Holiday Cheer Treat Buckets + Free Printable!

I received product from Oriental Trading in exchange for this post. Affiliate links included. All opinions are mine.

 Holiday Cheer Treat Buckets + Free Printable!

Spreading holiday cheer is my absolutely favorite thing about the Winter holidays. I love the overall feeling of humanity and caring for others. I'm super lucky...my husband is retired from the military, I work from home and I homeschool my kids...other than swim team for my teenagers, we don't have to leave our home on cold days. I totally respect brave men and women that go out in the cold mornings to provide for their families and serve in the community. I decided that I needed to personally thank them this holiday season!

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I filled up these darling tall paint buckets with all kinds of treats and toys for our local mail carrier, school crossing guards and package delivery people. The brave ones out in the cold! Who would you give holiday cheer to? Maybe you are one of them, braving the cold winter weather for other people's comfort and convenience...thank you!

 This free printable is perfect for spreading holiday cheer! Warm hugs on a cold day! Right click to save off image, then print! Personal use only, please.

You will also need:

Hershey's Chocolate Mix
Hot Cocoa Kisses (these are divine)
Crunch Jingles
Christmas Candy

You'll also want:

Reindeer Mug (not going to lie, this one is for me to enjoy some hot cocoa after my deliveries)
Santa Ho Ho Ho Shirt (to wear while delivering goodies)
Holiday Bendable Characters
Tall Paint Buckets

Load up on candy and toys for stocking stuffers too! There's something wonderful about Reese's Trees...they are so much better than the cups...are you with me on that?

Cut the printable into 4 pieces, I used a paper cutter. Fill the buckets with some paper filler and press the bendable characters up against the bucket, so they look like they are ready for a hug!

 Then fill the buckets with treats and press the lids on. Then tape the printables right on the outside of the bucket. They can be tied with a bow, or just given as is. I love the simplicity!

 These bendable characters are my kids favorites...even the teenagers. It's just fun to have a toy you can bend and contort however you like!

 I love to see the little peeking Santa toy behind the printable! It's the perfect way to spread holiday cheer to those that serve in our communities. These would be great to pass out at a local hospital or school too!

     I have been the recipient of so many kind deeds in my life. I hope that when I go out and spread cheer that it has the same effect on them as it does on me. This really is the most wonderful time of the year. We were super poor for like the first 12 Christmas seasons we were married...not that gifts are the most important thing. However, we've had mysterious envelopes left on our car filled with cash or gift cards. We had 4 garbage bags full of wrapped gifts left on our porch one year for our young kids. We've found baskets of food on our porch. We've had strangers pay for our meals. We have had many generous Santa's in our lives. I would only hope that I could bring cheer to others too. This to me is the Spirit of Christmas. Have you had secret Santas in your life? Have you been a secret Santa?

  Get some fun holiday cheer at Oriental Trading!

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     Here's some other GREAT ways to serve and spread holiday cheer this Winter season. Don't let the serving stop at Christmas or only start after Thanksgiving. Be a generous human, all the time.

101 Cheap or FREE Ways to Serve

1. Write a note to someone

2. Leave a note or treat for the mail carrier

3. Donate gently used toys and clothes to charity

4. Genuinely say thank you to someone

5. Put some motivational notes up in public restrooms or on mirrors

6. Play a game with someone

7. Leave a secret note for someone to find

8. Sing a song to brighten the day

9. Compliment someone you see today

10. Offer to baby-sit for free for someone

11. Make cookies for the neighbors

12. Smile at everyone you see today

13. Shovel or do yard work for a neighbor

14. Take a thankful note to a teacher

15. Help clean the house without being asked

16. Call a customer service number just to say thank you

17. Go on a walk and pick up litter

18. Make a list of 10 things you are thankful for

19. Write a note and leave it under someone's pillow

20. Give someone a hug

21. Message 3 people a genuine compliment

22. Call and chat with someone that might be lonely

23. Do a random act for someone in your house

24. Put your phone or media down

25. Tell a joke or make a pun

26. Do the dishes while singing link you are in a musical

27. Leave a nice comment on the internet

28. Do something to make someone smile

29. Do a small service for someone

30. Take a handmade card to a school

31. Make handmade cards for kids in the hospital (link for separate post and pictures)

32.  Download the “Just Serve” app and find local opportunities to serve

33. Volunteer with your city

34. Offer to drive some errands for someone

35. Take dinner to a family

36. Visit the lonely at a local senior center

37. Serve at a soup kitchen

38. Offer your talents and skills to others

39. Work with Habitat for Humanity and help build a home

40. Become a foster parent

41. “Heart Attack”--Tape heart shaped notes all over someone’s front door

42. Clean your local church

43. Play catch or have a snowball fight with a child

44. Tell your parents how much you love them

45. Read to children at the hospital, library or school

46. Tutor someone

47. Make your family members beds

48. Donate blood through the Red Cross

49. Keep your house clean

50. Bring hot chocolate to someone working outside

51. Read family history stories

52. Take photos of elderly neighbors and give them prints to send to their families

53. Help a young mother with laundry

54. Tie a fleece blanket for the hospital

55. Wash and clean a family or neighbor’s car

56. Organize a clothes drive in your area

57. Take homemade greeting cards to the prison, group homes or assisted living homes.

58. Give a manicure to an elderly woman

59. Sing at a hospital or nursing home

60. Collect favorite recipes from neighbors and compile a cookbook

61. Host a potluck dinner

62. Help someone moving in or out of your neighborhood

63. Give financial aid to someone that needs it

64. Clean the cemetery grounds

65. Ask an older woman to teach you a skill like knitting or crocheting

66. Volunteer at the animal shelter

67. Organize a bake sale for a local cause

68. Put on an event for adults and children with disabilities

69. Bring the local Fire Department a box of donuts

70. Foster an animal through PETA and ASPCA

71. Bring flowers to someone in need

72. Let someone go in front of you at the checkout line

73. Write letters to soldiers

74. Run/jog/walk in a charity race

75. Donate Christmas trees to nursing homes or families in need

76. Collect unused make-up for local abused women shelter

78. Sponsor a foreign exchange student

79. Coach a local youth sport team

80. Volunteer as a teen crisis counselor

81. Donate used children’s books to a school library

82. Volunteer to help with a religious group activity

83. Deliver groceries and meals to elderly neighbors

84. Plant a tree, or collect funds for a community garden

85. Collect old eyeglasses and donate them to the needy

86. Let someone cut in front of you in traffic

87. Volunteer at the local food bank

88. Collect baby clothes/supplies to deliver to new parents

89. Donate hygiene kits to the homeless shelter

90. Volunteer at the Police Station

91. Paint over graffiti in your neighborhood

92. Start or join a neighborhood watch program

93. Volunteer as a crossing guard

94. Teach computer or phone skills to an elderly person

95. Drive seniors to doctors appointments

96. Take a child Christmas shopping at the dollar store and let them pick something for the people in their family

97. Deliver cookies to a home bound elderly neighbor

98. Organize a winter clothes drive for the homeless shelter

99. Help organize or participate in a Secret Santa program

100. Host a game night with a couple neighbor families

101. Ding Dong Ditch the neighbors with cookies or small gifts