Some of you have been asking me about our families 12 days of Christmas tradition. So here you go!
First off...select a special family with children. Our family selects a family together and we all help out with gifts and drop offs.
Next, purchase all of your special gifts, get them all lined up and ready to go. I am telling you right now, don't put any of this off, time is very limited in the month of December and it is best to have this all done up in advance and ready to go. I line them all up in order in my spare room so each day we can just grab one and go.
Type up all of the the poems on your gift tags.
On December 13th the fun begins! Every day/night up until December 24th you and your family will sneak over to the front porch of your special family's home and drop off a gift a day!
The reason I start this on the 13th and end it on the 24th is that I am so busy Christmas morning with our big family Christmas breakfast, and it is hard to break away and make that last delivery. So the start up date and ending date is kind of up to you. We started this when my children were very small and it has been such a blessing. We have so many funny stories over the years of sneaking up to friends homes and doing this with out being caught. I will tell you right now, this is easy in the beginning, but as time goes on, the kids are on to you and will even set traps to try and catch you in the act of leaving their gifts. Here are all the daily poems you will need to attach to each gift. ~enjoy!
The note attached to gift is:
On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
a Partridge in a pear tree.
This gift is not the partridge,
But rather the pears from the tree,
Given with LOVE from all of us
To all of ye!
Day 2.) The gift is a bag of Dove candy bars. I bought the mini bagand put it into a pretty little gift bag.
The note attached to gift is:
On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
two turtle doves....
Turtle doves we do not know,
So chocolate Dove bars are the way to go,
Enjoy the PEACE that doves of all kinds bring,
Amidst the rush of the Christmas swing!
Day 3.) The gift is home made cookies. I put these in a really pretty
Christmas tin.
The note attached to gift is:
On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...
Three french hens....
Since chickens three we couldn't send,
We wrote our own disjointed end,
And used their eggs for a surprise in store,
For those who open their front door!
Day 4.) A bag of bird seed. I found these really cute Christmas felt bags filled them up with bird seed! I thought they were really cute!The note attached to gift is:
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
Four calling birds....
For birds that are a bit in need,
We offer them a bit of seed.
Day 5.) On this day we buy each one of the children
a special gift wrapped and marked with their
names on them along with the poem.
The note attached to gift is:
On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me....
Five golden rings....
Gold is scarce and rings make us dizzy,
And we know you are excited and busy,
While Andrew,Alison, and Elliot are happily hopin'
Here's early presents for them to open!
Day 6.) Children's silly joke book
The note attached to gift is:
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Six geese a-laying.....
The singular of geese is goose,
But we know find them of little use,
We know them to be awfully silly,
So we hope these jokes don't make you dilly?
(See it is silly)
Day 7.) Mulling spice and apple cider.
The note attached to gift is:
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Seven swans a swimming...
In other words, seven superb swans swiftly swimming
Silently in sweetly spiced cider. Sounds silly so sip some soon!
Day 8.) The gift is crackers and cheese. I had a picture but hit the
wrong button and poof ugh! I had it in a cute gift bag.
The note attached to gift is:
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me....
Eight maids a-milking...
Milk you know is quite nutritious,
But it can make other items quite delicious,
So enjoy these treats of crackers with cheese,
While gazing at your Christmas tree!
Day 9.) We dressed up a tin can to look like a drum filled with
Special Christmas cookies
The note attached to gift is:
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me....
Nine drummers drumming.....
Bright red drums for you from me,
Filled with special cookies!
Day 10.) Hot cocoa, wrapped up in a pretty Christmas bag or box.
The note attached to gift is:
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me....
Ten pipers piping....
A "piping" hot drink is just right
On this a cold winters night!
Day 11.) The gift is a Children's Christmas story of our Lords birth.
The note attached to gift is:
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...
Eleven ladies dancing...
Celebrating the Savior's birth,
And His coming to the earth,
Here's stories from long ago,
Read them, read them nice and slow!
Day 12.) We buy them a pretty ornament to hang on their tree with the
nativity scene on it.
The note attached to gift is:
Here's a reminder of our Lords birth,
One that brought joy to all the earth!
And then I attach a note thanking them for the love shared
between our families and theirs! We each sign our names to the final note.
Just don't let them catch you before this point! It is a fun and exciting
time for our whole family to do this!
~enjoy!
7 comments:
Hi Christine! I noticed that you put an idea from your traditions blog over here. I was wondering; are you thinking about combining your blogs? I would love to be able to stop in at one great blog to find all of your great ideas, recipes, and traditions! You have so many great projects. You could even label your posts so we can look your great ideas up.
If you ever need blog organizing tips (like labeling, blog backgrounds), I don't know too much, but feel free to ask. I have a friend who taught me... otherwise I would have no idea what I am doing!
Enjoying your blog!
Darlene
I love this! What a great idea. Hugs, Jax
This is such a fun idea! How sweet to do this. I'll have to be thinking of someone we could begin this tradition with. :)
Hi Christine :)
This is such a fun idea!
Thank you for visiting me :)
rue
this is such a wonderful idea..thank you for sharing the fun details with us!
~Kelli
Oh...can't wait to pick a family and try this! Also, love your teddy bear pumpkin!!! My Dad used to say that quote to me all the time when ever I would say that "I can't!!"
I came over to visit and noticed you made the teddy bear pumpkin, right? :)
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