Random Acts of kindness for less than $1

I love a random act of kindness.  I even did a previous blog about it here.
I love the element of surprise, the happy smile and knowing that we made someone feel special.
I love teaching my kids about joyfulness, giving and thoughtfulness all in one activity.

Of course all this must happen on very little money- there is no item line in our family budget for Random Acts of Kindness so we really cannot spend a lot.

However, I was out on a date night with That Guy this weekend and while browsing a discount department store (what else would we do on a date?! haha) I saw a 1/4 lb bag of balloons for $2.  The bag of balloons was brightly coloured, I was feeling happy being out with That Guy, and I ended up buying this bag of assorted balloons.
I did not need them for anything. I had no plans for them. I bought them anyways. I don't know what came over me.

On the same date night I was noticing all the packs of commercial and usually licensed Valentines Day cards available for kids to give their classmates.  Then I felt a little bad.  Walter and Audrey do not have classmates with which to exchange over priced, garbage can destined, Valentines Day cards with- was I robbing them of crucial childhood experiences? What if they never got to tell their friends that they care?
Whoa whoa whoa, Rylan.  Calm your emotional self down.  Why can they only tell their friends kind words once a year? And why can they only do it with a Transformer on the front of a paper card? Why on earth could we not do something kind for a few of the special people in our lives?!

So the next morning I blew up a balloon.  I did not tie the end, just kept it pinched between my fingers. Then, using a Sharpie I drew a few hearts on it. When I was done I deflated the balloon.  Then I called Walter over and blew up the balloon again to show him the image I had drawn.

The balloon I drew on

  Right away he wanted to do one too.   So he drew a robot on his balloon. 

 

Then, because Audrey must do everything Walter does, she wanted to colour a balloon too- I was happy to comply. 

Audrey's drawing

Even That Guy did one.

That Guy is a fan of breakfast...

Then we put our deflated balloons into an envelope, along with some lengths of ribbon so my dad (who we decided was the perfect recipient) could tie up the balloons and affix these reminders of love around his house or office.  Of course, we also added a bit of glitter to the envelope (because, if glitter is ever an option its one I highly recommend taking) and sent off our first Random Acts of Kindness Envelope.

 I still had a bunch of balloons left so we decided to keep up the fun and do a few more for some of the many special and kind people in our lives.

My $2 bag of balloons made up about a dozen envelopes, so about 17 cents each.  Plus the cost of a stamp... about 63 cents.   So a total  cost of  80 cents each, and I really think these will make some people smile.


Happy Monday, gentle readers.  Enjoy your day!!