Making a good deeds advent calendar

I bought this enormous advent calendar a few years ago with the intention of filling the cubbies with tiny ornaments and candy, which we've done. Up until this year. This year it's a whole new kind of Christmas, kids. It's all about the give. And lawd knows we don't need anymore cheap ornaments or Christmas tchotchkes in this house. This year I decided to fill each cubby with a good deed that the kids needed to do each day. Not really as easy as it sounds. I had to come up with one deed for each day that both the four and seven-year old could do on the same day. The deeds couldn't be all household-type chores, there had to be a mix of community-related activities as well. It took a couple of hours, but I came up with enough deeds to fill almost all of the days (the others got chocolate kisses). Here's a tip: if you don't start on December 1st, you don't have to come up with as many deeds! Who says you can't start the advent calendar on the 6th? Here's a sampling of the deeds:

• Write a letter or draw a picture for your teacher.

• Give everyone in your family a hug.

• Deliver food to __ (a nearby non-profit).

• Tell your parent helper, "Thanks for helping today."

• Deliver cookies to a neighbor.

• Sweep leaves off the porch.

• Deliver clothing and toys to children who need them.

As I was folding up these deeds and putting them in the cubbies, I realized that I, too, would need to plan for many of them. I got out my calendar and wrote down the days I'd need to have cookies ready or food to donate. I made sure that project-related deeds were scheduled for a day with no other activities. The whole project gave me the warm fuzzies, and I finally FINALLY felt a twinge of holiday joy.

When the kids woke up yesterday (December 2) and saw the calendar up, they were pretty excited. And when I explained the new deed system, they were even more excited. I was a little worried they'd be bummed, but darn it if kids these days don't like doing something nice for others. There is hope for the future! There's still time to make an advent calendar if you're so inclined. Check out this one made from recycled materials, or this one made from envelopes, or just fold some cardstock in half, tape the sides, let the kids decorate them and hang them on a string.

Has anyone else done this before? Inspired? Any good deeds to suggest?

And as a happy coincidence, we just got this sweet book from the library, Emily's Christmas Gifts, about a girl who loves nothing more than to do good deeds for others.