Holiday Service

It’s no secret our world needs more good will. At my house, we make sure to incorporate service with each holiday—yes, even Halloween! Our acts of service don’t really change from holiday to holiday, just the way we keep track of all the good things we do.



Here are 3 of my family's favorites:

1. Paper chains.
Cut strips of Halloween-y paper and keep them handy. I like to put mine in a vase by the phone. Each time you do something nice for someone else, write it down on a strip of paper and add it to your paper chain. Start this now and by Halloween you’ll have enough chains to decorate the whole house (or at least the kitchen).

2. Wall art.
Keep a stack of paper in the kitchen (I like to cut it down to 3” squares). Each time you do a good deed draw a little picture of it and add it to the wall. Pretty soon you will have an entire wall of happy memories.

3. Journals.
Keep a little service journal and add an entry each time you brighten someone’s day. You can make a pamphlet book like the ones I mentioned yesterday or use a journal you already have handy. Make sure the journal is kept in a convenient spot so everyone in the family can add to it when they need to.

To help you get started, I made a pdf of Halloween service ideas. Print it out on some Halloween paper and cut it into strips. Each day, draw out a paper strip and do the service. Then add it to your paper chain or wall art or journal.

Don’t forget step #3 that I mentioned Wednesday: Repeat! Traditions take time and lots of repetitions. So hop to it! Go send grandma a spooky card and decorate some sugar cookies for your neighbor.

Send me an email (sarah [at] sarahnielsen [dot] com) to let me know how your letter writing and good deed doing are going. Or if you need help with any of the projects I’ve mentioned. Or if you just want to say hi.

Happy Halloween-ing!

Thanks a whole million, Sarah! So many great ideas. Please come back and share more of your loveliness with us soon.