The 12 Days of Christmas start TODAY! Yes–as I found out just recently, the twelve days of Christmas actually begin AFTER Christmas. Since we are focusing on the true reason for Christmas this year, though, I decided that for our first go round with the 12 Days of Christmas, we would do something a little different. Instead of just getting a gift every day for 12 days, the kids would have secret missions to accomplish each day–missions that would have them reaching out in kindness to others–friends, family, and even strangers.