Suggestions for Gem Day
* Bake cookies/treats and deliver to those who serve-- firemen, policemen, nurses, caregivers--and include a note of
thanks/encouragement
* Give blood (American Red Cross or LifeSouth)
* Buy/collect dog food and take it to a shelter
* Write letters to soldiers serving in Afghanistan
* Rake leaves/trim hedges for an elderly neighbor or friend
* Prepare exam goodie packs for college students--not necessarily your own--those unlikely to receive something
personal from home during this stressful time (Suggested items: handwritten Scripture cards offering
encouragement, popcorn, candy, $5 Starbucks card...)
* Clean out your closet; give away things to charity instead of having a garage sale
* Babysit FOR FREE for a friend/neighbor with young children, offering them a date night or time to Christmas shop
* Write an anonymous note of encouragement to a colleague, family member, or friend
* Give money anonymously to someone in need or out of work
* Fill up another person's car with gas at the gas station
* Buy toys for the Sugar Plum Shop at Children's Hospital and drop them off at the "Elf Depot." (This allows parents
of children in the hospital on Christmas to "shop" for their children free of charge.)
* Design greeting cards and sell them; give the profits to your favorite charity
* Contact a local retirement home (The Oaks, Galleria Woods) and ask how you might serve their residents--reading
a book, giving a manicure, simply listening to their stories
* Buy groceries for needy families (Earth Fare)
* Help an older/disabled person put up Christmas decorations/tree/lights
* Pay for the order behind you in the drive-thru (Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Wendy's...) Just tell the cashier, "My pleasure--
pass it on!"
* Write a letter to a favorite elementary teacher and offer to come read a book to his/her class one day
* Make snack baskets for hospital waiting rooms; include an encouraging Bible verse
* Wash someone's car--inside and out!
* Buy items on the Ronald McDonald House Wish List and deliver them (list and address found at www.rmhca.org)
* Prepare a dessert or casserole (to freeze) and deliver to Ronald McDonald House
* Host a Christmas Open House for your neighbors--invite the ones you don't know very well as well as those who
have a key to your house
* Make fleece blankets (the no-sew kind) and take to a local shelter
* Meet at Linn Park at 6:00 a.m. with Grace's Kitchen volunteers to help feed the homeless (on Thursday, the 4th)
* Gather a group of friends and go Christmas caroling in the neighborhood or at a retirement home
* Bake cookies/cupcakes for school secretaries/office staff
* Make cookies/goodie bag for your hairdresser
* Buy a movie and/or restaurant gift card and give them to a young couple for date night
* Pray for an unplanned opportunity to serve on that day!
* Bake cookies/treats and deliver to those who serve-- firemen, policemen, nurses, caregivers--and include a note of
thanks/encouragement
* Give blood (American Red Cross or LifeSouth)
* Buy/collect dog food and take it to a shelter
* Write letters to soldiers serving in Afghanistan
* Rake leaves/trim hedges for an elderly neighbor or friend
* Prepare exam goodie packs for college students--not necessarily your own--those unlikely to receive something
personal from home during this stressful time (Suggested items: handwritten Scripture cards offering
encouragement, popcorn, candy, $5 Starbucks card...)
* Clean out your closet; give away things to charity instead of having a garage sale
* Babysit FOR FREE for a friend/neighbor with young children, offering them a date night or time to Christmas shop
* Write an anonymous note of encouragement to a colleague, family member, or friend
* Give money anonymously to someone in need or out of work
* Fill up another person's car with gas at the gas station
* Buy toys for the Sugar Plum Shop at Children's Hospital and drop them off at the "Elf Depot." (This allows parents
of children in the hospital on Christmas to "shop" for their children free of charge.)
* Design greeting cards and sell them; give the profits to your favorite charity
* Contact a local retirement home (The Oaks, Galleria Woods) and ask how you might serve their residents--reading
a book, giving a manicure, simply listening to their stories
* Buy groceries for needy families (Earth Fare)
* Help an older/disabled person put up Christmas decorations/tree/lights
* Pay for the order behind you in the drive-thru (Chick-Fil-A, Starbucks, Wendy's...) Just tell the cashier, "My pleasure--
pass it on!"
* Write a letter to a favorite elementary teacher and offer to come read a book to his/her class one day
* Make snack baskets for hospital waiting rooms; include an encouraging Bible verse
* Wash someone's car--inside and out!
* Buy items on the Ronald McDonald House Wish List and deliver them (list and address found at www.rmhca.org)
* Prepare a dessert or casserole (to freeze) and deliver to Ronald McDonald House
* Host a Christmas Open House for your neighbors--invite the ones you don't know very well as well as those who
have a key to your house
* Make fleece blankets (the no-sew kind) and take to a local shelter
* Meet at Linn Park at 6:00 a.m. with Grace's Kitchen volunteers to help feed the homeless (on Thursday, the 4th)
* Gather a group of friends and go Christmas caroling in the neighborhood or at a retirement home
* Bake cookies/cupcakes for school secretaries/office staff
* Make cookies/goodie bag for your hairdresser
* Buy a movie and/or restaurant gift card and give them to a young couple for date night
* Pray for an unplanned opportunity to serve on that day!