12 Ways to Do the 12 Days of Christmas
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It's Christmas time- a season of giving and loving. Join in the spirit of Christmas love and fun with one of these 12 Days of Christmas ideas! If you have not done one of these yet, there are two main ways to go about it. The traditional way is to give one present a day to the family of your choice. Each night you leave a gift on their doorstep, ring the doorbell, and run away fast before you get caught! The other method is to do it for your family. Each day you can wrap up the surprise, leave it under the Christmas tree, and open it as a family.
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12 Days of Nativity
This is a great one to do if you really want to keep the focus on Christ this Christmas. Each day you give a piece of a nativity scene so by the time you give the last piece, they have a whole set. You can print cute notes to go with it (scripture or rhyming) or adjust the days to how many pieces you have. We received this one year and loved it. Here's a great 12 piece nativity set that you can use.
12 Days of Family Fun
Take this tradition and make it a great way to create new family memories. Each day open an envelope with a new family outing or activity. For example, one day can be going to see the Christmas lights together and another might be watching your favorite Christmas movie with hot chocolate. It's a great way to spend the time leading up to Christmas. Or So She Says has it set up in a fun way if you need some additional inspiration. Some activity ideas to get you started:
Christmas movie night with hot chocolate and cookies
Light tour in Christmas pajamas
Gingerbread house decorating party (try using themes this year)
Caroling- in the neighborhood or on the phone
Go to see the Nutcracker
Attend a live Nativity
12 Days All at Once
If you have little time or energy but still want to gift the 12 Days of Christmas to someone, this is the one for you. Simplify the 12 Days by dropping all the gifts off at once. Attached a numbered tag to each gift so they know when to open each one then place everything in a big box. You can still have the joy of leaving it anonymously without the stress.
Traditional 12 Days of Christmas Variation
There is, of course, the traditional route with a slight variation. Instead of 5 golden rings, you can give 5 golden doughnut rings and instead of 2 turtledoves, give 2 Dove chocolate bars. If you need more ideas, I like the one from Giggles Galore. Remember the song of 12 Days of Christmas includes:
A partridge in a pear tear
Two turtledoves
Three French hens
Four calling birds
Five golden rings
Six geese a-laying
Seven swans a-swimming
Eight maids milking
Nine dancers dancing
Ten Lords a-leaping
Eleven pipers piping
Twelve drummers drumming
12 Days of Teacher Thanks
This is the perfect way to spread some holiday cheer to those teachers that work so hard to educate your children. Marci Coombs has cute cards and ideas you can use or head to Little Bit Funky and A Sprinkle of Inspiration for more ideas. Some other ideas include:
- Thank you card
- Their favorite drink
- A giant hug
- Gift card
- Favorite snack
12 Days of Spouse Gifts
Spend the holidays strengthening your marriage as well! This 12 Days of Christmas for Your Spouse from The Dating Divas makes it easy to put together. Each day includes a themed gift that will let your spouse know how much you love them. I love the kit from the Dating Divas as it makes it so easy. Also think about what their love language is- can you do acts of service, give some extra kisses, make their favorite snack?
12 Days of Household Help
12 days of household help is my dream. I just might have to give it to myself this year! Each day drop off something useful for your friend. What are some things that could help ease another parent’s load?
Paper plates (and lots of them)
Tape (the satin kind for wrapping)
Wrapping paper
Plastic cups
A gift card to a fast-food restaurant or a frozen lasagna
Favorite Christmas treat
Napkins
Gas station gift card
Thank You cards
Extra batteries
Christmas wreath or garland
Gift tags
Trash bags
Snacks packaged for the kids to enjoy at school
Shoveled driveway, etc.
Basically, if it’s something that would help you, it would probably help them too! Just do it twice- once for you and once for a friend.
12 Days of Service
Focus on others this Christmas by challenging your family to do an act of service each day. You can head to ComeuntoChrist.org to find all sorts of great suggestions. Remember, service can be large or small acts of kindness. One day you might pick up trash along your street. The next, you can collect food donations for the food pantry- set out a box on your porch for people to drop off donations and share on your neighborhood social media page. Do a child's chore for the day. Any way to share love counts!
12 Days of Christmas Movies
Get all your favorite Christmas movies in with this simple spin. Make it more fun by wrapping up each movie and randomly placing numbers on each one so it’s a surprise for everyone which movie you will watch. Add a box of popcorn, hot chocolate, or other favorite movie treats too! With services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, it is easy to find a new movie to watch too. Some of our favorites are:
Make it extra special by inviting different people to join you in your movie watching fun throughout.
12 Days of The Living Christ
Memorize The Living Christ with this fun advent version. Each day there is a small part for you to memorize plus tips on how to do it. You can take the challenge on yourself or use it to give to a neighbor. Combine the Living Christ with the nativity 12 Days idea or think of small gifts to correspond with each day like one of my names of Christ wrapped candies.
12 Days of Game Tournament
Bring out your friends and family's competitive side with an ultimate game tournament. Each day play a different game and give points to the top three players. Then award a trophy to the winner on day 12 (such as they get to pick the next game you play). Use the games you already own or ones you have long forgotten about. Need some new game ideas? Check out these 12 games.
12 Days of Christmas Books
Wrap up your favorite Christmas books and place them under your tree. Each night gather around to read a Christmas story together by the Christmas lights. Don't have many Christmas books? Your local library is a great resource especially if you can reserve some books early. Begin your 12 Days of Christmas Books with this fun holiday party idea.
Looking for a grown-up version of 12 Days of Christmas books? Use Deseret Bookshelf PLUS to discover a new Christmas book every day.
Whichever version you choose to do, download my free 12 Days of Christmas gift tags to help keep you organized.
