12 Days of...Christmas Beads

Christmas Beads for 12 Days of Christmas Countdown Activities

A fun way to emphasize the countdown, in a tangible manner, is to give your child something tactile. Emphasizing the counting together is fun, but later, that child can continue to work on counting skills, or just use that object as a fun way to communicate to someone else their excitement. Beads, strung on a necklace, shoelace, leather, or even yarn, can provide a simple countdown activity, with a new bead added each day.




Gingerbread Snap and Sort Beads for Younger Children's Countdown Activities

Note that this isn't a great activity for very small children who might swallow a bead, so use big beads, or snap together beads, in such an instance. On the other hand, older children (tweens and teens) may not be very intrigued by plastic pony beads or childish pieces. These ages, though, might really enjoy beading, with special glass beads designed for Christmas (such as those pictured above), or Christmas charms. A teen or tween boy may be uninterested, altogether, so adjust based on what you know about your own family dynamics.

***Images above are linked to pricing and availability at Amazon. 

12 Days of Christmas Advent Calendar

12 Days of Christmas Activities
Countdown the 12 days with an advent calendar
based on the theme.

If you want to countdown the 12 days preceding Christmas, as you conduct your family twelve days activities, then an advent style calendar, with windows that open for each day, as it's ticked off, is perfect. While there don't seem to be many pre-made 12 days countdown calendars, I did find the one above, available through Amazon, and linked through the image given. Each window represents one of the elements of the song, the Twelve Days of Christmas.

12 Days of...Christmas Salt and Pepper Shaker Sets

Charlie Brown Christmas Salt and Pepper Set

When I was young, one of my favorite things was my grandmother's salt and pepper shaker collection.  Her array of what would now be thought vintage salt and pepper sets were small, and held special places on a multishelf unit in her hallway.  Certain salt and pepper shakers would be used for specific occasions.  When I was older, I would look for particularly cute salt and pepper sets to give as gifts to Grandma.

Cute Penguin Salt and Pepper Shakers

In that vein, a fun 12 Days of Christmas activity idea for a family would be to place a different Christmas salt and pepper set on the table each day, leading up to the big day!  Find a lazy Susan turntable, to create a rotating table centerpiece, or use a Christmas cake stand, to provide a level of altitude to the table centerpieces.  Incorporate some other fun stuff, and use the sets for other fun things, like sanding sugars, cocoa powder, cinnamon, and vanilla creamer to use on whipped cream and hot cocoa...heavy on the whipped cream, please!

Snow Globe Christmas Salt and Pepper Shaker Set

Images of a few fun Christmas salt and pepper shaker sets are included, linking to the online shops where they can be found and purchased.



Christmas Tree Salt and Pepper Shakers

Snowman Salt Grinder



Countdown During the Christmas Season: Advent Calendars

One of the most fun elements of the holiday season is the increasing excitement as the days count down to Christmas. Many children have been thrilled through the years to do so with advent calendars. While there don't seem to be many choices that highlight the 12 days of Christmas theme, it is helpful to recognize that the 25 day countdown calendars can be incorporated with 12 Days of Christmas activities, because the 12 days begin just after the midpoint of the advent calendar counting. Make that day's window a big deal, with a special sticker or ribbon to highlight the fact that it's special! In my opinion, every day of the holiday season is special, but as countdowns go, the closer you get, the more excited the kids are, and it helps them deal with that excitement by being able to mark each day on a special calendar. (Images below link to some of the advent calendar selections at Calendars.com). 

Christmas Village Advent Calendar

Peanuts Advent Calendar

12 Days of Service

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a great time to teach your family more about service to others.  During the Christmas season, it's easy to think about what we want, in terms of gifts, but it's important to help our youngsters think beyond themselves, and to appreciate their circumstances.  There are many directions you can go, in terms of teaching your kids to have a servant's heart.

1.  Select a family or neighbor that may be challenged during the season, whether economically, or due to lonliness, or some other factor.  Use those 12 days to do something special, each day, to encourage that family or neighbor.  Perhaps there will be gifts, or a food basket, or a stocking, or perhaps you will leave notes of encouragement.  Remaining anonymous is a great deal of fun!

2.  Select different service projects for each day, which might include some of the previous ideas, but might also include:  making a shoebox for an international ministry; shopping for one of the children represented on a Salvation Army tree; caroling at a nursing home; raking leaves or shoveling snow for an elderly neighbor; making Christmas cards for hospital bound kids; putting together a care package for someone who serves in the military.  Note that some of these might actually need to be done well in advance of the Christmas season, to get to their destinations in time.  However, do the activity on time, and then use that day, in discussion and reflection, during your 12 day emphasis.

3.  There are different charities operating, and collecting funds and materials during the Christmas season.  12 Days of Donating can be your focus, with kids collecting their coins for bell ringers, collecting canned goods for food pantries, or collecting personal care items for veterans' centers.  You can emphasize a different cause each day, or spend 12 days collecting for one organization.  Put a number of ideas on small pieces of paper, and let the kids draw from a basket or jar, each day's focus.  You can adapt in many ways, to suit your time and resources.  Let the kids brainstorm, and help in coming up with some ideas.

12 Days of ... Gingerbread House Preparation

Gingerbread House Cookie Cutter Set

If you love the idea of making gingerbread houses with your kids, then a little planning can turn it into a fun 12 Days of Christmas activity.  Of course, you will need to think about how you are going to accomplish this, whether by baking your own gingerbread houses, or by finding pre-baked kits, and deciding on whether you will create individual small houses for each child, or whether you will all work together to make one big house.

Given the fact that Christmas Eve and Christmas Day can be very hectic, already, you may not want the gingerbread house decorating to be on those days, so you will need to evaluate your schedule, and then plan.  Our household tradition is that gingerbread houses are allowed to be eaten on Christmas night...so that 12th day of Gingerbread might be as follows:  on the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, permission to eat my gingerbread house.

Day 11, being another hectic day, might wind up with gingerbread cookies, and cocoa.

Days 10 through 1 can be planned accordingly.  I spend at least 3 days on gingerbread house baking, assembly, and decoration with my children, usually in that week before Christmas.  If those are days 10, 9, and 8, then the preceding 7 days can include preparations:  candy purchases, plans, browsing gingerbread house picture collections, checking out library books, and so forth. 

If you are thinking about 12 days of Gingerbread, you can read my article on Gingerbread House creation for more ideas.