Disclaimer: This post has been sponsored by Basic Invite. All opinions are my own.

We have almost reached the first holiday in the season of giving. Halloween is quickly approaching, and soon after the other fall/winter holidays will fall in line. This time of year is such a cheer-y one, and it's important for all of us to help spread that love and cheer. So, today on the blog, I have teamed up with the lovelies at Basic Invite to discuss how you can spread some holiday cheer this year.

Basic Invite is an amazing website with hundreds of Christmas and holiday cards. Basic Invite is even offering 30% off all their holiday cheer right now with the code: HOLI30! If you are in need of holiday cards Basic Invite has your back.

We will chat more about them later though, for now, let's chat about more ways to spread holiday joy!

1. Volunteer your Time

There are so many worthy causes that you can spend some time with this year. It doesn't take a lot of time, but just a few hours this winter could really make a difference.

• Volunteer at a soup kitchen. Servers are definitely always needed, and if you can rally people in your life to make a big time or food donation with you, that would be even cooler!
• Spend some time at an animal shelter. Dogs and cats also need some Christmas cheer! Spend a bit of time with a puppy and help them have some fun this holiday.
• Sing songs and hang out with people at nursing homes. This one is so so so important. Being in a nursing home can be really lonely at times, especially during the holiday season. Go spread some love and volunteer there, meet the sweetest people, and listen to all their stories.
  • Do the same at a children's hospital! Children get lonely around the holidays too, especially at bigger hospitals where they may be away from their family for treatment.

2. Donate To A Worthy Cause

There are SO many worthy holiday causes!

At my bank they usually have a tree up with all the neighborhood children who can't afford to have a great Christmas. You can go, sponsor a child, and get them all sorts of fun goodies, wrap them, then deliver them back to the bank for them to deliver the presents. I am sure that your bank or somewhere in your town has a similar program.

If you can't find that program in your town, I also love Operation Christmas Child. I did this a few times in college, and it's an easy thing to do. You get a fun Operation Christmas Child shoe box, fill it with necessities like toothbrushes (but not tooth paste), bar soap, combs/brushes, clothes, wash cloths, stuffed animals, etc. You can fill the box as much as you'd like, and be sure to include a personal note along with it! Here are their suggestions for what to include in the box.

These are my two favorite ways, but there are SO many worthy causes to donate to during the holidays. It's all about seeking out the right ways to donate so that people are positively affected.

3. Give A Gift To Someone You Wouldn't Think To

We obviously think of members of our family and close friends, but your gift giving doesn't have to stop there. Here are some people you may also want to give gifts to:

• Your Mailman: You have to be careful about this, because your mailman won't be able to accept just any gifts. They need to be worth less than $20, and they can't just be straight cash. There are many regulations that you can look up if you search for giving a present to your mailman.
• Your Adviser or Professor: You may need to check in with your college on this one, but you might be able to swing getting a professor or adviser a gift (or at least some cute Christmas cards.)
• Your Roommate: Even if you aren't super close with your roommate, it's worth getting them a little something, even if it's a $10 gift card to their favorite coffee place. It's always the thought that counts.

Pay It Forward

There are so many gifts that probably wouldn't be classified as straight up gifts. Like:

• Paying for the coffee of the person behind you in line.
• Bringing food a friend while they are studying for finals.
• Donate your frequent flyer miles to charity if you have any.

There are so many quick and interesting ways that you can make a difference in someone else's life this holiday season.

4. Leave inspirational messages To People

An inspirational message can lift you up for the rest of the day. There are many ways that you can do this:

• Shower people in compliments. Each time you think of something nice to say to someone, make sure that you actually say it to them. Do you see someone in the mall and love their hair? Make sure you let them know that! When you take the small time to let people know, it will be such a great feeling for that person. I know how much compliments positively effect me, and they can do the same for others.
• Type out some random inspiration and leave it places. Go to Google or Pinterest and look up inspirational phrases and quotes. Type all of those out on a sheet of paper, cut them out, and leave them in random places on campus and in your town. When people find them, it's bound to brighten their day. Make sure you leave the notes in a place people are likely to find.

These inspirational messages can make the day of the people on the other end of them, so speak happiness into other people's lives!

5. Customize & Send Holiday Cards With Basic Invite

Last, but certainly not least, get some cute Christmas cards from Basic Invite to send to people! Basic Invite is an awesome company with a ton of different design options for your cute holiday cards. Here are some things that set Basic Invite a part from the rest:

• Custom Samples: Sometimes it's hard to imagine exactly how something will look printed. Basic Invite allows you to order custom samples before everything is printed, that way you can make changes or order as you wish.
• Almost Unlimited Colors: I mean the customization of a card is pretty fantastic. There were SO many colors when I went to design my test image for this blog post. In fact, there are over 180 and you can add color to every element that you add. So, if you add text, some snow, some fronds, etc. you can make them all different colors, or the same for a cohesive look. Since you can change the colors for each element, you can create some amazing and unique holiday cards with Basic Invite.
• All The Envelope Colors: On top of amazing colors in your design, you can also have amazing colors in your envelopes. In fact, Basic Invite has over 40 different envelope colors making everything all so awesome!
• Address Capturing Service: No one likes to gather all the addresses during the holidays. Basic Invite has a service that allows you to send a link wherever be it email, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. that captures all your friends and families mailing address. Then Basic Invite will print that information on envelopes for you along with your return address. Then, when you get them in the mail all you have to do is place a stamp on them and send the cards on their merry way.

With all of these awesome perks, it's no wonder Basic Invite is the perfect place to create cute holiday cards! Check out just a few of the holiday cards you can send:

College Student Holiday Card Ideas

• If you have a pet, dress them up in holiday gear for your holiday card. Pets are always welcome on my fridge (and the fridge of most people!)
• Five words. Ugly Christmas Sweater Holiday Card. Find the ugliest Christmas sweater you can find, and use that for your holiday card.
• Mean Girls Style Holiday Cards: Yes, slay, jingle bell rock! Although, you may want to wear longer clothes if you are sending this to your family.
• Library Christmas Cards. You know, to remind your family and friends that you are spending at least a little bit of time in the library.

As you can see, even college students can create holiday cards to be merry and bright!

Who To give/Send Holiday Cards To

You may be wondering, who would I send cards to if I got them? Well, I got you covered:

• Family
• Friends
• Hall mates in your residence hall
• Neighbors in your apartment
• Military personnel
• Children in the hospital
• Elderly people in nursing homes
• Professors

I mean, the list can go on and on. You never know how much a simple, sweet card can impact someone during the holiday season.

Conclusion

We are in the season of giving, y'all! Don't be afraid to get in the holiday spirit! There are so many worthwhile causes out there that you can gravitate toward to spread some holiday cheer. Basic Invite is a great way to create cute holiday cards to go along with all your holiday gift giving. Don't forget, that if you use the code HOLI30 you will get 30% off all holiday cards!