What are you going to do today, or this weekend, to create joy for someone else?
Daily | December 5th, 2008
“There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.” – Khalil Gibran
Carrie says: Saturday night I’m going to baby sit for friends so they can have a date night. And: tidy, do their dishes and fold the copious amount of baby laundry. (My mum taught me this when I was a teenage baby sitter.)
Danielle says: Jam with a friend on her new business…one of my favorite things to do!
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December 5th, 2008 at 2:30 am
Help one friend type a job application letter. Go out with two other guy friends and make them laugh.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:34 am
Friday, I'm making an out-of-the-way trip to get an item that a friend (who I will see Saturday at a party) really loves because she can't find it where she lives.
Sunday, we are taking my husband's sister and her daughter for lunch and will give them some thought-filled Christmas gifts we know they'll enjoy. They don't have a lot, so we do a bit extra for them when we can.
December 5th, 2008 at 2:37 am
Celebrating the Dutch family tradition of Sinterklaas, in which each gets a gift for one other person, accompanied with a home-made poem. The poems are traditionally witty and filled with family inside jokes and personal traits of the receiver.
So we will be creating joy with and for each other!
December 5th, 2008 at 4:16 am
make a meal my family loves -usually reserved for guest- just for us!
December 5th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Continue working on the 29 Day Giving Challenge
http://givingchallenge.ning.com
December 5th, 2008 at 6:55 am
I'm going to shove all of my work aside and spend quality time with each of my kids. We get so busy during the week with preschool, kindergarten, Jaimie's therapies and caring for my babies that I don't feel I give enough “Mummy Time” to my older girls. So…we're gonna make a few decorations and bake some yummy Christmas treats!! They love that.
December 5th, 2008 at 7:07 am
I'm going to decorate my mother-in-law's Christmas tree with her. It's something she looks forward to every year and while I do, deep down, enjoy it too, I know it's a tradition that makes her so happy.
Especially since her daughter's in Spain for school and her husband and my husband don't really care.
December 5th, 2008 at 7:11 am
Great question! Creating joy is a wonderful feeling. I am doing something simple, but fun for my girlfriends. I am having six of my closest pals over for dinner, vino, and great laughs tonight. They haven't seen my new place and I am very excited about sharing it with them and making them at home in my home. I'm throwing on a fire, some great tunes, and serving up my homemade spicy chili for them all to enJOY! Can't wait!
December 5th, 2008 at 7:24 am
I will be spreading our finished compost as a mulch covering over a bed our community garden. When the flowers come up in the Spring, they will do the joy creating! On Sunday I'm hosting a herbal tea party/meeting, and will be serving Linden tea, which is also a joy maker. It was Proust's favorite tissane. It really gladdens the heart on a gloomy winter's day. So I'm just doing what I love to do, creating joy through strengthening the connection to the natural world, being a plant ambassador.
December 5th, 2008 at 8:11 am
I'm going to give my boyfriend a full body massage (it's my homework for a class I'm taking….lucky him and me….I love giving massages!).
December 5th, 2008 at 8:18 am
We are going to take our three girls, 4.5 yrs, 3 yrs and 18 months old, to the Christmas Parade on Saturday – certain joy for all of us! Then Sunday, we take the two older girls to see The Nutcracker, joyful ballerinas themselves, they are out-of-their-skin excited (which makes us so very joyful as well!)
December 5th, 2008 at 8:37 am
My 89-year-old mom lives in a nursing home a very short distance from my home. I visit with her every day, however tomorrow morning we have a special activity planned. We will address all of her Christmas cards. This year, I had a photographer take her picture and make picture Christmas cards, with a pre-printed signatures (writing has become so difficult). She is thrilled with her picture and looking forward to sharing the cards with friends and relatives.
Her room is fully decorated and ready for the season. My mom loves Christmas and sharing the Christmas spirit brings her great joy.
Seeing my sweet mom beam with joy at this juncture in her life brings tears to my eyes. I'm trying hard to make as many memories with my mom as I can. Our time together is limited and cannot be taken for granted. Who knows how many more Christmas' we will have together.
Hmmm – think I could smuggle in an easy bake oven to do some Christmas baking with her???? Now that would be fun!
December 5th, 2008 at 8:41 am
The great thing about having a 16-month-old daughter is that I can create joy for her simply by throwing grapes up in the air and catching them in my mouth. Or pushing her around in her little wooden cart.
December 5th, 2008 at 8:49 am
Provide peace of mind for couples who are concerned about creating a wedding on a budget that really speaks to who they are.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:49 am
Smile and make eye contact with older people, who so often feel disregarded.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:50 am
sending xmas cards i designed along with personal notes…finding some special xmas gifts that are fun for the recipient and show i've been paying attention…decorating/making a tree and a meal with the fam.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:54 am
yeah- it kind of doesn't work wtih teens…I can just hear my son saying, “And that is funny, because…” My husband and I outdo each other just trying to get these guys to laugh. Mostly they laugh at us!
