50+ service ideas you can do with your kids
We all know that if you want your kids to be truly happy, they need to stop worrying about themselves and start serving other people. The best way to learn this is in the home as a family. So, I compiled a whole bunch of service ideas that you can do as a family starting right now. Check it out!

Of course, a lot of these ideas can be used outside of the family setting for young women activities, Relief Society activities and primary activity days. But, the whole point is to get kids serving and thinking of other people. Here’s the list!
Service ideas within the home
Here’s some ideas of ways you and your kids can serve each other within the walls of your own home:
- Birthday presents: Each of your kids use their own money and buy presents for each other on their birthdays
- Secret server: Have one child be a secret server each week and secretly perform acts of service for their siblings throughout the week. Then, everyone can guess who it was.
- Special Plate: Each person in the family gets a turn eating Sunday dinner on the “Special Plate”. During dinner, everyone goes around the table and says something nice about that person.
- Restaurant at home: Make a pretend restaurant at home and serve your children a fancy dinner.
- Chore charts: Give your kids a chore chart so they can learn to help their parents keep a clean and organized home.
- Heart notes: Write kind notes to each other on heart paper and hide them throughout the house
- Kindness jar: Place a penny, pom pom or other small object in a jar on the counter every time you see your kids do something nice to each other. Have a party when the jar is full.
- I love you circle: On each person’s birthday, sit in a circle and every takes turns saying two or three things they love about the birthday boy or girl
- Sharing: Always share with your kids. If they want a bite, share. If they want to sit on the good spot on the couch, share with them. Show them how to serve by doing it yourself.
- Teamwork activities: Assign your children chores that require two people and tell them they need to work together to finish the chore.
- Dinnertime Game: Use these fun placemats to gets your kids talking during dinner. Many of the tasks in the game allow everyone to say something nice to someone at the table.
- Prayers: Our family always has people we are praying for. Make it a family affair when you pray together to think of people who are in need.
- Spring cleaning: As a family, clean out all your clothes and toys and find items that can be donated to charity.

Serving during special occasions
During specific holidays and times of year, there are a lot of opportunities for families to really help other people. Here are some ideas:
- Dinner for neighbors: Ask around and find out who may be sick, recently had a baby or struggling with something. Make dinner as a family and deliver it.
- Heart Attack: Write encouraging notes on paper hearts and tape them on the door of someone who could use it.
- Birthday present donations: Encourage guests to bring a can of food or monetary donations that will be given to a local charity instead of your child receiving gifts.
- Sub for Santa: Have your kids do some chores to earn money and then go to the store and buy Christmas gifts for a family who could use it.
- Birthday song: Record a video of your family singing “Happy Birthday” and then send that video to friends and family on their birthdays
- Giving Machines: During Christmas time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides Giving Machines all over the world where you can donate money to provide clean water, goats, meals, toys and other items to people all over the world.
- Babysitting: Volunteer your kids to help babysit while a young mom relaxes.
- Mother’s and Father’s Day: Ensure that dad helps all the kids get presents for mom on Mother’s day and vice versa.
- Easter: Leave an Easter basket on your friend or neighbor’s porch filled with encouraging messages of love and friendship
- You’ve Been Booe’d: Leave a basket of Halloween goodies on your neighbor’s porch with a note encouraging them to do the same until everyone in your neighborhood has felt the love.
- Summertime outdoor movie party: Project a movie in your front yard and invite the whole neighborhood. It helps everyone get to know each other and become friends.
- Teacher thank you gifts: During teach appreciation week, have your kids make their own basket of goodies to give their teacher.
- Birthday Surprise: Find out when your neighbor’s birthday is and surprise them with a cake on their birthday!
- Valentine’s Day: Have each of your kids make or write a nice note to each person in the family.
- Thanksgiving Gratitude: Write down why you are grateful for each person in the family and read them aloud during Thanksgiving dinner.
- Vacation stuffed animals: If you’re visiting a third world country, you can collect toys, stuffed animals, clothes and other supplies to give away to families or organizations in need
- Foreign exchange student: Our family hosted a teenage boy from Spain for one month in the summer. We took him everywhere and treated him like one of the family. Being a host family helps kids to look outside themselves to make that person feel welcome.

Serving in the community
- Food pantry: Host a neighborhood food drive and collect food from your neighbors and deliver it to the food pantry
- Community service project: Talk with your local city manager to see if there are any service projects that need to be done.
- Scouts: Sign your kids up for your local scout troop. They are super big on service.
- Cupcake fundraiser: Go door-to-door selling cupcakes and donate the proceeds to the local children’s hospital
- Car Wash fundraiser: Host a car wash fundraiser and donate the money to an organization.
- Yard Sale Fundraiser: Gather items from all of your neighbors and host a yard sale. Give all of the proceeds to a neighbor who has medical bills or is struggling.
- Just Serve.org: This is an awesome website where you can find volunteer opportunities in your area.
- Candy striper: Volunteer at a local hospital as a family
- 5k fun run: Sign up for a fun run as a family that donates all of the proceeds to a good cause
- Backpacks for kids: Many organizations accept food donations to give to students on the weekend who otherwise wouldn’t have food at home.

Random acts of service
- Lemonade stand: Give a big tip to some kids holding a lemonade stand
- Fast food drive in: Pay for the order of the person behind your in the drive thru
- Jesus Loves You Figurines: Leave these adorable figurines in random places around town for unexpected passerbys to find
- No soliciting signs: I have a sign on my door that says, “No soliciting, but don’t forget Jesus loves you”. Most of the time, I get a smile on my Ring doorbell from solicitors.
- Secret Door Dash: Surprise a friend, family member or stranger with a delicious surprise from Door Dash
- Homeless person: Buy lunch for a homeless person
- Tip your waiter: Give an extra big tip to your waiter
- Money stash: Hide $5 bills around Walmart with your kids
- Garden produce: Take your extra garden produce around to your neighbors
- Piano recital: Organize a small recital at an assisted living center to play for the residents
- Garbage clean up: Pick up garbage with your kids the next time your visit a park
- Spring Cleaning: Tell your kids to pick with clothes, shoes and toys they want to give away to charity.
- Shoveling: Hop in the truck and drive around looking for driveways to shovel in the winter

I hope these service ideas gets you excited to start serving with your kids. Let me know if you have any other fun service ideas in the comments below.
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