What Should I Give Up for Lent

How it works

Not sure what to give up this year? Press the button for one of 59 ideas, from chocolate to complaining, each with a way to keep it for all 40 days.

Read the full guide

Give up something you will notice

After your first press, the list beside the button narrows the draw: Food and drink, Phone and screens, Habits and words, or Comforts and spending. Pick something you reach for every day, so each time you go without it becomes a reminder.

Or take something up

Take something up holds 12 ideas to add instead, such as praying every morning or giving away what you save. Many people do one of each: give up takeout coffee and put the money toward charity.

Tips

Tell one person what you chose. It is easier to keep a promise someone else knows about.

Questions and answers

What are good things to give up for Lent?

Something small you reach for daily works best: chocolate, soda, social media, snoozing, complaining or takeout coffee. It should cost you a little every day, and it should not be something your doctor or diet already rules out.

How long is Lent?

Forty days. In Western churches it begins on Ash Wednesday and runs to Easter; the calendar span is 46 days, because the six Sundays are not counted.

Can I give up something that is not food?

Yes. Many people give up a habit, such as gossip, or screen time, such as one app. Others add something instead, like a daily prayer, a weekly visit or giving to charity.

All 59 ideas

Food and drink 14

Chocolate Small enough to keep, and you notice it every time the craving comes.
Coffee Or cut to one cup a day if none at all is too much.
Eating after dinner The kitchen closes when the dishes are done.
Eating out Home cooking for 40 days, with the savings set aside for charity.
Energy drinks Get the lift from an earlier bedtime instead.
Fast food Cook at home and give what you would have spent.
Meat on Fridays An old Lenten custom in many churches; fish often takes its place.
Salty snacks Chips, pretzels and crackers stay in the store.
Second helpings One plate at every meal.
Snacking between meals Three meals a day and nothing in between.
Soda Swap it for water or sparkling water at every meal.
Sugar in coffee or tea Drink it plain until Easter.
Sweets and desserts Cake, cookies and candy, saved for Easter morning.
Takeout coffee Make it at home and put the savings in a jar for charity.

Show all 59 ideas (45 more)

Phone and screens 13

Background noise No TV or radio on just for company; sit with the quiet.
Binge-watching One episode a night, then turn it off.
Checking the news all day Read or watch it once a day, at a set time.
Headphones on walks Listen to the world around you instead.
Music in the car Drive in quiet and use the time to pray or think.
The one app you open most Check your phone’s screen time report and give up the top app.
Online shopping browsing Stay off shopping sites unless you need something specific.
Scrolling first thing in the morning Pray, stretch or make breakfast before you pick up the phone.
Social media Delete the apps from your phone for the season, or keep one day a week.
TV on weeknights Save shows for the weekend and use the evenings for something else.
Video games on weekdays Play on Saturday only.
Your phone at meals Phones stay off the table, for you and anyone who joins.
Your phone in bed Charge it in another room and use a plain alarm clock.

Habits and words 12

A grudge Forgive one person this Lent, even if you never tell them.
Arguing to win Let someone else have the last word.
Complaining Every time you catch yourself, name one thing you are grateful for.
Gossip If the person is not in the room, change the subject.
Hitting snooze Get up at the first alarm and use the extra minutes to pray.
Interrupting Let people finish before you speak.
Judging how others look When the thought comes, say a short prayer for that person instead.
Putting off one task Pick the job you keep avoiding and do a little of it every day.
Running late Leave ten minutes early for everything, all season.
Sarcasm Say what you mean, kindly.
Swearing Put a coin in a jar for every slip and give the jar away at Easter.
Talking down to yourself Speak to yourself the way you would to a friend.

Comforts and spending 8

Buying things you do not need Only necessities until Easter, and give the difference away.
Driving short trips Walk or bike when the errand is close.
The elevator Take the stairs wherever you can.
Impulse buys at the checkout Stick to the list, every trip.
Long hot showers Short showers, as a small daily reminder of the season.
New clothes Wear what you have, and give away what you never wear.
Sleeping in on weekends Get up at your weekday time and start the day slowly.
Your favorite treat purchase The thing you buy yourself each week, paused until Easter.

Take something up 12

Call a family member each Sunday Someone you do not talk to often enough.
Donate clothes you never wear One bag a week to a shelter or charity shop.
Give what you save Almsgiving is one of the three pillars of Lent, with prayer and fasting.
Go to a weekday service Add one to your week, on top of Sunday.
Keep a gratitude journal Three things every night before bed.
Pray every morning A few minutes before the day starts, every day of Lent.
Pray the Stations of the Cross A Lenten devotion many churches hold on Fridays.
Read a daily devotional A short reading for each day of the season.
Read one Gospel through A chapter a day; Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
Visit someone who is lonely A neighbor, a grandparent or someone in a care home.
Volunteer once a week A food bank, a shelter or your parish.
Write a thank-you note each week Six weeks, six people who never got thanked properly.

How this list was compiled: Own list of 59 ideas, written 2026-09-24, in five groups: four kinds of thing to give up and one of things to take up. Facts checked that day at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent: Lent lasts 40 days (46 counting its six Sundays), a Lenten sacrifice is giving up a personal pleasure for the season, many add a discipline such as a daily devotional, prayer, fasting and almsgiving are its three pillars, Stations of the Cross are held especially on Fridays, and giving up meat on Fridays, often for fish, is in the ELCA handbook quoted there. No health or diet claims. Licence: own work