December 5th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Oh what a wonderful question! I am hosting a Gingerbread House Making Party on Sunday. I will bake the gingerbread, make the icing and have small dishes of treats laid out. (Egg not lattes and hot choco brewing. Christmas tunes playing!) The girls are coming over, we can decorate, sing and chat…and they will leave having an experience of a child with a special (home made) treat to nibble on. I think it is great to go back to the days of youth and really appreciate the joy of simple pleasures again.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Ditto for me – cards, tree, and soup!
December 5th, 2008 at 10:45 am
Hey Fabulous – here's an idea to throw into your mix. Every year, our neighbours have a “Gingerbread Demolition Party” after Christmas. It's great. The put a tarp on the kitchen table, layout all the GB houses and the kids have 'em. Cracking and snapping and ripping off every gummy bear they can. Of course there's apple cider and other nibbles while everyone hangs in the kitchen and talks about their holidays. The secret is to have a count down tho'. Have the kids gather 'round and “on you mark, get set, DESTROY Gingerbread!” Good fun.
December 5th, 2008 at 10:50 am
I'm going to clean out the closet, my husband will be thrilled
December 5th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
I'll be doing the same thing I've been doing nearly every day for the last month and a bit — visiting my 95 year old Dad in hospital (he broke his hip), then visiting my 87 year old Mum in a care facility where she's recuperating after a fall that occurred 5 days after Dad's fall (she didn't break anything, but sure messed up her mobility). Dad always smiles so broadly and says “I'm sure glad to see you!” whenever I enter his room, and Mum told me last night “Your visits are the best medicine”. So, that's what I'll be doing to give someone joy this weekend. Seeing them gives me joy, too.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
How wonderful that your Mom still enjoys the Christmas season! Have a wonderful time tomorrow. (I definitely hear you on the need to cherish what time you have together. I'm in a similar situation with my folks.)
December 5th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I already did it. I just spilled all my gooey, lovey guts in a letter to my husband.
December 5th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
I am going to buy some presents to donate to the women's shelter. And tomorrow I am volunteering during a Children's Aid holiday party and bringing smiles to some kids faces!
December 5th, 2008 at 1:42 pm
I'm going to get my first-ever Christmas tree for my daughter's 3rd Christmas (and surprise her with it when she gets home form a visit with Nanna). And I bought my hubby a bottle of Glenfiddich, 15 year-old single malt, which we will both enjoy
December 5th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I am entertainment manager for the 16th Annual Veteran's holiday event this weekend. Last year we served about 2,500 Vets. Our team will put up tents, get food and entertainment donated and dance with the Vets. To donate see VAEvent.org
December 5th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Saturday will be spent scouting a mountain bike course for an off-road duathlon we are planning for cancer fundraising in memory of a friend, and Christmas card writing later in the day. Sunday my daughters and I are taking my husband to his first hot yoga class, then to a Christmas Tree decorating party and pot luck where we will share our homemade cranberry sauce (made with maple syrup and orange) served in a lovely pottery dish we will give as a housewarming gift.
December 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
I will be staying warm and cozy with my family and awaiting my Dad's return home from the hospital. We will all give thanks that Grampa came through surgery, and make him his favourite foods and get his favourite movies…..Amen.
December 5th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
Take my step-daughter to get a stylie new pair of specs so she doesn't feel uncomfortable anymore and stay with her in the blessing for her annual dance groups production so she feels less alone than she has been
December 5th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
I'm going to babysit all day and night so my pals can go to a Christmas party and not brerak the bank. I'm going to be kind to my dogs and take them for a long walk in the forest.
December 6th, 2008 at 12:32 am
Going for breakfast with my mum tomorrow – she's a morning person who absolutely adores breakfast, while I absolutely despise mornings and the only way I can make it through mornings is caffeine via IV injection – but for her I'll get up early on a Saturday.
December 7th, 2008 at 10:49 am
I've been quite terrible at the Christmas Gift in the past and this year I decided that I was going to do a good job of it by starting early, being observant and making a thorough list to execute against. This weekend, I'm going to be ordering my sister and her spouse an automatic home-made baby food maker that streamlines the process of making home-made baby food. it will be perfect timing as they are getting ready to introduce (in the next month or so) applesauce and cereal to their four month old who eats formula like a horse. I'm also going to be making the little gifts that I'll be giving to the other Board members of the non-profit for which I volunteer. I'm making homemade hot-spiced cider sachets as a low-cost, socially responsible way of letting my friends know that I appreciate them.
December 7th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Great question. I took my daughter out for lunch on Saturday and we laughed and laughed. So I got the joy too!
December 7th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Hey D – if you are ever out of listening to biz ideas, I would love to share one with you and get your amazing insight! I'm sure your time is worth gold…so let me know how to pay you properly.