12 Ways to Bring the Spirit of Christ into Christmas

by Lara Goold


1.  Plan your own 12 days of Christmas service for a neighbor or someone who could use a little TLC  (click here for some ideas)

2.  Make this Christmas Scripture Advent Calendar.  Even if it's past December 1st, you can make it today and pick up wherever you're at. 

3.  Christmas in Bethlehem dinner (we usually do it right after Christmas when life has calmed down a bit)

4.  Service chain--Instead of a countdown to Christmas chain, make a service chain out of strips of paper and a stapler.  Family members add a link every time they perform an act of service for someone.  We like to make a goal to have the chain reach a certain length and then we will go on a fun family outing together.

5.  Print off these Christmas Eve devotional books (that include songs, scriptures, and pictures) and spend about half-hour on Christmas Eve singing and reading the scriptures together

6.  Instead of gingerbread houses, make a graham cracker and candy creche scene with graham crackers, candy, royal icing, and toothpicks.

7.  Year by year drawings--Each year have your children draw a Nativity scene, then have them date and sign them and keep them in a binder as a scrapbook.  It will be fun each Christmas  to look back at the progression of their scenes.

8.  Watch inspiring videos and musical performances--if not in person, then on the internet.
Here's one of our favorites this year.  We also like this one and  this one.  


9.  Using supplies and toys you can find around your house, have everyone create their own nativity.  Here's the one my daughter made from Lincoln Logs and her dolls.  Next we are going to try this gorgeous nativity art project. 

10.  Go to the library and check out a variety of meaningful Christmas books and read one each day in December.   (this one, this one , and this one are a couple of our favorites and here is a link to my Christmas picture book review)

11.  If you live near one, visit your temple visitors' center's Christmas displays and performances.

12.  Invite the missionaries to your home to share a Christmas message.  Even better...invite a friend too!

12 Days of Christmas Gift Ideas for Families

One of our family's favorite Christmas traditions is surprising a friend or neighbor with  12-days of Christmas fun!   We've been doing it now for several years and my kids won't let us go through a Christmas season anymore without it.  When a friend recently mentioned wanting to start the tradition in her family and not really knowing where to begin, I thought I would compile some of the things we've learned over the last few years and share it with all of you. 

Choosing your recipient.   We take this step pretty seriously and have each member of the family give their input a couple of weeks beforehand.  We then pray about the names and decide who will be the recipient.  We don't  choose who we think is the neediest, but usually someone who is new or we feel could use a little pick-me-up or TLC.   After a family has been chosen, we try to do a little reconnaissance to make sure they're going to be in town through Christmas Eve.   This could also be fun to do for your own family. 

 Planning. After we decide who we're going to surprise, we sit down in a family meeting and plan each day's gifts out , marking it on the calendar what we're going to do.  It's helpful if the parents have done a little pre-planning and have some ideas to suggest, as well as having a budget in mind.  After you've decided what you want to do, I highly recommend purchasing everything in advance, so that you're not stuck at 7:00pm on some crazy night right before Christmas with nothing to give.   

Notes.  We usually write silly little poems to go with each night, but it isn't necessary at all.  Each delivery could simply have a note that reads, "On the seventh night of Christmas, the elf brought to you seven...."  or you could print off these cute printable tags that I found.

Packaging:  We package everything up in cheap gift bags or inexpensive baskets (from the dollar store), but you could wrap everything up in wrapping paper too. 

Delivery.  After all that prep work is when it's time for the real fun to begin!  We usually begin delivering on December 13, so that we'll finish up on Christmas Eve.  Our kids really enjoy leaving the gift on the doorstep, ringing the doorbell, and running to our car which I've parked just out of sight.  But you could also do blocked phone calls (by dialing *67 before the phone number) with the message that their package has been delivered.  My kids enjoy the running too much and would throw a fit if we ever tried that though!   We do try to vary the times of our deliveries, to minimize the chance of being caught, but my older kids have gotten brazen and will sometimes hide in the bushes to watch them open the door. 

Finishing up.  To reveal yourself or not?   We usually opt not to, because that's our personality, but it's up to the individual family whether you want them to  know who you are or not. 

It never fails to be a great experience for our family and we love imagining their excitement and anticipation each night for our deliveries.

So what do you give each night? 

I've compiled two versions of ideas...a deluxe version and a more economical version.  Both lists would be best suited for families with children.  You could mix and match between the two lists or add in any of your own ideas.  One thing to keep in mind, is that the lists are very flexible and you could move items around depending on how many people they have in their family or how many of a certain item you can easily find. 


Deluxe Version  Approximate Cost:  ~$125

1-a fun Christmas movie (perhaps this one,  this one, or this family favorite)
2-children's Christmas picture books (board books are cheaper--we like  this one  or   this one )
3-things for dinner (a soup mix, bread, and a bottle of sparkling cider)
4-different kinds of flavored hot chocolate mix + marshmallows
5-blossomed poinsettia plant  (this is an easy one to move around to a different day)
6-pairs of fuzzy socks (or these ones) for however many people they have in their family--check the dollar store
7- a goody plate with 7 different treats
8-sheets of Christmas Stickers
9-Christmas Cookie Cutters (+ a roll of sugar cookie dough + frosting + sprinkles)
10-Christmas ornaments (I like this set:  10-piece Olive Wood Nativity Ornament Set)
11-oranges + Christmas Orange story  (printed from here or  this gorgeous book version)
12-candy canes + the beautiful children's book, The Legend of the Candy Cane: The Inspirational Story of Our Favorite Christmas Candy  (the board book is cheaper)


Less Expensive Version  Approximate cost:  <$50

1-chocolate orange (to share) + printed Christmas Orange story
2-Christmas coloring books (and a box of crayons) (this one and  this one are cute)
3-things for dinner (a soup mix, bread, and a bottle of sparkling cider)
4- packets of flavored hot chocolate mix + marshmallows
5-blossomed poinsettia plant
6- Christmas cookie cutters + sugar cookie dough + frosting
7-homemade ornaments (or inexpensive 7-piece Nativity set from the Dollar Store)
8-Candy bar note with 8 different candy bars (use hot glue or clear packing tape to attach to a cardboard or poster board)  See this post or this post or this post for some fun ideas for writing the note
9-muffins for a yummy breakfast (along with 9 funny Christmas jokes to tell at breakfast)
10-oranges (with a reminder about Christmas orange story from 1st day)
11-a goody plate with 11 treats
12-a cd you've burned with your 12 favorite Christmas songs

 

Here are some other items you could also use:

*Christmas/New Year party in a box (party poppers, Martinelli's,photo booth props ,light-up necklaces, noisemakers, etc)

*Chocolate Oranges

* Holiday Stampers

*   Christmas Fun Mad Libs

* Nativity Stained  Glass Coloring Book

* Handmade Felt Nativity

HAVE FUN!!!!

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