Merry Christmas!
Well, it's been a hectic month leading up to Christmas for me. Project Parent is at it's busiest time and I was volunteering with a few extra things, so it was really quite difficult to get some time to myself. As per usual, it's made me pretty unwell, but, I was able to go to my sisters for an hour on Christmas day which was amazing. Now it's time to rest and one of the things I wanted to get back into doing was some blogging. I wanted to share this lovely advent calendar which Bear Hugs set up again this year. It's about spreading a bit of kindness and I've loved taking part. I wasn't able to do them all in order due to being either ill or frantic with Project Parent, but I finally managed to cross them all out before Christmas.
1 - A simple one, I shared this on my social media sites.
2 - This day I was in bed, but I knew I would be because I had a stall at my first craft fair in years the night before. There, I took the opportunity to smile at everyone. It didn't take much effort, as I was genuinely so happy to be out in the community and with my crafts again. But it was a lovely hour out!
3 - I spread the word about 3 local charities (or charities to-be) which I either help with or use - Happy Faces, Chilli Studios + Calvert Trust Kielder. I did the same with 3 national ones - Post Pals, Smile For ME + Spoonie Survival Kits.
4 - I took my hospital time to compliment a nurse
5 - I spent some extra time with my nephew Jack. We watched some tv in bed and snuggled in.
6 - This was a tricky one for me. I need to do it more often. I had a nice bath and put some body lotion on. But, then I ordered Jayne-Hardy's self care project (you can get it here) so I could plan in more time to be kind to myself
7 - I ordered a nice box of treats for a friend, Laura, who had a terrible day. When it snowed heavily she ended up staying at ours for 5 hours because the car broke down and it was all a nightmare. So I sent her a Bearhugs box to her address with some nice goodies in to cheer her up as a surprise the net day.
8 - I thanked my mum who'd gone out the way to get lots of the Project Parent shopping for me
9 - I told my carer she was great because I had a lovely morning out
10 - I sent a nice text to a friend
11 - I bought from a number of small, independent businesses over the Christmas period. 3 examples are Handmade by Holly who made a beautiful bear for my sister, Crafters Emporium who made some lovely hair ties and Mrs BArts who designed a giraffe coaster for my friend.
12 - I love hugs, but my boyfriend got extra hugs for dealing with me whilst I've been so busy and poorly.
13 - We sent 50 of our Project Parent boxes to Post Pals this year which was fantastic. I'll continue writing to pals when I have the energy.
14 - I helped mum tidy up some of the front room
15 - Instead of making a drink, I took a lady out for a drink who wouldn't usually go out and bought her a cuppa.
16 - I dropped little compliments throughout the day
17 - I let my Project Parent volunteers know I appreciate all they do and how fantastic they are
18 - I sponsored a number of causes over Christmas including St Oswalds, North East Pageant Network and Compingoo Christmas Appeal.
19 - I went for a cup of coffee in the lovely Elisa Rose cafe and stuck one of my friends 'spread the smile' posters on the toilet door. Look up @spreadthe.smile on instagram to see their lovely work
20 - This one was a bit mixed up, as it says 'give feedback to a boss about good customer service'. I very rarely do this, but I did write in to tell a man who always helps me in paperchase out as well as telling Ringtons they are generally the most amazing people ever. But, then i got a package from a boss. I had been chosen from One Stop (nominated by my boyfriend, bless!) to receive a hamper at Christmas for my commitment to the community. I was so shocked, so it felt truly amazing!
21 - When writing my Christmas cards I was able to write little notes to people I haven't managed to speak to in a long time. It was really nice.
22 - I gave my mum my extra self-care book (as I ordered 1 then got 1 for Christmas!) as she needs some extra self-love too
23 - I sent a text to a couple of friend to let them now I was thinking of them
24 - I would like to send more RAOK post, keep in contact with people more, make sure I spend some time taking care of myself, put aside time/energy each week for my family and continue volunteering.
So, I really enjoyed taking part and I think it was a lovely concept. I hope everyone had a good Christmas and looks forward to what the New Year brings.
Kate x
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