The 12 Days of Christmas with a meaning

Rebecca sent me over this link from "The Crafting Chicks" on this great

idea about the 12 days of Christmas. And you know me, I just LOVE stuff like this!

So I ask you to read through it, put your own little twist on it and start a tradition of meaning this year and get started! Check out their blog for a bunch more great ideas. 

Thanks Rebecca for sharing this link!

12 Days of Christmas Ideas

 

One of my favorite things to do during the holiday season is the 12 Days of Christmas.  For as long as I can remember, my mom has been making up fun little packages of 12 Days gifts for widows or widowers.  She would drive up to 40 miles to deliver these packages, most the time not even knowing the person who was recieiving them, just finding out that they needed Christmas cheer.

We have kind of done this on and off for a few years, but decided to pick this up last year as a family and delivered one bag full of fun gifts to a single lady who doesn’t have family near.  It was so exciting to drop the bag off and run and just know that she was going to have a fun surprise awaiting her each night til Christmas.  This year we are going to deliever to her again and two other elderly couples in our neighborhood.  We can’t wait.  It is such a great thing to teach my young daughters that the real joy in Christmas comes from giving and not receiving.
So here is how you can do the 12 Days of Christmas.

Gather 12 gifts for each person.  Some ideas are:

• Holiday hand towels
• Small box of chocolates
• Holiday note paper
• Holiday pen
• Holiday mug with hot chocolate
• Small holiday decor
• Christmas story
• A holiday place-mat
• Small nativity (Nik’s block nativity would be SO fun)
• Candle
• Ornament
• Snow globe

Basically, I go to the dollar store and find anything that I could use.  Target also has a fantastic dollar section where I found most of these things.  I also will buy some things after Christmas and place them in my Christmas totes to store them for next year.  Then I am ahead of the game with at least a few items.   You will also want to buy a large Christmas bag to place all the presents in. 

Next you will want to wrap your presents.  Make sure you know who is getting what if you are doing more than one person, so that you don’t duplicate presents to someone. 

My mom has written some fun rhymes for each day.  She said that I can share these with you.  It is a Word document and you can make a fun tag with them or do whatever works for you.  Place these on each present and place them all in your sack. 

Take the presents to the lucky recipient, ring the bell and run!  You will be surprised at how exciting and happy you feel!

Now, this isn’t just for people you don’t know.  You could also do a fun 12 Days for your kiddos, your hubby (I’m sure those husbands need a reminder of how much we love and appreciate them), parents, grandparents.  You wouldn’t have to do these in secret.  Just hide the presents somewhere you know they would find them, like in the car for your husband, in your kids dresser.  You could have a lot of fun with this. 

I hope this helps you feel the spirit of giving this season.  Let us know how you go about teaching your kids about service during this season.  We <3 to hear your ideas!!

Merry Christmas!

Becky