Thoughtful Activities for January

plus some free printable cards to encourage others :)

Hello! Our little motto is “enriching life for everyone” because a main goal of being a thriving family is to look outward and be a blessing to others. Here are a few simple ideas that could really make someone’s day and show them you were thinking about them. At the end, I included some free printable little cards for you to let someone know you’re thinking about them ❤️ I hope this helps!

Snowflake Message

These are complicated, chaotic, and FUN to create and receive! First, make a paper snowflake. On the envelope you’ll be sending it in, jot down some instructions such as “Start at the yellow star.”

Then, on your envelope, draw the starting point you mentioned and begin writing a message. Follow the trails of the snowflake every which way. If you run out of space, maybe say “Continue at green square.” Then draw a green square somewhere else on the snowflake and keep your message going. (Keep going with a red dot, black heart, etc. if you want to make it extra confusing! 😆)

If you have a pre-literate kid, you can have them dictate their message as you write it for them. Or you can invite your little one to scribble all over a piece of paper then turn that into a snowflake that you send someone!

Then fold your snowflake, put it in the envelope, and mail it!

Written letters are permanent gifts, and a silly little message like this might tickle the funnybone of someone who could use a chuckle.

Gift Closet

You don’t need an actual extra closet for this; a box in your closet or under your bed will work.

Throughout the year, as you come across super-good deals or receive items that you don’t need, you can gather up a little collection in your gift closet. There will be unexpected happy and hard things that your friends will go through this year—birth, engagement, loss, and more—so it’s nice to be able to have some thoughtful items ready to promptly drop off in a little care package at their doorstep, even if you didn’t have time to run an extra errand or wait for an Amazon order.

Some things I like to have in my gift closet: candles from TJ Maxx, The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and the Horse by Charles Mackesy (beautiful for all ages!), steeply discounted books and activities from BookOutlet, individually wrapped bath bombs bought in bulk, Letterfolk passports, gel crayons, and presents I would like to re-gift 😉
I also like to keep thrifted scarves on hand for Furoshiki wrapping as well as white Kraft gift bags that we can personalize and even paint.

And don’t forget to keep some stationery in there—you could even have that be the only thing in your gift closet—because a note with kind words will be the best part of the gift for most people. We try to help people feel seen. Words stick.

Sick Bundle

We’re still in flu season, and it’s rough. A poorly timed illness can really crush a person’s spirit, especially a parent who did not need one more thing to go wrong right now. A simple collection of things—like a novel, some Vitamin C powder, and hot chocolate sticks from Trader Joe’s, and maybe even a maintenance plant like amaryllis?—can cheer someone’s day more than you know. (P.S. A pre-loved novel straight from your shelf will totally work. How likely are you to actually re-read it anyway?)

Printable Notes

Here are some little notecards you can print out and give to someone. (I tried to design them so they don’t take up too much ink!)

This one is designed to be folded in half as a card ⬇️

I hope this helps! Especially if you’re feeling a little down, sometimes one of the best things to boost your spirits is to bring some joy to someone else’s day.

Warmly,

Hope from Family Scripts