Pay-It-Forward Ice Cream Coupons

--by cabbage, posted Nov 24, 2008

A long while back, my son and I were having ice-cream at a Baskin Robbins near our home and we decided to "pay it forward" by anonymously treating a dad and his kids to ice-cream. We left the store before they knew what was going to happen and my son and I smiled to ourselves as we walked home.

Well, the other night, as I was reading Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle", a coupon for a free of pint of Baskin Robbins ice cream fell out of the library book! Talk about what goes around, comes around. I didn't say a word to anyone at home, and went about my daily errands. That day, my son had been particularly helpful (doing things without being asked), so I decided to surprise him with his favorite flavor of ice-cream. Now, ice-cream is not normally found in our freezer so this is a really special treat!

As I told my son this, I was the one who got even bigger surprise. He ran inside and got a coupon he had received from a school fair (for a free ice-cream cone at a local store). He had been saving it for months to use on a special occasion, but now that I was going to treat him today, he decided (by himself) to pay forward his coupon. He went and put it in one of his library books along with a Smile Card!

Some kid (or a mother) is going to be surprised, just like we were. :)

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Posted by cabbage
Nov 24, 2008
Comments (14)

Readers Comments

spoonerism wrote: Yay, such a great sequence of events! :-) i dont know if we have ice cream coupons in the uk, but i'm going to find out! Love the idea of hiding them in library books! Love from london

Sydney wrote: What a lovely story. Brought a big smile to my face.

Mike wrote: What impresses me more than anything else about children is their innate desire to give to others. It's too bad we rid them of this natural inclination. Thanks for encouraging it and sharing this nice story :)

Smitha wrote: Pay it forward, spread kindness- such a wonderful feeling gives. Its so easy to be happy and to make a stranger smile. Have a smile filled day.

harleyrob wrote: You should hit up baskin-robbins to help you pay it forward by donating one (1) coupon a month. Then you could randomly place one in another book. Nothing ventured nothing gained right? Hr.

irongrace wrote: This is really "cool" thanks for sharing

mermangel wrote: What a wonderful idea! Myt kids and i are always trying to think of simple truly anonymous acts of kindness. We visit two local libraries on a regular basis. Putting coupons for free goodies and a smile card in a random book is brilliant!

Dr Abdul Hayee Khoso Baloch wrote: Do a act daily who brings a smile on the face of others is a teaching of many religions. It is great to bring smiles in such a simple way.

makesomeonesmile wrote: That is wonderful. Thanks for teaching your son such an important lesson about kindness. Our world will be better if more kids learn like him. Thanks for caring!

cassiemeadows wrote: thats so great! good work having such a kind son. its brilliant knowing there are people in the world like that. Great work. have a good day! xx Cassie

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