THe First Day of Christmas, December 25
ACTIVITY
Again, there are just about as many traditions for Christmas morning as there are families in the world. Do what you normally would do on Christmas, and give a gift or two (probably your "biggest" gift) to the other people in your family or community who are celebrating Twelvetide with you. With our kids, we normally do stockings and give them whatever present their grandparents have bought for them, saving our own presents for subsequent days. If you do Santa, today might be a good day to give your kids whatever present Santa brought them as well. What we want to avoid is the sort of holiday glut of presents that leaves the rest of the day (and the rest of Christmas season!) feeling anticlimactic—as though Christmas is over or something. Really, Christmas has just begun. Here are a few ideas for the day, ranging from obvious to eccentric:
- Use some of the resources on the tabs below (carols, reflections, scripture, literature, etc.)
- Read Scripture, pray, and sing a carol before opening presents. Teach the carol to your kids (if applicable), or just learn it yourself.
- Go caroling at a nearby nursing home (obviously, this will take some arranging beforehand).
- Make a Christmas pie and put a gold coin inside. Take small bites while consuming it.
- Go on a cardinal hunt outside. Whoever can spot the most cardinals receives the first slice of Christmas pie.
- Watch "A Christmas Story" on television like every other dang person in America.
- Write your own Christmas special (Lifetime-style or Claymation-style, they practically write themselves). People it with characters from your own life, starting with the title and filling out the plot from there.
- Create a "Christmas comic" with friends or family members. Draw/write the first panel of a comic, then pass it to other people in your group to complete the next panel, as you complete the next panel in someone else's comic, and so on.
gift giving
Give one or two of your "biggest" gifts to the other people in your family or community who are celebrating Twelvetide with you.
Stockings full of candy, small gifts, pieces of fruit, etc.
NO CASH OPTION: Create a board game or card game for someone else and play it with them at some point during the day.
Stockings full of candy, small gifts, pieces of fruit, etc.
NO CASH OPTION: Create a board game or card game for someone else and play it with them at some point during the day.
