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How to Teach Kindness with Christmas Library Letters

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Anyone with a preschooler knows that the word they love to say the most is “why?”.

“Why is the sky blue? ” “Why do I have to wear shoes?” Why does the car drive?” It never ends.

That’s exactly why I love to teach my 3 year old to perform random acts of kindness.  It’s easier for young children to grasp the concept of doing something to make another person happy when they take an active role in it.

The hustle and bustle of the Holiday season is the perfect opportunity to take some time to focus on what is really important, and to show your children how much of a difference they can make.

Click here for more ideas on How to Make the Holidays Less Stressful and More Festive

The key to finding an engaging act of kindness for a preschooler is to find something they love and make it about someone else. My daughter loves going to the library to borrow books and other awesome free stuff so this year we decided to do Christmas library letters.

a collage of on open book with the pages made to look like a heart and a little girl pointing her finger while reading a book with a Christmas tree and more books in the background with title text reading How To Teach Your Child Christmas Kindness Fun Book Activity

The great thing about this activity is that it does not require any special materials and you can custom it to suit your own holiday celebrations. Not only will you be giving someone a small act of kindness but you are giving your child the gift of selflessness and generosity that can become a family holiday tradition!.

Christmas Library Letters

I made this RAOK (random act of kindness) seasonal but it really is doable at any time of year and you could change your message and card to suit the season.

My daughter absolutely loved doing this activity and has actually been asking to do some more this week too!

What you need

  • Some popular books from the library that you know will be taken out before the holidays. I chose some very popular children’s Christmas stories that I know will be in high demand come December. We also had fun reading the books together before we gave them back to the library.
Christmas books on a black background
  • Holiday Cards
markers, Christmas cards and stickers on a dark background

I decided to do 6 Christmas Library Letters but you can really do as few or as many as you wish. The key is to choose books that you know will be popular come the holidays.

How to Make Christmas Library Letters

  1. Have child decorate or write a message in the holiday cards. I wrote some of the messages too as she is too young to write. Your message can explain why the card is in the book or tell a little about your child. Don’t forget to wish the finder a Happy Holiday!
several Christmas Library Letters, books and markers on the table with a child holding a marker writing in one of the cards, all on a brown table
  1. Hide a card in each book, somewhere in the middle so that it doesn’t fall out.
  2. Return the books to the library and imagine the fun someone will have when they find the card and message!
a child putting a book in the book return slot in a library

You could do variations of Christmas Library Letters by including a gift card or photo. I wasn’t sure how thick that would make the book so I decided to use cards this time around.

The only thing missing is a way to see the recipient’s faces when they find the hidden card!

More Random Acts of Kindness

This post is day 20 in a 30-day Random Acts of Kindness series. See all of the posts, plus other RAOK ideas and resources by clicking the image below.

a squirrel on a tree getting seeds from a person's hand with title text reading 200+ Acts of Kindness ideas

2 thoughts on “How to Teach Kindness with Christmas Library Letters”

  1. As a librarian, items returned in books are often thrown away unless they are money, pictures, or bills (which would of course be returned to the owner). I love the thought of this, but I just don’t know if it is realistic!

    Reply
  2. Thank you featuring me in your Random Acts of Kindness Series! I absolutely loved putting the post together with my daughter and have enjoyed reading all the other contributors. This is an awesome series.

    Reply

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