As the days start getting shorter the winter blues can start to set in. There are many ways to combat this including getting active and soaking up the sunlight when you can. There is another way to get over these seasonal moods that too often gets overlooked. One of the best ways to elevate your mood is to perform acts of kindness. When you give selflessly of your time and resources you can improve your mood ten-fold! To help you get started here are 10 acts of kindness to beat winter blues.

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1. Put money in an expiring parking meter.

This is such an easy act of kindness that anyone can do. When your doctor’s visit is running longer than expected, the last thing you want to do is be worrying about your meter. Make someone’s day by taking care of it for them.

2. Donate your gently used books to a local school.

Have you been in a school library lately? My children’s school is excellent and still, the library is so depressing to me. When I think of a library, I want to see walls and walls of books. This just isn’t the case anymore. What’s worse is that there are schools that don’t half even half of the books my children’s school has. Why not donate your gently used books to schools that need them?

3. Give holiday gifts to your neighbors.

The holidays are a fabulous time to do something nice for your neighbors. Make up some delicious treat bags and hang on their doors. If you’re looking for something more useful why not give everyone an ice scraper? The smallest gesture goes a long way.

4. Make a freezer meal for a friend.

You know how crazy dinner time can be in your home. Take some stress off a friend’s plate and take their family an easy freezer meal that they can pop in the oven. Need some ideas? Check out these freezer-friendly chicken nuggets or freezer chicken pot pie minis!

5. Donate craft supplies to a local library.

Have you ever taken your child to a free event at the library? All of those events are run on donations. Say thank you by donating some craft supplies to help out with these fun events.

[bctt tweet=”These 10 Acts of Kindness can improve your mood ten-fold and help you beat the winter blues! #kindness” username=”diyadulation”]

6. Send a thoughtful card or letter.

This one is so easy and all it costs you is a stamp. Everyone is delighted to receive surprise mail that’s not a bill. Make someone’s day with a heartfelt sentiment to show you care and you were thinking about them.

7. Rake a neighbor’s leaves or shovel their driveway.

Shoveling the driveway is one of my least favorite winter chores. A couple of years ago some sweet neighbors stopped by to shovel and salt my driveway for me and I still smile when I think about it. Do the same for someone in your neighborhood as a sweet act of kindness.

8. Offer to babysit so parents can have a date night.

Ah, the baby phase… they are adorable and utterly life changing (in a good way). Babies also can wreak havoc on a marriage. Let the parents you know get a much-needed break and offer to babysit the kiddos for a night.

9. Pay for the car behind you in the drive-thru.

Do you know what makes your Caramel Macchiato even sweeter? Not having to pay for it. This is such an easy and effortless way to brighten someone’s day. The caveat is that you don’t have any control of the cost. If you are on a limited budget, ask to put $10 towards their order instead. That is still a wonderful surprise.

10. Donate toys to the Salvation Army.

This is another one close to my heart. There was a year when my mom had absolutely no money for presents (even things we needed like socks and coats) when we were very little. Imagine having to tell your 4 year old that impossible scenario of that there is no Santa or that Santa forgot them. Neither is palatable. In a true Christmas miracle it turned out that our church had adopted our family that year and arrived not only with presents on Christmas Eve but food as well. When you give to the Salvation Army that is the kind of gift you are giving a family.

These are all easy ideas that are low-cost or no cost. The best thing about them is that most of these can absolutely be a family affair. It’s always important to teach your kids early the joy of giving to others. These 10 acts of kindness are also a wonderful exercise in gratefulness. When you and your family see how much you truly have to give you will begin to appreciate all that you have. Usher in the colder months with warmth in your heart this year. Check out this DIY autumn thankful wreath for more wonderful ways to exercise a heart of thankfulness with your family.

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November means a lot of things to people. Some look forward to the weather finally turning crisp or the beautiful colors across the scenery. Traditions and giving are also big themes for this time of year. If you read Creating Your Future November Goals then you know that one of my main goals for this month is increasing my thankfulness. Even if you have a grateful heart, sometimes we lose sight of how much we have to be thankful for every day. That is why it is important to be mindful about increasing your thankfulness. The main strategy for doing this is to write down 3 things each day that you are thankful for. You can extend this practice with your family by making this gorgeous DIY autumn thankful wreath. It is an easy way to decorate for Thanksgiving while exercising continued thankfulness together.

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[bctt tweet=”Practice thankfulness with this gorgeous DIY autumn thankful wreath! #diy #thankful” username=”diyadulation”]

Materials

Name: Low Calorie Whipped Pumpkin Pie
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 20 min
Yield: 1
Ingredients: Crust Ingredients; 1 Sleeve of Graham Crackers (9 whole crackers); 1 Stick of Margarine (1/2 cup); Pie Filling Ingredients; 1 8oz Container of Lite Whipped Topping; ½ Cup Canned Pumpkin; 1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Step 1

Remove all packaging from your wreath.

Step 2

Cut a length of ribbon that is 24 inches long.

Step 3

Fold the ribbon in half and knot the loose ends about 8 inches from the bottom.

Step 4

Wrap around the top of the wreath and pull the folded end through the knotted end. Pull tight to secure.

Step 5

Tie the dangling ends into a bow. Trim the bottoms and fold the ends behind. See picture for reference.

Tip:

You can secure your bow to your wreath using 2 dressmaker’s pins.

Step 6

Attach your faux autumn leaves with your pins to cover your wreath.

