I took dd to get her haircut yesterday. I was waiting at the counter to sign in and the beautician at the cash register turned toward an older man that was getting his grandson's haircut and said 'Your haircut has already been paid for." A person that was just done and leaving had covered the bill and left before the man could even say thank you.

I have heard of people doing all sorts of things around the holidays like leaving a $50 or $100 tip on a $10 restaurant bill, picking up someone's meal, even leaving pet food at a pet rescue - all being done every year and without the recipient knowing who did it.

Does anyone else have a unique tradition that you or your family together does every year under cover ?

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Mommy to the most amazing little boy And now a little girl, too!

Well, not undercover, by my family has always served in homeless shelters/soup kitchens; not only at Xmas and T'Giving (which we do) but also sporadically through the years. Started when my kids were 3 or 4 so they knew from an early age what giving was/is. Result is that now that they are in high school, not only do they just expect to do this as usual, but they also always pick names off the giving tree at their high school without being asked or reminded and are always attentive and even respectful to homeless people they might encounter on the streets. They respect them as human beings and do not just look through them as if they do not exist. I am proud of my kidlets!

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"Well-Behaved Women SELDOM make history."Laurel Thatcher Ulrich


"Yesterday is but a vision, and tomorrow is only a dream. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness, and every tomorrow a dream of hope." Anonymous

"Your candle does not lose it's light by lighting another candle" Generosity

Have the courage to be yourself.

My daughters both get Angels off the Angel Trre on their own, with out my asking them . When they were little we did it, and I guess now it is tradition. My oldest DD even makes her boyfriend get one, then she shops for him. She is so giving, she worries about people she has met, etc. She's currently trying to figure out how to help out someone she works with without them knowing it is her! I am so proud of her!

I have always bought extras of deep discount toys throughout the year and stow them in the car trunk in December and then put them in the toy drive boxes at Applebees, etc. My kids really love doing it.

Also, don't forget the food bank. They get a lot of donations from me... It is easy for our family to drive by and drop off bags of groceries on our may home from the store.

My kids' grandparents give them money to donate ($20 each) at Christmas time. We have fun brainstorming where the donation should go... one year we gave it to Katrina victims, one year to the local men/women/children shelter, one year toward postage on packages to the soldiers that the school was doing up, one year to the Salvation Army lady with the bell in front of Walmart!...

I guess these things count???

That was really a nice story that you shared about the haircut.

I deliver food and leave it on peoples porches that I know are in need of it. I dont just do this at the holidays but all year long. I have never figured out why local churches and such go all out at holidays , gathering items for the needy but then the rest of the year do nothing. People are hungrey year around, not just at the holidays.

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Probably the most fun I ever had "being anonymous" involved my hairdresser (who is also a long-time friend). She was going through a particularly hard time (she lives alone with her invalid mom in a very small trailer). All of her customers are seniors (one is 95!) and she is really wonderful with them: very patient and gentle and charges really low prices.

I got my brother (who she wouldn't recognize) to dress up as Santa and deliver a pizza to her shop while she was working. He had strict instructions to tell her to open the pizza and enjoy it "while it's still hot"

Inside the box was a beautiful Christmas that I had someone else write (so she wouldn't recognize the handwriting) thanking her for being such a blessing to her elderly customers along with $1,000 in cash.

I had the pizza delivered while a relative of mine would be in the shop getting her hair done so I would know that everything went well

It was sooooo much fun hearing that Diane was absolutely shocked and thrilled.

I still get my hair done at her shop and to this day, she has no idea who "Santa" was

This brought tears to my eyes. That is so wonderful what you did for your friend!

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My neighbors last year were having a rough time money-wise, so not much for Christmas. We had a bunch of new toys here that I had bought at Target clearance, so...we wrapped them up, stuck them in a trash bag, waited for them to leave and stuck them on the porch. She did call asking us if we were her Secret Santa or if we seen anyone in their driveway, but we denied it all. It was a lot of fun hearing her talk about it and not knowing we were the ones who had done it

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Michelle
*Mom to McKenna and Tanyn ~ Nov. 2000 Twins*