Hello December!
Where did you come from?!! Wasn't it just February!??
Alas, the holidays are among us, in full force!
Halloween has come and gone, we've been grateful over turkey for Thanksgiving, and now it's time for the grand finale: Christmas!
I love holidays, but I especially love Christmas:
cozy clothes
decorating trees
hot chocolate
lights, lights, and more lights,
giving gifts
nativities
But, what I love most about Christmas are the things you can't see:
the spirit of Christmas
the joy of Christmas
the love and laughter
the bonds that are strengthened
It's such a magical time of year!
This year, I wanted to spread more than cookies and gifts, I wanted to spread Christmas cheer (ok, I promise, I'll cut back on watching the Elf...) But really, I wanted to spread the spirit of Christmas. I came up with this idea last year, but since we moved Dec 19th, December was just too crazy for me. So I was SOOOO excited to get my Christmas-joy-spreading-jig on this year!
What was this idea that I've been obsessing over for a whole year you ask?
#projecthelpfulelf
Forget the sneaky, naughty elf that sits on a shelf..
I bought 24 Helpful Elves. (on amazon, of course,
here)
Each night, we choose an elf, name it, choose an act of service, and a family and deliver Christmas cheer!
So, far we've taken out trash, done dishes, swept, picked up dog poop, delivered dinner... the ideas are limitless! And, at each house, we were greeted with smiles, love and laughter!
After doing the service, we leave the elf with the family, along with this note:
We ask that they take the elf to a new home the next day and give a new act of service to someone new!
We've calculated that if each family contributes 1 act of service and keeps the elf going, our 24 acts of service will turn to 300 acts of service through December!
While that sounds totally awesome, we thought we could do better!!
If you're touched at all by our #projecthelpfulelf, we ask YOU to start one in YOUR community! Be sure and post pics with that hashtag, so we can see how far our idea has reached! Find our project on Facebook and Instagram as we hashtag our way through December with small, loving acts of kindness!
Spread the word and spread the love!
And, because this is a photography blog, I'll leave you with our family pictures this year!
Merry Christmas!
**If you're wondering why our precious girls have their faces blurred, we are currently at the end of a long adoption process, which has not quite finalized, so we must maintain their privacy! ;) But, I couldn't resist giving you a glimpse of what our WHOLE family looks like!
Thank you for taking the time to step into the world of Christmas with our family!
From our home to yours,
Have a Very Merry Christmas!
xoxo,
LooWho
**Here's the poem in double version, in case you want to use it to print! :)
