Family Craft: Kindness Jars
A Fun and Creative Way to Serve Others This Holiday Season
AN ACTIVITY FOR EVERYONE
As we approach the time of year when schedules slow down and family members find themselves spending more time in one another’s presence, you may be asking yourself—Who are these people living in my house?!
SUPPLIES
Clear, smooth-sided Mason jar
Template
Paintbrushes, fine-tipped and flat ones
Matte acrylic paints
Small strips of paper
Pen or pencil
Water cup
Razor (optional)
Time flies when you’re trying to survive the everyday busyness of life. We can easily grow apart from the people most important to us as we jump from one to-do list to another. That’s why it’s so important to take time to intentionally enjoy one another’s presence and serve others together.
The holiday season is the perfect time to do just that, but without the structure of school days and extracurricular activities, the days can quickly devolve into chaos, as copious amounts of sweet treats and close quarters bring on bouts of cabin fever.
What you need is a loose structure. Something that allows for spontaneity, but keeps everyone’s focus from turning toward their personal self-interests. After all, we have much to be thankful for and much to celebrate—and a message of hope and love worth sharing with the world.
These kindness jars are perfect for such a situation. Make them as a family and then encourage one another as you pick out acts of kindness to perform. You’ll be able to strengthen familial bonds, make some new friends, and share the love of Christ with others (and ward off dramatic sighs of “I’m bored!”) as you do this fun, creative activity as a family.
DIRECTIONS
For ages 7 and up (with adult supervision)
Step 1: CLEAN surface of Mason jar with a damp paper towel.
Step 2: DOWNLOAD template and print on 81/2 x 11 paper. Place template inside Mason jar so that design faces out.
Step 3: TRACE the design on the outside of the jar using a dry erase marker.
Step 4: PAINT in the design starting with the lightest acrylic paint color and moving to the darkest.
Step 5: WRITE suggestions for random acts of kindness on the strips of paper (or use those supplied with the template) and put inside jar. Try to do one every day!
Helpful Tip: When you're not using a particular brush, keep it in the water cup. Made a mistake? You can use a razor (with adult supervision) to scrape off dried paint.
