GIVING BACK
31 WAYS TO SPREAD
you’re at it, how about turning your car into a red-nosed reindeer this year? Channel Santa and donate to a toy drive. The Folsom Toy Drive is accepting donations until December 4 (folsomtoydrive.com); alternatively, bring a new, unwrapped toy to Placer Wine Trail’s Holidays in the Hills event on December 5 and 6 (placerwine.com/plan-your-visit/ events/holidays-in-the-hills)—where, in addition to benefitting Toys for Tots, you’ll receive discounts on wine, including 10% off your first bottle at each winery. 5
BY TARA MENDANHA
Let’s end 2020 on a high note, shall we? We’ve got 31 things—that’s right, one for each day of December—to help spread some muchneeded holiday cheer. Read, do, repeat! 1
Bake cookies (for 5
simple and scrumptious recipes, turn to page 78) and gift them to family, friends, or neighbors. If you’re not adept at baking, send them a cookiedecorating kit from Frank Vilt’s Cakes (frankviltscakes. com), instead. 2
Carry spare change when you go out in case you bump into the Salvation
Army or someone down on their luck. Corral a bunch of your friends and family and go caroling in your neighborhood. We could all use a song or two. 3
4
Decorate the inside
and outside of your home. Check out this month’s holiday gift guide (page 51) for some décor ideas. And while
6
Volunteer at a homeless shelter
7
Show some appreciation for your
during the coldest and possibly most difficult time of year to be without a home. Hart of Folsom (hartoffolsom.org) assists the homeless during winter months, as does The Gathering Inn (thegatheringinn.com) in Roseville, and Only Kindness (onlykindness. net) in Placerville.
delivery person, teacher, mail carrier, garbage collector, gardener, or house cleaner with gift cards to local restaurants, stationery, hand sanitizer, warm gloves, holiday sweets, etc. 8
Donate to a food bank. We’ve
profiled many great organizations in STYLE. Check out stylemg.com for more on what they do. A simple Google search in your area should also point you in the right direction. 9
Greet or compliment a stranger. A
10
Phone your parents, grandparents,
simple “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” could make someone’s day. As could: “I love your face mask!”
aunts, uncles, or long-lost friends that you haven’t spoken to in a while. And no, texting doesn’t count. Alternatively, you could snail mail them holiday cards (with a personal note) or handwritten letters. Once you’ve done that, venture out and sign up for a pen pal at PenPal World (penpalworld.com) or Snail Mail Penpals (snailmailpenpals.net). 11
Perform random acts of kindness: put away someone’s shopping cart, hold the door for someone, pay for the person 12
Holidays in the Hills
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| DECEMBER 2020 |
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Bake photo by Dante Fontana. Decorate photo courtesy of Pottery World. Holidays in the Hills photo by Heirloom Photography by Anne Doupnik.
HOLIDAY CHEER
