23 Random Acts of Kindness You Can Do Today

Sometimes life is shit.  But on the whole, we live in a pretty good world. Sometimes, it can get frustrating, but on the whole, it’s a pretty dandy place to live.

Of course, there are those times when it just feels like the right thing to do that extra something to brighten someone else’s day. Here are some small random acts of kindness that you can do to put a smile on someone’s face today, tomorrow, this weekend, or whenever you feel the urge to reach out and make the world a brighter place.

1. Make a batch of brownies and drop them off at your local nursing home.

2. Pay for the person’s lunch behind you in the drive through of McDonalds or KFC. Or even that’s too much – in the coffee line.

3. Hand out cold drinks on a hot day to Council workers on the side of the road.

4. Give toys to a charity or local playgroup or day care centre.

5. Write a handwritten thank you note to your son or daughter’s teachers at school.

6. Give a plate of homemade biscuits to your neighbour.

7. Leave a balloon or posy of flowers on a friend’s doorstep, either for a birthday or just for no reason at all!

8. Take a load of clothes to the charity bin or a donation drop-off centre.

9. On Christmas or any holiday, buy a pack of greeting cards, write a handwritten note on each, and give them to a nearby nursing home or retirement centre to be distributed among the residents.

10. Go and spend a day reading or talking to some kids in hospital or at your local preschool.

11. Ring a shop you go to regularly to commend an employee or action rather than complain.

12. Buy popcorn for the people behind you at the movies.

13. Go to a nearby laundromat and put coins in all the machines, giving the next user a pleasant surprise.

14. On the next rainy day, take a far away parking spot at the grocery store, leaving those closer spots open for someone else.

15. Put some of the shopping carts away that have been left in aisles and between cars in the parking lot.

16. Help someone carry and load their groceries into their car.

17. Tape a cheerful note to a vending machine along with a few coins for a free drink or snack.+

18. Put some coins in one of the coin-operated rides at the shops so kids can have a ride!

19. Email or write to our defence forces personnel to tell them how much they are appreciated.

20. Next time you’re at the supermarket, let someone else go in line ahead of you. Even the smallest things can make a difference.

21. If you know anyone with a friend or family member in the hospital, take a batch of cookies to their house along with an encouraging note.

22. Post an anonymous thank you note to the local police station or fire station.

23. Pick a Facebook page you are a fan of and just post a compliment to the owners of the page!

Those are just a few short ideas, but there are millions of things you can do each and every day to show a bit of kindness and make someone’s day.

So, what good deed have you done today? Share it with us!