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  1. Midwest Living
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  4. 25 Ways to Show You Care

25 Ways to Show You Care

By Produced by Matthew Mead. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Written by Sara Reimer
June 01, 2012
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Our inspiring ideas will show family, friends—even those you've never met—how much you care this holiday season. Even something simple can mean something big.
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Bake extras

Recognize community members who give all year but never ask for anything in return, such as hospice volunteers, shelter workers or youth mentors. Gifts of homemade holiday treats, including fresh-baked breads or iced cookies, will look striking in pretty packaging. Fold colorful card stock to create easy containers. Accent with ribbons and tie on a meaningful message.To make the bread packaging as shown, click on the link below for a free template and instructions. See "Scrumptious Quickbreads" for some of our favorite recipes.Download a free package templateScrumptious Quickbreads

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Broaden the guest list

Welcome college students, refugees or others who can't visit family for Thanksgiving. Des Moines resident Marilyn Hansen invited Iraqi brothers to dinner. "These two young men wanted to be a part of the American festivities," Marilyn says. At the table, she handed out questions--some were silly and some were serious--to start the conversation and learn about each other's cultures. Contact your local refugee-support organization or nearby university for help locating potential guests.

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Know your neighbors

Invite neighbors you've known for years--and those who just moved in down the street--to a holiday get-together, such as an open house, chili cook-off or sledding party. A "give thanks" wreath will let guests know they're at the right place. Decorate with roses, pinecones, hypericum berries, champagne grapes and hydrangeas (keep flower stems in water picks).

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Tag your charity

Many families share the tradition of drawing names for holiday gift giving. This year, draw charities. Invite family members to create tags that represent their favorite philanthropies. Then donate your time or money to the organization you draw--and look for creative volunteer opportunities.Karen Fallstrom of Minneapolis hosts scrapbooking classes for kids at the nearby Ronald McDonald House. It's one of hundreds of houses the Illinois-based group licenses worldwide to host families of children undergoing hospital treatment. "Craft time gives the kids a chance to express themselves and to be away from the hospital," Karen says.

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Share the bounty

Crafts store take-out boxes will turn leftovers into treats to go. Fall-theme stamps in natural-tone inks give the boxes a seasonal look. (Place aluminum foil or sandwich bags inside the boxes to prevent leaking.)

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Reach out to family

Play together. Give your family one new board game each Thanksgiving, and plan a game night before Christmas. Relish the laid-back break from your holiday schedule.Kids away from home? Keep in touch creatively. "Last year, all of my three kids were far away at Christmas, so I made each of them a calendar [through a photo website] with photos of themselves at home and added family quotes they know so well," says Connie Johnson of Leland, Iowa.

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Pen your thanks

Make the holiday meal more meaningful by giving each guest a personal note of appreciation. Present the notes in envelopes as place cards. Or turn them into keepsakes: Print each message on colorful paper and wrap it around a candleholder. (But don't leave lit candles unattended.)

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Appreciate your ancestry

Holidays are the perfect time to teach youngsters about their heritage. Make it an activity by cutting out copies of vintage baby photos and arranging them on the wall in a "family tree." Family members can guess who's who.

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Personalize gifts

We recommend monogramming--an easy way to give gifts a just-for-you tone. Accent plain stationery with letter stamps in holiday-color inks. To make coasters, cover the bottom of a plain glass coaster with a computer-printed monogram design. Adhere it to the coaster with decoupage medium, which dries clear. Add a piece of felt to the bottom. For glass tumblers, tape a letter stencil to the outside of the glass; coat with white or frosted-glass spray paint to create a letter shape. All supplies and tools are available at crafts stores.

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Capture memories

Start a scrapbook just for the holidays to record your family's traditions. Let each family member create a page with photos, recipes, journal entries or other holiday mementos. Add to the book every year.

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Host a cooking class

Let Grandma (or the top family "chef") give the kids a mini lesson in cooking a family Thanksgiving favorite, such as pumpkin pie. Have fun with it, and record the demonstration as if she's doing a cooking show. You'll have the recipe secrets for years to come.

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Give a nod to Mother Nature

Show how much you appreciate the outdoors by teaching a new generation to love it, too. Take kids on a woodland scavenger hunt that encourages exploration. List 10 items to find, such as a maple leaf, pinecone and animal tracks. Bring bags (and gloves) to pick up trash along the way.

