A few years ago, I decided that I wanted my kids to focus on more than just Christmas morning each year. Every year, there was a huge sense of disappointment after all the gifts were opened. We’d pack up the tree and get on with life–and the kids remembered Christmas only as a time to open presents. My plan was to extend the Christmas season and to change the focus from gifts to family time and service to others.

The first step in my plan was to celebrate Advent by doing an activity each day as a family. Activities ranged from baking to watching Christmas movies to doing fun Christmas activities. (See my Advent calendars HERE.) My oldest is now 13, and she still gets excited when it’s her turn to pull out the activity for the day!

The second step was to begin celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas. As I explain HERE, the 12 Days of Christmas actually begins after Christmas! For each of the twelve days, the kids do a RACK (Random Act of Christmas Kindness). I try to also include some small treat/gift/activity for the kids to do, too. In the photo above, you can see that some of the gifts are small enough to stay in their envelopes on the tree, and others needed a gift bag or box. (Bonus–I get to keep my Christmas decorations up until the 2nd week in January!)

Here’s my RACK printable for this year–I just used a place tag template from Publisher. Here it is in PDF. You might need extra copies of the first page. There are four blank activity cards in case you want to do a different activity (or print multiple copies of that page & create 12 of your own!)

12 Days of Christmas 2015