12 Days of Christmas

We are starting the coolest tradition this year. It’s something we got from December’s Ensign. You’ll find it in the Questions & Answers section on page 12 regarding Advent Calendars.

Anyhoo, what we have done is wrapped 12 treats (candy), one for each of the 12 days before Christmas. Each one is labeled with a a scripture reference describing a gift Heavenly Father has given us.

Starting last night and until Christmas Eve, we will have one of the kids pick a wrapped present. Then for family scripture time we read the scripture reference on the package, figure out what the gift is, and then bear our testimonies of that gift in our lives. Oh, and then we open the present and eat the treats.

In the Ensign article, the author listed the 12 gifts she used this year and we just copied those. I went ahead and found verses that went with them.

So last night, on the first day of Christmas, Heavenly Father gave to us- The Creation.

It was so fun to see the kids get up and bear their testimonies. We are using this time to also teach them how to do it correctly. We even have them stand up in the front of the room. We realized last night that we need to get it on video… especially when Britt and Lister get up and do it. I think it will be a wonderful treasure that we can look back on for years to come.

I also love to see how excited the kids get just to open a gift. Last night was my turn so I opened up a nice bag of miniature Snickers. Everyone got two apiece. They loved it!

So for the next 11 days we’ll be posting our gift from Heavenly Father here to share with you all… sorry we can’t share the treat though.

~Adam