLIDAY30 for an extra 30% off; and yes, that is an affiliate link, but still something we love and believe it, and you don’t pay a cent more than you would otherwise}.
I’ll add each day as we work our way through the month:
I’m looking forward to spending the next few weeks giving with you all!
My favorite thing to do!! I prefer to do things anonymously, however, I’ll make it a point to share. 🙂 Thanks so much for doing this and providing the calendar ~ never hurts to have a little reminder during this hectic time of year. I think giving to others is such a blessing for ourselves and those in need truly benefit by assistance during the holiday season. I much prefer to focus on Christ and the reason for the season!
xo
Pat
Love this!