Published: December 01. 2009 2:00AM

By Sybil Davis
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Have you ever noticed that many people tend to be more kind and considerate around Christmas time? I guess we just think about it more the closer it gets to the very special day of Christmas. Being kind and considerate to others is not difficult – it gives others pleasure and makes us feel good about ourselves at the same time. So, why not focus on being more kind and considerate throughout the entire year? There are no rules that say that we need to reserve this for Christmas.

Expressing kindness and consideration to someone does not have to include an actual gift or present. It could be volunteering to run an errand for a friend or neighbor, offering to take care of someone’s pet while they are away, visiting someone in a nursing home, helping someone with a special project, or just taking someone out to lunch or afternoon tea.

Sincerity is the most important key when it comes to acts of kindness. I’ll bet most of us can think of someone who is always saying that they will do this or do that but then nothing ever comes to fruition. Simply “talking a good game” is not good for one’s reputation and may lead to disappointment on the part of the person expecting a promise to be fulfilled.

While acts of kindness will not require an actual gift or present, it is a nice gesture all year long to reward someone with small surprises when we find something that we know someone else would like and appreciate. It touches any heart to receive a small surprise from a friend. It is even more special when it is obvious that the person chose something that is unique to the other person… perhaps an item to add to a special collection, a special tea or coffee, a plant, a DVD of a special movie, a fragrant candle, a magazine subscription, or even a book of etiquette.

Christmas is a great time to give gifts but when someone receives a great number of gifts during this special time they may tend to take for granted the thought and love that may have gone into those gifts. All the more reason to spread the kindness and gifts over the entire year, then at Christmas give one of those nice calendars with beautiful pictures of particular interest to the individual. What better way could there be to avoid the stress that often comes with trying to find the right Christmas present for the folks on your Christmas shopping list? So – when you are out and about during any time of the year and you see a simple item that just seems to have a friend’s name on it… go ahead and purchase it and give it to that friend. Kindness is always in order and never out of season.