Christmas Season Traditions Part 1
by Kimberly Bytheway and Diane H. Loveridge
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The birth of the Savior is such a memorable even that the entire month of December can be filled with celebration. Try extending the Christmas season with traditions sprinkled all throughout the month, taking as many opportunities as possible to gather together, to enjoy one another, and to revel in the joy and gladness of the holiday.
Twelve Days of Christmas
For the twelve days leading up to Christmas, beginning December 13, leave a secret item at the doorstep of an unsuspecting family or widow. On the first night, leave one item; the second night, two; the third night, three, and so on. Some suggestions might include: one poinsettia, two loaves of banana bread, three candles, four gingerbread men, five ornaments, six popcorn balls, seven Christmas stories, eight pieces of fruit, nine candy bars, ten hot chocolate packets, eleven candy canes, and twelve sweet rolls. Each poem should begin with "On the ___ day of Christmas . . ." For example:
On the eighth day of Christmas,
We bring the Harvest's bounty:
A basket filled with luscious fruit
From farmers in the county.
On the last night (usually Christmas eve), the poem included with the gift reveal the name of your family. We include this special poem:
These days of Christmas have brought joy
To us as we have given.
We also hope your heart's been touched,
And felt a bit of heaven.
And just in case you're wondering
Why we have done this thing:
This time of year turns many souls
To Christ our Lord and King.
For His example has been set;
We felt it through and through.
He showed great love to everyone;
Now we give love to you.
Love from the Loveridge Family.
We like to fold the bottom of the paper and tape it up to hide our name, so the family will take time to read the poem, and not just skip to the end to discover our identity.
After you leave the last gift at the doorstep, run and hide as usual. Wait a few minutes, and then return to the front door, caroling. Many secret acts of service are done throughout the year, but this becomes a great teaching moment. Your children will see the love and deep gratitude on the faces of those whom they have served, and they will always remember that special moment when they were able to hear firsthand the expressions of joy for the service they gave.
Secret Santa
Early in the month of December, write down all of the family members' names on individual sheets of paper, and then have each person draw out one of the names. Each person does secret acts of service every day for the person drawn. On Christmas Day, each member of the family reveals who he or she has served all month long by giving a Christmas present to that person. This activity will create a great spirit of love and giving in the home for the days proceeding the great Christmas celebration.
Fun with Gingerbread
Have guests bring one or two of their favorite treats to help decorate gingerbread houses, or even gingerbread trains, and get to work! Graham crackers can be substituted for gingerbread for ease and convenience. Let everyone make his or her own creation, or work together for a masterpiece. Create your own little Christmas village from the results, or give them away to neighbors and friends. Royal icing (recipe below) dries hard to hold the candy in place.
Royal Icing
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups powdered sugar
Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until stiff. Use immediately to assemble walls of gingerbread house and to keep decorations in place, or cover bowl with a wet towel to keep the icing from hardening until you are ready to use it.
Activity Basket
Write a list of fun activities to do during the holidays, and put them on individual slips of paper. Ideas might include going ice skating, decorating the tree, baking cookies, or visiting friends. Each night in December, draw out one slip of paper to dictate the evening's activities.
Christmas Around the World
For each week in the month of December, have a special family home evening highlighting a different country and its traditions surrounding Christmas. Complete the lesson with food and desserts from the country chosen. The family will have a greater appreciation for the birth of the Savior and for the sacredness of the holiday worldwide.
Christmas Calendar
Buy or make a traditional advent calendar for the days before Christmas. Each calendar day could have a new ornament to be hung on the tree, or a small treat for the family to enjoy.
Christmas Daily Service
Create a family "service" advent calendar. Each day, have someone pull out a prepared slip of paper with some service you can do together as a family. You might serve a neighbor, or perhaps keep the service in the home by helping out one another. Performing a service each day will truly help to bring about the true spirit of Christmas.
