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.
So, I made these cute little bags out of felt, one for each day:
This was a great project for Christmas Day, as we watched Christmas movies. The kids painted the clothespins for me…
…while I sewed the bags. I just took squares of felt, folded them in half, then cut that in half (each felt square makes 2 bags). Then, I cut out a strip of another color to create the “stocking” effect.
The beautiful decorations on each bag were actually created by Ryan’s grandmother years ago. I inherited them along with her sewing machine, and I have held on to them all these years waiting for the perfect project.
I just hot glued the numbers to the painted clothespins and hung up the bags. Voila!
In each bag, the kids have instructions for what they are going to do for the day, accompanied by a little gift (or a present under the tree). The activities include leaving quarters on the quarter machines at the grocery store (and, of course, they get their own quarters to spend), going to the bakery to get a treat & buying a treat for someone there, delivering cupcakes to the fire station, and giving out hugs (both the candy & the real thing). I came up with a Bible verse for each day, too. The hardest part was thinking of little gifts for the kids that would go along with their mission for the day.
If you’d like a copy of my daily activities, send an e-mail to Karen@worryfreemom.com with the subject line: Twelve Days Activities. I’ll send you my Word file and you can edit to suit your family. 🙂