A grandmother who received the 'Gift of Giving' last Christmas from her teenage grandson 'pays it forward' with three random acts of kindness.

Stuck for a Christmas gift idea for his grandmother last year, 15-year-old Nick Farrell had a brainstorm after watching the movie Pay It Forward.

Rather than buy her a "thing" that might collect dust or wear out, he wanted to give her something more enduring -- like the "feeling of giving," he said. "I thought that was pretty cool."

So Nick decided to give his grandmother, Cynthia Smith, a Pay-It-Forward gift – a $100 bill with suggestions on what to do with it.

‘Gift of Giving’ the Greatest Gift

On Christmas morning, Mrs. Smith unwrapped a series of boxes with the cash tucked inside the last box -- money Nick made mowing lawns. There was also a written note, entitled “The Gift of Giving.”

“Nick’s note read, ‘Please pick your moment and give someone a small spontaneous gift of kindness. How you feel about what you’ve done is your gift from me,’” says Mrs. Smith.

That brought "Granny Smith" to tears, she said.

“I have to say, it was the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received for Christmas or any time,” said Mrs. Smith, in an interview with her grandson on October 25, 2007, in Delray Beach, Florida. “The gift kept giving back to me that wonderful spirit of Christmas throughout the year.”

How the Smiths Paid It Forward

Over the next five months, Mrs. Smith and her husband, Ed, gave a lot of thought as to how to pay their Christmas gift forward and ended up giving away the $100 on three separate occasions.

The first gift was $35 worth of notebooks, crayons, paper and hard candy they sent to a Marine stationed in Baghdad who needed help assembling school supplies for some Iraqi children. The second gift was a 50-pound bag of rice sent to a poor village in Africa.

The final 'random act of kindness' went to an elderly gentleman who always bagged Mrs. Smith's groceries, in the form of a $30 tip. "He was so grateful, he told me he wanted to buy flowers for his wife," Mrs. Smith said.

"Now that's Paying It Forward, isn't it? The giving just keeps going."

Other Pay-It-Forward Christmas Gift Ideas

Mrs. Smith said Nick's Christmas note included a whole host of suggestions for different kinds of random acts of kindness -- including:

• Pay for lunch for a stranger(s)

• Tape money to a vending machine

• Pay the electric bill of someone standing in line to pay it at City Hall

• Buy stuffed animals and pass them out to sick kids in pediatrics or cancer wing of a local hospital

• Buy a cup of coffee or breakfast for a family or person

• Pay for someone's lunch in the drive-thru..

• Leave a $20 tip for an $8 dollar meal

• Buy a movie pass for two and give it to friends who could use a night out

• Find articles in the paper about people that are making a difference in your community - and do something nice for them

• Send someone a ticket to a lecture or course that he/she will enjoy

• Send someone a tape or CD of music they will enjoy

• Pay a highway toll for the person behind you

• Send money to someone who is experiencing financial difficulties

• Give a poor single Mom a Toys R Us giftcard

The Gift of Giving Continues

The Smiths said they were so swept up by the "giving" idea, they plan to give someone a Pay It Forward gift this Christmas. "Nick may have started a whole new tradition in our family," Mrs. Smith said.