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Craft a kindness calendar

Make your own kindness calendar, with an act of kindness to do each day.

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You’ll need

  • Coloured pens or pencils
  • Scissors
  • Miniature envelopes
  • Coloured paper
  • String and pegs, or a large piece of card and glue
  • Craft materials (optional)
  • Number stickers (optional)

Hobbycraft discount code

Members and volunteers can now enjoy a 10% discount in every Hobbycraft shop!

You can use it to buy coloured paper, coloured pens, mini wooden pegs, and anything else you need for your craft activities. 

To get your discount code, please fill in this request form.

Before you begin 

  • Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. There's also more guidance to help you carry out your risk assessment, including examples.   
  • Make sure all young people and adults involved in the activity know how to take part safely. 
  • Make sure you’ll have enough adult helpers. You may need some parents and carers to help. 

Planning and setting up this activity 

  • You can make your calendar in whichever way works best. People could create their own, or the whole group or small groups can make one together. You could have an envelope for each day, each week, each Scout meeting, or each month.
  • If you can’t find miniature envelopes, you could use luggage tags or cut-up pieces of card – with the number on one side and the act of kindness on the other.
  • This could be a great activity for Random Acts of Kindness Week in February, in the lead-up to Christmas (as a Kindness Advent Calendar), during the month of Ramadan, or for Mental Health Awareness Week in May.

Make your kindness calendar 

  1. Explain that you’ll be making your own kindness calendar, with an act of kindness for each day.
  2. Talk about why it’s important to be kind to others and ourselves, and how this links to the Scout Promise.   
  3. Label each envelope with a number for each day, using stickers or by drawing it on. If you’ll be sticking the envelopes to card, put the number on the flap side. If you’ll be hanging the envelopes on string, it can go on either side.
  4. Cut out slips of paper and write an act of kindness on each one. These could be acts of kindness for your family, friends, the community, or the environment. You could include some acts of kindness to yourself too. You can find some examples on this page for inspiration.
  5. Place one slip inside each envelope.
  6. You could decorate your envelopes to make your calendar bright and cheerful.  
  7. Hang a piece of string across a wall or room and peg each envelope to it, or stick envelopes to a large piece of card with the flap facing outwards. Mix up the order of the numbers so you can hunt for the right one each day.

Acts of kindness to friends or family 

  • Say something kind to a friend 
  • Ask someone at home if they’d like a drink 
  • Play with someone new at Scouts or at school 
  • Tell someone something you like about them 
  • Give a friend a hug (Ask them first). 
  • Help tidy up 
  • Make a card or picture for someone 
  • Write a kind message to someone 
  • Help with the washing up  
  • Remind someone of a happy time you’ve had together 
  • Tell a joke or make someone smile 
  • Say three nice things to three different people 
  • Help your brother or sister with something 

Acts of kindness to the community 

  • Give a toy or book to charity 
  • Give something to your local foodbank 
  • Make a thank-you card for someone who helps you 
  • Leave a happy note for someone to find 

Acts of kindness to the environment: 

  • Turn off the lights when you leave a room 
  • Pick up litter (with an adult to help). 
  • Walk, scoot or cycle somewhere instead of going in the car 
  • Plant flowers for bees 
  • Turn off the TV or tablet when you’re not using it 

Acts of kindness to yourself: 

  • Write down three things you like about yourself 
  • Draw a picture of something you’re proud of 
  • Listen to a song that makes you happy 
  • Play your favourite game 
  • Wear your favourite clothes or pyjamas 
  • Relax by doing some colouring 
  • Go for a walk with your family 

Reflection

This activity was all about practising kindness and making something yourself.

How do you think the acts of kindness will make other people feel? How do you think they’ll make you feel?

How do you feel when you are kind? Why is it important to be kind?

Kindness can be shown in lots of different ways. Being kind doesn’t need lots of time or money. Little things – like a smile or a thank you – can make a big difference. Helping others is good for other people, and it’s also good for us! Being kind can help us feel happy and calm inside.

It’s also important to be kind to ourselves. Why do you think that’s important? When we look after ourselves, we feel happier, healthier, and more ready to help others.

This activity was also about making something yourself. What was it like making your own kindness calendar? Did you enjoy choosing your colours, decorating it, and making it your own? Making something yourself can feel really good, and it’s a skill you can keep practising and enjoying. If you enjoyed making this, is there anything else you’d like to make?

Safety

All activities must be safely managed. You must complete a thorough risk assessment and take appropriate steps to reduce risk. Use the safety checklist to help you plan and risk assess your activity. Always get approval for the activity, and have suitable supervision and an InTouch process.

You must run your activities in line with the Safeguarding Code of Conduct for Adults (Yellow Card) and report any concerns to the UK HQ Safeguarding Team.

Glue and solvents

Always supervise young people appropriately when they’re using glue and solvent products. Make sure there’s plenty of ventilation. Be aware of any medical conditions that could be affected by glue or solvent use and make adjustments as needed.

Scissors

Supervise young people appropriately when they’re using scissors. Store all sharp objects securely, out of the reach of young people.

  • To make this activity easier, you could cut out the slips of paper in advance, or print out a list of example acts of kindness for people to cut out and use.
  • To make this activity harder, you could make your own envelopes. 
  • Some people might find scissors tricky to use. Make sure to provide scissors that everyone can manage (such as left-handed, tabletop, loop, or easy-grip scissors). People can also tear instead of cutting. You could also have some pre-cut materials ready. 
  • If someone struggles with writing, they can work with a partner or small group where someone can help with the writing. Or, you could print out example acts of kindness for people to choose from.

All Scout activities should be inclusive and accessible.

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