We stopped into our local caravan coffee shop at the town basin on Saturday for one of their delicious coffees. I have a crazy weird obsession with takeaway coffees. Drives Matt insane. Heading into town “Should we get a coffee?”. Going away for the weekend “Should we pick up a coffee?”. Sunday “Should we go and get a coffee?”. Want to make me happy – take away coffee!

So anyway. They were selling these little doggie bags for $2 with poo bags and treats. I had a $10 note, so I picked up five of the gems. I kept one bag for Charlie and the other four I gave out to other people enjoying the sunshine with their furry friends. All were received so welcomely with, you guessed it, smiles!

So, Jayla and I got thinking. Jayla is Matts 14-year-old daughter who has the purest heart and loves animals even more than I do.

After a visit to Arthurs Emporium and the Parua Bay Four Square we got to creating our own version of these gorgeous bags.

We created dog biscuits with a delicious blend of all dog friendly ingredients, Charlie gave them the seal of approval – she did have to try them a few times to make sure they were just right. These along with some bacon strips, Tux treats and a poo bag. A couple of sweets for the owners and a happy message we decided to get out and spread the love.

We set out on our walk with 36 bags of goodies and with the help of our friends Jade, Tilly, and Lexi we only came home with three. 33 happy pooches and confused owners.

It very much highlighted how much faith we have lost in humanity. People don’t do nice things without a reason. Right? Every person we approached looked confused to begin with, you could see they were waiting for the catch and when there wasn’t one a smile! Which made it all worth it. Only one man brushed us off very quickly and would not accept the treats – I can only assume he thought that we were trying to sell something or talk about religion. We were not. A little pat maybe? But that was all (of their dog.. not of us).

This exercise cost us no more than $30 and a little bit of time and I hope managed to restore a little bit of trust back into these people’s lives. And if not, I hope your dogs enjoyed the treats!

Maybe their will be an on flow effect? Maybe now they will think about putting a smile on someone else’s face today? In a world where smiles are diming, and uncertainty is flourishing, why not give a smile? Why not brighten someone’s day? It can be as simple as an outfit compliment, making them a coffee at work, offering help when clearly needed. I guarantee you are not going to feel worse off for it.

Me and four of my, equally beautifully bizarre, family members started a group chat a few months ago now that consists of daily challenges that each person in the group has to do during that day. Some of them weird, some of them whacky, most of them wonderful. It has not only served as a ‘keeping up the communication’ tool but also a guaranteed smile each and every day. I recommend you start a group – it doesn’t need to be with family, it can be friends, work colleagues, your dog (although I think you’ll be doing all the work in this one).

Above the challenges and the smiles though one of the best parts is just keeping in touch. We share more with each other than we normally would – recipes, home renos, weekend plans! We learn more – things that make them tick, what they love, we all drink too much! We are there for each other when things are shit – because life! It comes with a multitude of awesome you won’t regret.

Here are some examples of what we have done that may help start you off:

• Tell one thing that made you smile
• Something nice you did for yourself
• 3 things you like about yourself
• Take a picture of yourself with something you love
• Your funniest joke
• Draw a self-portrait blindfolded
• What made your day
• If you were a superhero what would your superpower be
• Film yourself reciting a short poem
• Draw some Kiwiana
• As soon as you get up do 5 mins of stretching then plank for as long as you can – share your time
• Walk on grass or sand in bare feet
• Recommend a good book, movie or tv series
• Make a paper plane – measure how far you can throw it
• Film a video of you singing the chorus of a song with water in your mouth – the others must guess the song
• Take a photo of something you are grateful for
• Take a close photo of something random and the others have to guess what it is
• Your favourite song of all time
• What is a hobby you want to do or get back in to doing
• Take a picture of something good in your day
• Guess the line from a movie

My favourite one to date:

• Each group member issued with a chorus of bohemian rhapsody + video chat + each singing our own verse to complete the whole song + alcohol = Hilarious

I think you get the picture. Has brought us so many laughs and so many side-lined conversations.

The cost of a smile, nothing. Don’t believe me? Give it a try. I would love to know how you get on.

Ciao for now x