SEATTLE — With a pinch of salt and a dash of nutmeg, Ives Hot baked a batch of her superhero muffins to send to a friend.
She was on day 19 of a project she called "25 days of acts of service and kindness."
Whether it's complimenting a stranger or buying someone coffee, we all know what kindness looks like.
"We all tend to spend a lot of money during this time but you don't need to spend a lot to help someone," said Hot, a fitness instructor based in Seattle. "I had our son write thank you cards for our local fire station and mailmen. He asks a lot of questions mostly, 'why?' but I just want to raise him to be a good person.
That's part of why Hot is doing the project, but this season, she hopes her kindness spreads more than just holiday cheer as she can't help but think of people surviving in warzones worldwide.
"I am a refugee, I came here from Bosnia," Hot said.
Hot and her family fled to the United States during the Bosnian War, which killed more than 100,000 Bosnian Muslims. She was four years old.
"I have two healthy kids, I have a spouse that loves me and I know my family is safe and I get teary when I think about it because that's not true for a lot of people right, especially kids so it's hard not to want to do something nice," said Hot whose not alone.
"I think I've seen it more this year," said Mae Clark, the general manager at Monorail Espresso on Westlake Avenue where Hot bought a stranger coffee as part of her project. "There is recognition of humanity in each other and I think we see that a lot in cafes and it's a really beautiful thing."
That's the message Hot has not just for her own family, but for the city of Seattle.
"Maybe stop looking down at our phones so much I'm guilty of it too and look up make eye contact and have a real conversation with someone," Hot said.