Bedtime Carols and Stories
For the month of December, have a Christmas theme at bedtime. Sing Christmas songs, and read from 3 Nephi and Luke about the first Christmas. Find special books and stories dedicated to Christmas themes and ideas.
See the Painted Town
Find a night during the Christmas season when you can all pile in the car to tour the homes and businesses that are decorated with Christmas lights.
Picture Ornaments
At Christmas, sit down with the family and have everyone create their own ornaments with photographs of themselves on them. As the tree has become a central figure in Christmas decorating, it will show that the central focus of the family is each other.
Binding Memories
"Each Christmas, every family member contributes a written memory from the previous year. We make copies for them to put in their own binders from year to year. One of the greatest joys we have as a family comes when we reflect on the poignant moments of the other family members. As our family has grown, the grandchildren even enjoy adding their own memories to our books." -Jeanette Grace Zarkou Hamilton
Children's Trees
Give each child his or her own small tree to decorate. Allow them to use their own personalities to choose their colors and decorations. Supply plenty of paper, scissors, glue, glitter, beads, and other craft items for the decorating event.
Directional Gifts
Have a "left-right" gift exchange. Write a story with a Christmas theme, with as many inclusions of the words left and right as you can think of. Each person shows up to the party with a present, and all sit in a circle as a narrator begins the story. Each time the guests hear left or right they are to pass the presents in their laps in that directions. Afterward, open all the gifts to reveal the surprises. For a variation, read "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and every time the words a and the are heard, everyone passes his or her gift to the right.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Wrap up gag gifts, or bring small, inexpensive items, and put them in the center of the room. Draw numbers to determine the order of recipients. The first person chooses a gift from the pile and opens it. The next person may either choose a new gift from the pile or steal the gift from the first person, who must then choose a new gift from the pile. Go through the numerical order until all the gifts are opened and everyone has a present.
Sub for Santa
Talk to your bishop or a local schoolteacher to find a family in need of your assistance. Learn of the ages of the children in the family, and shop together for gifts and groceries to help the family enjoy a better Christmas.
= link =
The birth of the Savior is such a memorable even that the entire month of December can be filled with celebration. Try extending the Christmas season with traditions sprinkled all throughout the month, taking as many opportunities as possible to gather together, to enjoy one another, and to revel in the joy and gladness of the holiday.
Twelve Days of Christmas
For the twelve days leading up to Christmas, beginning December 13, leave a secret item at the doorstep of an unsuspecting family or widow. On the first night, leave one item; the second night, two; the third night, three, and so on. Some suggestions might include: one poinsettia, two loaves of banana bread, three candles, four gingerbread men, five ornaments, six popcorn balls, seven Christmas stories, eight pieces of fruit, nine candy bars, ten hot chocolate packets, eleven candy canes, and twelve sweet rolls. Each poem should begin with "On the ___ day of Christmas . . ." For example:
On the eighth day of Christmas,
We bring the Harvest's bounty:
A basket filled with luscious fruit
From farmers in the county.
On the last night (usually Christmas eve), the poem included with the gift reveal the name of your family. We include this special poem:
These days of Christmas have brought joy
To us as we have given.
We also hope your heart's been touched,
And felt a bit of heaven.
And just in case you're wondering
Why we have done this thing:
This time of year turns many souls
To Christ our Lord and King.
For His example has been set;
We felt it through and through.
He showed great love to everyone;
Now we give love to you.
Love from the Loveridge Family.
We like to fold the bottom of the paper and tape it up to hide our name, so the family will take time to read the poem, and not just skip to the end to discover our identity.
After you leave the last gift at the doorstep, run and hide as usual. Wait a few minutes, and then return to the front door, caroling. Many secret acts of service are done throughout the year, but this becomes a great teaching moment. Your children will see the love and deep gratitude on the faces of those whom they have served, and they will always remember that special moment when they were able to hear firsthand the expressions of joy for the service they gave.
