A voucher for a sibling.
And one for a cousin only seen a few times a year - the writer commits to email him a funny meme every month.
Here's a short, simple activity that lends itself to Christmas, or to any time of year when gifts are exchanged. It would work for a Mindfulness Group or a Friendship Circle too. If you simplified the activity - using largely pre-printed vouchers - even emergent writers could have a go.
Preparation: cut slips of (preferably) coloured paper or thin card. Provide felt tips/gel pens/stickers/stamps/stencils for decoration.
Session: ask the children to think of someone who's been extra-kind to them this year. It can be a member of their family, a friend, someone in school or someone in the community. Then remind them that there are lots of ways we can give a thank you gift: we can go to a shop and buy something, we can make something at home, or we can promise our time. Tell them they are going to brainstorm ways they can give their time.
Write some examples up on the board to start them off. For instance, they could wash up for a week, clean out the pet's cage, sort out their toys, walk the dog, or read a story to a younger sibling. Let the group chat about their ideas, then share them.
The pupils can then spend a happy half hour writing out the text for their voucher and decorating the other side.
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I should add, it was our last session of the year. As I ushered them out of the classroom I said to them, 'Well, I might see some of you back next term,' and I heard a boy turn to his friend and go, 'You bet!'
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