Note:

I love the natural look of the straw so I chose not to cover it completely. This is totally optional.

Step 7

Cut out 5-10 leaves in each color from your paper pack. Use the leaf button on the “Stretch Your Imagination” cartridge (not ‘leaf-s’).

Tips:

Change up the sizes to add visual interest to your wreath. I used 3 inches and 4 inches.

Save time and use the ‘auto-fill’ feature to cut out as many leaves as will fit on one page.

Step 8

Have your family fill out the leaves with what they are thankful for using the metallic Sharpies.

Tip:

Let your little non-writers get involved by having them dictate what they are thankful for to you.

Step 9

Attach your thankful leaves to your wreath with your dressmaker’s pins.

This is an easy way to decorate for Thanksgiving. Create an environment of thankfulness with gorgeous décor. Take the opportunity to make a family night out of making this wreath. It’s good for your kids to hear what you are thankful for. Even better, you might be surprised to hear what your little ones are thankful for. (Case-in-point: my 4 year old is thankful for her Twilight Sparkle Pony from Build-a-Bear. She cracks me up!)

Want to take this décor a step further? Use some of the paper leaves as place cards for Thanksgiving dinner. As the meal winds down, ask guests to write down what they are thankful for. Have the guests add their thankful leaves to your wreath before they go. This will become a fun Thanksgiving tradition guests look forward to each year!

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Pumpkin pie is a Thanksgiving dinner staple. The calories that come along with it are less enticing. What if you could enjoy all of that spicy, pumpkin flavor without all of the unwanted calories? Don’t limit your options to blowing your health goals or skipping the pie. Instead, make this low calorie whipped pumpkin pie. A traditional pumpkin pie has about 2,414 calories. This lightened version only has 1,215 and you can make it ahead of your festivities and freeze it! It’s the epitome of light and easy.

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Before we get to the recipe I have a confession to make. I don’t actually like traditional pumpkin pie. Don’t get me wrong, the flavors are amazing! It’s the texture that I can’t stand. The texture is not as stiff as flan but it’s not smooth like pudding. It is some weird hybrid that doesn’t feel right to my palate. Most years I choose to scrape the pumpkin part off of the pie and just eat the flavor-soaked pie crust alone. This year, I’m changing that by making my own delicious version of pumpkin pie with all of the flavor and none of the drawbacks.

Low-Calorie Whipped Pumpkin Pie

Crust Ingredients

1 Sleeve of Graham Crackers (9 whole crackers)
1 Stick of Margarine (1/2 cup)

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Step 2

Melt your stick of butter in a small mixing bowl in 30 second increments in the microwave.

Step 3

While your butter is melting, put your graham crackers into a re-sealable bag and crush them into crumbs using your hand (or a meat tenderizer if you’re feeling frustrated).

Step 4

Add your graham cracker crumbs to the mixing bowl of melted butter. Stir until well-combined.

Step 5

Spray a glass pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and press your graham cracker mixture into it forming a pie crust.

Step 6

Bake for 10 minutes.

[bctt tweet=”Skip the guilt this Thanksgiving and make this low calorie whipped pumpkin pie! #recipe” username=”diyadulation”]

Pie Filling Ingredients

1 8oz Container of Lite Whipped Topping
½ Cup Canned Pumpkin
1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Step 1

Combine all of the ingredients above in a mixing bowl until well-incorporated.

Step 2

Cover the bowl and set it in the fridge until your crust has cooled to room temperature.

Step 3

Add the filling to your room temperature graham cracker crust and smooth into place with a rubber spatula.

To Freeze: Cover your glass pie plate with a lid (or foil if yours doesn’t have a lid) and place in the freezer. Pull out and defrost at least an hour prior to serving.

This pie is seriously yummy! My family has already gone nuts on this one so I guess I’ll be making a second one for Thanksgiving dinner. It’s more like a fluffy pumpkin mousse than that heavy traditional pie which I love but the kiddos loved the flavor even though they also love traditional pumpkin pie. No matter what your preference, this is sure to be a crowd pleaser this Thanksgiving. Now I want to know: What are you pie preferences for the holidays? Do you skip the desserts table at Thanksgiving or do you anxiously await getting your hands on all of those decadent treats? Let me know in the comments!

Yield: 1 Pie

Low Calorie Whipped Pumpkin Pie

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

Crust Ingredients
1 Sleeve of Graham Crackers (9 whole crackers)
1 Stick of Margarine (1/2 cup)
Pie Filling Ingredients
1 8oz Container of Lite Whipped Topping
½ Cup Canned Pumpkin
1 tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

Instructions

Crust: Preheat oven to 350º F.
Melt your stick of butter in a small mixing bowl in 30 second increments in the microwave.
While your butter is melting, put your graham crackers into a re-sealable bag and crush them into crumbs using your hand or a meat tenderizer.
Add your graham cracker crumbs to the mixing bowl of melted butter. Stir until well-combined.
Spray a glass pie plate with non-stick cooking spray and press your graham cracker mixture into it forming a pie crust.
Bake for 10 minutes.
Filling: Combine all of the ingredients above in a mixing bowl until well-incorporated.
Cover the bowl and set it in the fridge until your crust has cooled to room temperature.
Add the filling to your room temperature graham cracker crust and smooth into place with a rubber spatula.

Notes

To Freeze: Cover your glass pie plate with a lid (or foil if yours doesn’t have a lid) and place in the freezer. Pull out and defrost at least an hour prior to serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8 Slices

Serving Size:

1 Slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 152

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