Secret Santa
Early in the month of December, write down all of the family members' names on individual sheets of paper, and then have each person draw out one of the names. Each person does secret acts of service every day for the person drawn. On Christmas Day, each member of the family reveals who he or she has served all month long by giving a Christmas present to that person. This activity will create a great spirit of love and giving in the home for the days proceeding the great Christmas celebration.
Fun with Gingerbread
Have guests bring one or two of their favorite treats to help decorate gingerbread houses, or even gingerbread trains, and get to work! Graham crackers can be substituted for gingerbread for ease and convenience. Let everyone make his or her own creation, or work together for a masterpiece. Create your own little Christmas village from the results, or give them away to neighbors and friends. Royal icing (recipe below) dries hard to hold the candy in place.
Royal Icing
2 egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 cups powdered sugar
Whip egg whites with cream of tartar until stiff peaks form. Slowly add powdered sugar and beat until stiff. Use immediately to assemble walls of gingerbread house and to keep decorations in place, or cover bowl with a wet towel to keep the icing from hardening until you are ready to use it.
Activity Basket
Write a list of fun activities to do during the holidays, and put them on individual slips of paper. Ideas might include going ice skating, decorating the tree, baking cookies, or visiting friends. Each night in December, draw out one slip of paper to dictate the evening's activities.
Christmas Around the World
For each week in the month of December, have a special family home evening highlighting a different country and its traditions surrounding Christmas. Complete the lesson with food and desserts from the country chosen. The family will have a greater appreciation for the birth of the Savior and for the sacredness of the holiday worldwide.
Christmas Calendar
Buy or make a traditional advent calendar for the days before Christmas. Each calendar day could have a new ornament to be hung on the tree, or a small treat for the family to enjoy.
Christmas Daily Service
Create a family "service" advent calendar. Each day, have someone pull out a prepared slip of paper with some service you can do together as a family. You might serve a neighbor, or perhaps keep the service in the home by helping out one another. Performing a service each day will truly help to bring about the true spirit of Christmas.
Bedtime Carols and Stories
For the month of December, have a Christmas theme at bedtime. Sing Christmas songs, and read from 3 Nephi and Luke about the first Christmas. Find special books and stories dedicated to Christmas themes and ideas.
See the Painted Town
Find a night during the Christmas season when you can all pile in the car to tour the homes and businesses that are decorated with Christmas lights.
Picture Ornaments
At Christmas, sit down with the family and have everyone create their own ornaments with photographs of themselves on them. As the tree has become a central figure in Christmas decorating, it will show that the central focus of the family is each other.
Binding Memories
"Each Christmas, every family member contributes a written memory from the previous year. We make copies for them to put in their own binders from year to year. One of the greatest joys we have as a family comes when we reflect on the poignant moments of the other family members. As our family has grown, the grandchildren even enjoy adding their own memories to our books." -Jeanette Grace Zarkou Hamilton
Children's Trees
Give each child his or her own small tree to decorate. Allow them to use their own personalities to choose their colors and decorations. Supply plenty of paper, scissors, glue, glitter, beads, and other craft items for the decorating event.
Directional Gifts
Have a "left-right" gift exchange. Write a story with a Christmas theme, with as many inclusions of the words left and right as you can think of. Each person shows up to the party with a present, and all sit in a circle as a narrator begins the story. Each time the guests hear left or right they are to pass the presents in their laps in that directions. Afterward, open all the gifts to reveal the surprises. For a variation, read "Twas the Night Before Christmas," and every time the words a and the are heard, everyone passes his or her gift to the right.
White Elephant Gift Exchange
Wrap up gag gifts, or bring small, inexpensive items, and put them in the center of the room. Draw numbers to determine the order of recipients. The first person chooses a gift from the pile and opens it. The next person may either choose a new gift from the pile or steal the gift from the first person, who must then choose a new gift from the pile. Go through the numerical order until all the gifts are opened and everyone has a present.
Sub for Santa
Talk to your bishop or a local schoolteacher to find a family in need of your assistance. Learn of the ages of the children in the family, and shop together for gifts and groceries to help the family enjoy a better Christmas.