Twelve Days of Christmas

Halloween is over--finally--and the decorations are put away. Now, all I can think about is Christmas. I know Thanksgiving is coming first, but Thanksgiving is simply one huge, belt-busting meal that makes you want to curl up the couch to take a nap after eating. Christmas, however, is a major seasonal production! I can't wait to get start decking the halls, the walls, and everything in between. Bubba and I are going to spend the day shopping for decorations today and hopefully I can find some gifts for the Twelve Days of Christmas.

The Twelve Days of Christmas is a tradition that my Grandma started for my sister and me when we were kids. Now I have passed it on to my children and they look forward to it every year. Here's how it works: I purchase twelve gifts for each of the boys, (they don't have to be anything big or expensive, the boys just like opening gifts) wrap them in Christmas paper and number them one through twelve. I place them under their Christmas tree, to keep them separate from the actual Christmas gifts, and on December 12th they open the first gift. They get to open one gift each day through Christmas Eve. (This also gives little ones that don't get the concept of ripping into the paper a chance to practice before the big day.)

You can imagine it isn't always easy to find thirty-six inexpensive gifts that will excite the kids, but the fun and joy that it brings to the kids every year is always worth it. I better get cracking!