12 Days of Christmas Giving

 12 Days of Christmas Nativity

As I've been in and out of stores the last 6 weeks or so I found it odd that all things Christmas were up on the shelves before I had a chance to but my Halloween candy. As Thanksgiving got closer I noticed that many/most of the decor and merchandise I was seeing in stores was Santa Claus, Snowmen, Reindeer etc. And while I love Christmas and everything about it I thought for a minute of how commercial Christmas has become. People waiting in line to shop and get the best deals on Black Friday missing out on precious time that could be had with family. I thought this year I would make a real effort to put the Christ back in Christmas for my family and to look outside my circle for those that need a little help. As a result of my musings I've invited a guest blogger to talk about the 12 Days of Christmas Nativity style. I know the 12 Days of Christmas is popular here and there but this is a different take on it. I hope you enjoy. You'll be seeing more ideas like this over the next month. 

(Rachel is currently a Junior in College studying General Studies.) 

Rachel J.- Guest Blogger

Once upon a Christmas time my family began the tradition of surprising a family in need with the twelve days of Christmas nativity. Every night we would secretly deliver a single piece from a nativity set. Connected with a scripture that described the piece. We would wrap it up to make it look festive and deliver treats with it. As children we would deliver it to the door, ring the doorbell and run. We would start with the Christmas star and then on Christmas Eve end with baby Jesus. As a child it reminded me of what Christmas was all about, giving to others and that Christ was what Christmas was all about. It is easy to get caught up in the commercialism of Christmas. This idea was to emphasize Christ in Christmas. This idea can be done for friends, grandparents, co-workers, siblings living near or far, moms with LDS missionaries currently serving, and shhh Moms plug your ears, missionary girlfriends too; or even your next door neighbor. Moms you can even do this for your children or spouse. 

Items you will need: 

• A 12 piece nativity set. It may be hard to find a 12 piece nativity set so if it is less than 12 you can always improvise with treats and small gifts to give you 12 days of items. 

• Wrapping, I found small clear party bags at Wal-Mart for a dollar then got festive tissue paper and gold ribbon. With a tag on it for the date. If you are hand delivering it during the 12 nights of Christmas then you don’t need a tag with the date but if you are sending it through the mail you need to so they know which one to open that day. I found my Christmas tags at Hobby Lobby for a dollar.

• Red paper, or any Christmassy paper for the scripture. My family would roll it up like a scroll and put gold ribbon around it. Or you can put them in envelopes. I put them in brown long envelopes I found at Hobby Lobby then decorated them with Christmas stamps. If you are sending them to loved ones faraway then you can add notes and letters to go with the scripture. 

• If you are sending it to someone in the mail, then you will need to add a note giving directions on the twelve days of Christmas and how it works. 

• Then you can add anything to the 12 days of Christmas nativity pieces such as Christmas candy or chocolates and even a Christmas present for the last day. 

• For the scriptures I found these links to be helpful. 

http://www.biblestudytools.com/topical-verses/christmas-bible-verses/

http://www.lds.org/liahona/2010/12/small-and-simple-things?lang=eng&query=christmas+story+scriptures

• The Christmas Story

  Many people are familiar with the Nativity story as told in Luke 1–2. But there are many other places in the scriptures that talk about the miraculous birth of the Savior Jesus Christ. Consider including these verses in your personal scripture study this month:

  Old Testament	New Testament	Book of Mormon	Doctrine and Covenants	Pearl of Great Price
  Isaiah 7:14; 9:6–7	Matthew 1–2	1 Nephi 10:4–6;11:13–21	D&C 76:41	Moses 5:57
  Micah 5:2	John 1:1–14	Alma 7:9–13	D&C 93:1–4
  		Helaman 14:1–9
  		3 Nephi 1

• It has scriptures that are great to use, or you can always do your own. I saw that on the LDS website they have a 12 days of Christmas that is just service which is also a great idea. 

Good luck! You can always adjust and make things your own depending on the person. I hope you found this idea useful. It’s hard to find things that are fun for Christmas and are still centered on Christ. This helped me as a child know what Christmas was all about, and hope it will start a Christmas tradition for your family!