Service does not have to come with a hefty price tag or require a significant investment of time. With just a smile or a small heartfelt act of kindness, you will be serving others while sharing the holiday spirit. Let’s refer to these experiences as Joy Sparkers. Select something from the list or create your own joy sparkers and experience one every day leading up to Christmas.
Together we can elevate the joy in our community, lighten someone’s load and experience the satisfaction of serving in a little way every day of the holiday season.
See how many of these small acts of service you and your family can accomplish.
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Drive around Idaho Falls to enjoy the beautiful lights.
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Count the candy cane decorations around the city.
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Give your favorite book to someone.
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Make a meal for someone else.
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Give a hug to a friend.
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Go caroling with a group.
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Volunteer to cook a meal at the Idaho Falls Rescue Mission.
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Send a thank you to a healthcare worker or a teacher.
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Ring bells for the Salvation Army.
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Be patient with waiters and store clerks.
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Share a link to a holiday song that you love.
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Make a Christmas playlist and share it with a friend.
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Let someone else be kind to you.
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Apologize to someone.
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Leave a gift on a neighbor’s doorstep.
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Take a walk with a friend.
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Post an uplifting comment on social media.
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Smile at someone.
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Donate food to the Community Food Basket.
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Contribute to a charity.
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Call someone you miss.
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Give your neighbor a compliment.
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Attend a Christmas program.
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Learn to say “Merry Christmas” in another language.
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Visit a senior care center. Sing with them.
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Leave a note of thanks or a treat for your mailman or deliveryman.
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Invite a neighbor to a worship service.
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Bake and take a holiday treat to a new neighbor.
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Let a stranger go ahead of you in line.
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Compliment a stranger.
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Visit an elderly neighbor.
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Express gratitude to someone.
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Pay for the car behind you in a fast-food drive-through.
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Slow down and enjoy the Joy in Christmas.
Included here is just a sprinkling of community events that will enhance your Christmas celebration.
Enjoy free downtown horse-drawn trolley rides on Saturdays from 2-4 beginning at Park and B Streets.
Whether at work, home or on your commute, tune into Sandhill Media radio stations to enjoy Christmas vignettes. Take time to enjoy those stories collected from local community members. Visit Sandhill Media Group’s website to access these heartwarming stories.
Jay Hildebrandt will share Christmas stories on his Sunday Blessings radio program on KLCE Sundays from 5 a.m.-5 p.m. In addition, the streaming music app, "Sunny Idaho", hosted by Jay, will play traditional and religious-themed Christmas music 24/7 Dec. 24 and 25.
Join the second annual ATV Christmas Light Parade/Community Food Basket fundraiser Dec. 20. Decorate your ATV and join the parade or watch from the Idaho Falls Greenbelt. Entry fee is 10 cans (or more) of food. Participants will line up at Mountain America Center parking lot from 4:30-5:30 p.m. The parade begins at 6 p.m.. Register on Idaho Falls Parks and Recreation website.
Free nightly Christmas musical performances will be shared by various local musicians at the Idaho Falls Temple Visitor’s Center from Dec. 1 through Christmas.
Engage in some community activities and find unique ways to lift a neighbor or a total stranger. Create a joy-sparking holiday season that will warm the hearts of everyone you meet.
“Without community service, we would not have a strong quality of life,” wrote civil rights activist Dorothy Height. “It’s important to the person who serves as well as the recipient. It’s the way in which we ourselves grow and develop.”