Create Your Own New Year Giving Resolution

Happy New Year, Pretties! 

Have you ever considered creating a New Year Giving Resolution?  This is the time of year that 90% of the population (ok, I just made that statistic up) creates a New Year’s Resolution to make ourselves feel hopeful about how we intend to live out the next year of life.  It may come in the shape of giving something up, setting new goals, declaring a word, or creating a vision board.  But, what about creating a Giving Resolution?  

Honestly, I wasn’t originally even sure if that was a thing, but in my head, it was.   It was something I had been wanting to create for a few years.  I had been keeping this idea of mine on the back burner, which sadly meant a lot of the “giving ideas” that I had, also remained right there on that back burner… on a very low non-existent simmer.   I’m sure you can relate, out of site out of mind.  Many of us already have one million tiny tasks to complete in a given week.  Time escapes us and we rarely leave enough time to do the “extra things.”  The things that aren’t necessarily demanding our attention but could bring us so much unfiltered joy. 

Enter 2023, the year that I worked on being more “intentional” (more to come on my Word for the 2026 New Year later) and voila, the first Giving Resolution Template was created!  Creating this back in 2023 actually sparked a huge giving project for myself and my family!  It was quite the adventure for an entire year.  We helped a mom and daughter get on their feet.  I chose not to share it here, or on social, because I felt like it wasn’t my story to share.  

You can grab your own Giving Resolution Template for 2026 down below. 

Why I Love A New Year Resolution With Giving In Mind

I love the idea of a monthly “Giving Resolution.”  We all want to “do more’ in the new year and taking the time to map it out and write it down will create more intention and accountability. 

You can create a 2026 Giving Resolution on your own or can also be really fun to do as a family, or with friends.  

Not only is it a fun family-bonding experience but allowing my boys to take part in choosing and planning some of the months give them more ownership.   It creates a new kind of confidence and has instilled a love for giving back that will hopefully last a lifetime. 

All acts of kindness matter.  Giving can be something big, like a full Saturday cleaning up a neighbor’s yard, or something as small as taking homemade soup and cookies to someone who could really appreciate the thoughtful gesture.  No giving is too small or too random.  

Ideas For Giving Back During The Different Months

Jan- Donate Gently Used Items.  We all love a good declutter and organization haul come January.  This is the perfect time to go through all the bedrooms, closets, and toy rooms and collect items that your family is no longer using.  We always like to donate our items to Faith Mission, which is a local homeless shelter and has a thrift shop that helps support the shelter.  I always take a moment in the car with my boys and pray over the items and that whoever receives them will be blessed.

Feb. Collect food for a local food pantry or volunteer your time helping there on a Saturday.

March- Participate in a Walk or Run for your favorite cause.

April- Do something fun to celebrate Earth Day! Plant an extra row in your garden and donate some of the food or find a local garden and help volunteer a day there.

May-Collect food and supplies for your local Humane Society.  I suggest contacting them beforehand to see what current needs they have.  Love animals and want to help longer term?  Become a foster home for pets in need until they can be placed in a forever home.

June- Purchase new (or collect gently used) suitcases for children in Foster Care.  You can also collect socks, stuffed animals, pillow/blanket, and toiletries.

July- Donate school supplies and/or backpack to a local school supply drive.

Aug- Reach out to local nursing home and see if they have any buddy programs or if you can donate any small gift items for a senior without an active family.

Sept- Donate gently used jackets and coats. You can also do a small drive with your kids and have them help collect from family and friends.

Oct- Rake leaves and clean up someone’s yard who could use a helping hand.

Nov- Provide an entire Thanksgiving Day meal to a family in need or serve others in your local soup kitchen.

Dec-. Adopt a family for Christmas, Ring Bells for Salvation Army (we’ve done this as a family with other family friends, and it was so much fun.  My boys also did it this year with their Papa and it was such a special memory maker!).  I have also volunteered my time wrapping gifts at Salvation Army with friends.  

Things To Remember When Creating Your Giving Resolution

•  You might be working toward a bigger goal that you can break into smaller steps each month. You don’t necessarily need twelve different ideas for all of the months. In fact, you don’t even have to schedule something every single month, if that’s not realistic for your schedule. Maybe it’s once a quarter or each “birthday month” that you have in your family.
• You don’t have to commit to something super big and intimidating! Small Acts of Kindness will go a long way!
• It’s never too late to get started! If you happen to stumble upon this blog in June, late is better than never and will still feel very rewarding.
• If you drop the ball, that’s ok too! This isn’t something that should create more stress in your life but enrich it.  If you miss a beat, pick back up when you can.

 

Don’t Forget To Share Your New Year Giving Resolution 

Please make sure to come back and share if you’ve decided to take part in a Giving Resolution this year and let us know how it’s going!    Also, don’t forget to hang out with us on Facebook so that you can also share your progress! 

XOXO, 

Amber- Boho Pretty