The 24 Days of Service Advent Calendar

I've had a number of questions about our advent calendar so I thought I'd share.

A number of years ago, I became disappointed in attitudes of the heart that I was seeing around our house.  I decided that Christmas needed to take on a different focus and become more about giving than receiving.  And I wanted that to happen on a daily basis.

The 24 Days of Service advent calendar was born and we've done it every year since.  It's become a special and much-loved tradition in our home.

I started with a homemade advent calendar.

Each drawer has a candy for each of the kids {I'm not a total Scrooge} and an act of service to be performed that day.  Some are simple and some require more work.  We do some of them every single year but I always try to add a few new ones each year to keep it fresh.  The kids don't enjoy every service opportunity but they have been blessed by every opportunity.

It's a tradition that I love and one we'll continue for years to come.

2011 Acts of Service

- make a card for Holiday Mail for Heroes
- do something kind for a stranger
- wrap gifts that will be given to a family in need
- take a treat to the fire station
- pray for the homeless
- deliver treats to neighbors
- do some work at Grandma and Poppa's house
- do something kind for a sibling
- make a holiday box for the homeless
- tape candy canes and notes to local ATM machines
- babysit for the _______ family
- bring the neighbors' garbage cans up after garbage pick up
- pray for someone who will be alone on Christmas
- pray for those who are hurting this season
- find a way to serve someone in your family
- deliver water bottles and snacks to construction workers
- bake cookies and deliver them to the Christmas Cottage
- be a secret Santa for a friend
- take cocoa to the garbage men when they pick up the garbage
- greet the soldiers at the airport
- work a shift at the Giving Tree at the mall
- pray for somebody who needs to know Jesus
- pick up garbage at the neighborhood park
- take a prayer walk around the neighborhood

I'm linking to Sassy Sites, Fireflies and Jellybeans and