Each year Christmas comes earlier, and as such the meaning becomes more diluted. Sure, it may seem to be about Peace, Kindness and Goodwill to All, but what it actually becomes is a hunt for presents no one remember and a panic filled feeling that conveys only stress.

The best way I have found to counteract that, is to instigate the 12 Good Deeds of Christmas. These twelve deeds convey to even the most weary soul a sense of the meaning of Christmas that can’t be denied. But I must have rules for you, if you decide to take them up.

YOU CAN TELL NO ONE YOU ARE DOING THIS.

A big factor is the avoidance of praise for doing all this. Instead, make your good gestures silently, without fanfare.

So, without further ado, here is Good Deed Number 1;

1. Write a thank-you note to someone who normally never gets thanked.

Your bin man, your post person, the lady who makes coffee each day,  the cleaner at work, the train driver, all these people do their jobs without any expectation of thanks. Go and get a small thank you card, or a piece of blank paper, and write out to them a thank you for all their hard work.

You don’t have to sign your name if you don’t want to, the gesture itself is enough. But sending thanks out there, to some of the large numbers of unthanked people we meet and rely on everyday, is a wonderful thing to do. And you’ll be thought of in the most positive fashion for your actions.

Got any other suggestions for good deeds? Let me know!