Advent Acts of Kindness: Day 3 - a giveaway!

This is the third in a series of posts on "Advent Acts of Kindness." Advent, the period of time leading up to Christmas, is a period of reflection and preparation for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Historically, this meant a period of fasting, charity, and penance to ready the soul. Fasting isn't really part of the preparation anymore, but charity and penance still are. So while Advent calendars are a convenient way to count down the remaining days until Christmas, the season is marked by more than decorating and wrapping gifts. Even if all the rest of your tasks are done, you're not ready if your mind and heart aren't ready.

One great way to truly prepare for Christmas is to show kindness towards others, especially those less fortunate. With this in mind, I thought I'd put together a list of ideas for small acts of kindness and post one each day throughout Advent. I did this partly for selfish reasons, because I want to start a tradition of Advent Acts of Kindness for my own family, and partly because I thought you lovely readers would enjoy it!

Note: while this is actually the fifth day in this series, this is only the third post. Life intervened this week, and I didn't get a chance to post Tuesday or Wednesday. I've loved reading all your comments, though! I decided to jazz this one up a bit, so it's a giveaway! See below for the details.

Advent Act of Kindness #3: Take some cookies (or brownies, or even lasagna!) to a neighbor. Since entering into "grownup" life, my observation has been that people don't interact with their neighbors very much on a day to day basis. What better time to change this than Advent? We are called to love our neighbors, and it's awfully hard to truly love someone if you don't share more than a quick "Hi" more than once or twice a year. 

Drop off your goodies on a paper plate or in a foil pan - that way you don't need to worry about getting it back. You can add a nice note or a little card with Christmas wishes on top. Make sure everything is waterproof, and try to time it so they will find the gift fairly soon after you leave it. If they have cats (or there are lots of neighborhood kitties) simply bring your gift when they are home and give it in person, or attempt to make your wrappings cat-proof - maybe a cardboard box? I've never had cats, so if you have any tips here, please feel free to comment below with your suggestions!

I'd love to hear your favorite recipe for holiday goodies to give away! Comment below with your favorite, and I'll pick one of you to win some cookie cutters! Giveaway closes at midnight Pacific Time on Saturday.