Showing Some Love for December’s Unsung Heroes

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We do almost all of our holiday shopping online and a steady stream of packages arrives throughout the month. Based on the number of delivery trucks I regularly see in the neighborhood, I know we’re not the only ones. Can you imagine what it’s like to be one of these drivers during the month of December?!? I want them to know their hard work doesn’t go unnoticed, so one of our new holiday traditions is to leave a box of snacks for them on the front step. (As you can see in the photos, I also include our mail carrier because we appreciate him, too, and I don’t want him to feel like he can’t help himself to a daily bag of Chex Mix if he’s so inclined.)

As with our gratitude wall last month, this is a ritual where I’ve decided to place more value on substance than form. I’m positive there are way cuter, more festive ways to offer snacks than a plastic storage bin. I’m also positive that if I waited until I had the time and energy to execute one of those more ambitious approaches, it wouldn’t happen. Instead, a couple days ago I grabbed some plain white paper, scrawled notes with red and green Crayola marker, and added a little extra touch with some stickers that happened to be sitting on the table near me.

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Yep, I know the text is a little crammed into the corners on both notes and that my top-of-bin note lacks any sort of pizzazz. I also know that I was trying to get this thing assembled amidst family chaos and made the call that done is better than perfect.

Not knowing when orders will arrive, I set the box out daily. Whenever I grab a newly delivered package, I sneak a peek into the bin to see if any snacks have been taken. If they have, I smile and hope that we brightened the driver’s day.

One of the bonus features of having this bin is that the boys see it every day. While making charitable contributions online or through recurring credit card charges is certainly convenient for us, it’s invisible to the boys. The snack bin provides a concrete way to model kindness and gratitude, and has sparked some good conversations.

Hope you feel inspired to join me in celebrating December’s unsung heroes!

P.S. If you happen to have a kindergartner who eats lunch at 11 and is starving when you go to pick him up from school and gets pretty cranky if you haven’t brought him a snack and you walk to the corner of the street before realizing you’ve forgotten a snack, a bin full of them on the front step can prove quite convenient. 🙂