Last weekend I learned about a friend who was very upset because she had to put her cat down.  Her cat had been her companion for several years, and the cat’s passing was extremely hard for her. She said that it felt like she had lost a close family member.  I thought that perhaps my girls and I could do something to cheer my friend up and found the idea for a sunshine box on Pinterest, where you put together a bright and cheery care package for someone who may need a little love.  This activity became the focus of this week’s kindness project.

When I asked my 5-year old about putting together a “Sunshine Surprise” for my friend, she took to the idea right away. She also immediately thought about a classmate who seemed sad because a close family friend had died.  She asked if we could give her friend and their family a “Sunshine Surprise” too.  So we decided that we would make two packages- one for my friend, and one for my daughter’s friend and family.

The “Sunshine Surprise” was super easy to make.  We hit the Dollar Store together and found different things that were yellow, bright or had inspirational thoughts associated with them.  We got cheery stickers, emoji tissue, candy, wildflower seeds, beads, notebooks and blank cards to write individual notes.  We also included a homemade flower, a craft which we made out paper cups, straws and stickers.  We then packaged everything up with tissue paper and that was it- a very simple activity, but allowed us to send a little sunshine to a few people who may be sad.