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Decorate poetically

Frame a sentiment of the season. We selected stanzas from three poems (Right, from top left): "If It Could Talk" and "Family Thanksgiving" by Gerald J.J. Johnson of Marshalltown, Iowa, and "Thanksgiving Verse" by Omaha native Myra Cohn Livingston (1926-1996). Print poems in a pretty type or have a calligrapher do the work. Frame separately for a series of wall hangings that becomes a reminder to be thankful all year.See the next two slides for details on the tree and basket in our photo.

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Plant a thankful tree

Invite dinner guests to write their blessings on paper ornaments. Sign and date each ornament to create an archive. Tie ornaments each year to fallen tree branches anchored with sand in a pitcher.

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Gather donations

Invite guests to bring good-condition winter gear, along with books, canned goods and toiletries, to holiday gatherings. Collect the items in a basket by the entryway. Afterwards, cart the donations to a local charity. The most-needed goods in the Midwest region during the holidays, according to The Salvation Army: winter coats, children's clothing and new, unwrapped toys.

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Listen to loved ones

The National Day of Listening, a day for recording family stories, is in late November. Jan Hieggelke of Chicago interviewed and videotaped her parents. "We learned quite a few interesting things about our family," Jan says. Visit the StoryCorps website for question suggestions and a how-to guide.StoryCorps

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Do the turkey trot

Many Midwest cities host 5K runs or walks on Thanksgiving Day. It's a great way to burn some of those 3,000 calories (the average for a Thanks- giving meal) and support a charity.

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Treat our troops

Contact the USO (United Service Organizations) to buy a care package for troops overseas. Each pack contains toiletries, snacks, books and more (like cooling scarves or hand warmers), along with a letter from you. uso.org

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Surprise visitors

"I make up lots of baskets of food and small gifts and give them to everyone who knocks on my door, from the mailman to the UPS person," says Michigan native Sandy Berkowitz. "They are always surprised when they deliver me a package, and I give them one in return."

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Reconnect with friends

It's fine to "Facebook" old friends or locate them on other social networking sites. But don't stop there. Call a friend to catch up, or schedule a coffee date.

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Shop locally

Why not trade stressful mall shopping for browsing nearby neighborhood shops? You'll not only enjoy a more leisurely pace, but also support local businesses.Some of our favorite spots to shop: Zionsville, an Indianapolis suburb, for one-of-a-kind gift shops, jewelry stores and an old-fashioned toy shop along a brick-paved Main Street. Kansas City Crossroads Art District in Missouri (left) for a diverse mix of art, antiques, home accessories and locally designed clothing. Short North Arts District in Columbus, Ohio, for fair-trade gifts, arty wares and hipster boutiques.

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Let pets join the fun

Keep the cookies for yourself, but reward four-legged friends with healthy food bites. Pooches will love a small spoonful of real canned pumpkin--not pie filling because of its sugar content. Plain cooked turkey without the skin is a safe occasional treat for dogs or cats. Or click on Pet Munchies below for a dog-treat recipe. No pets? Make seed ornaments for the birds out of wooden shapes. Coat with peanut butter and sprinkle on birdseed.Pet Munchies

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Give back

Team up with others in your town to give back in a big way. "A 10-year tradition in our community is a free Thanksgiving meal on the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving," says Deb Brandlee of Bristol, South Dakota. Many local businesses, churches and groups provide and serve meals in the school auditorium.Want to help others, but not sure where to start? Check out websites that list volunteer opportunities by ZIP code. You can start with the links below.Volunteer MatchUnited We Serve

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Continue for more holiday ideas

Our Best Turkey RecipesEasy Thanksgiving CenterpiecesIdeas for Meaningful HolidaysHeavenly Homemade Food GiftsCelebration-Worthy Side DishesBest Stuffing Recipes for Roast Turkey

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By Produced by Matthew Mead. Photographs by Quentin Bacon. Written by Sara Reimer

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Skip slide summaries

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1 of 24 Bake extras
2 of 24 Broaden the guest list
3 of 24 Know your neighbors
4 of 24 Tag your charity
5 of 24 Share the bounty
6 of 24 Reach out to family
7 of 24 Pen your thanks
8 of 24 Appreciate your ancestry
9 of 24 Personalize gifts
10 of 24 Capture memories
11 of 24 Host a cooking class
12 of 24 Give a nod to Mother Nature
13 of 24 Decorate poetically
14 of 24 Plant a thankful tree
15 of 24 Gather donations
16 of 24 Listen to loved ones
17 of 24 Do the turkey trot
18 of 24 Treat our troops
19 of 24 Surprise visitors
20 of 24 Reconnect with friends
21 of 24 Shop locally
22 of 24 Let pets join the fun
23 of 24 Give back
24 of 24 Continue for more holiday ideas

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25 Ways to Show You Care
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