The 5 Aces... One Day At A Time: The Twelve Days of Christmas... It Is Better To Give Than To Receive

One day, as I was thumbing through Samuel's Highlights magazine (this is what I do for reading enjoyment these days!), I saw a picture of an arts-n-crafts project that caught my attention. They took 12 empty toilet paper tubes, and made them into Christmas candles. On the flame of each candle, they wrote out the lyrics to The 12 Days of Christmas. Their candles looked like they were made by some Martha Stewart type arts-n-crafts guru. Here's how our candles turned out.

I decided that I wanted to take this one step further, and make this project into a cute way to give small gifts to the children for the first 12 days of December, and at the same time I could use this as a teaching opportunity for them as well. Each day, when the kids would pull out a flame from the candle, I would have a hint written down that would send them on a scavenger hunt throughout the house. Sometimes, the hint would lead them directly to a gift. Other days, they would find 2, 3, or even 4 hints before they would actually find a gift. And when they did find their gift, I would use the moment to teach them a lesson about giving to others. On the 1st day we gave them a nativity scene made out of felt that needed to be assembled. We all made it together, and while we made it I reminded them that baby Jesus was the best gift ever! Another day we gave the kids new slippers and gloves and told them that there are so many people in the world who do not have those things, and that we should be thankful for even the smallest things in our lives like gloves to keep our hands warm and slippers to keep our feet warm. Samuel and Avery's school had been taking up a collection of gloves and socks for people serving in the military, so the next day we "gave back" and placed gloves and socks under the tree at their school. Another day we gave the kids new toothbrushes and some really neat mouthwash that turns their teeth blue and shows them where they need to brush (it's called Inspector Hector mouthwash!!!). Samuel actually likes using it... We also gave them new "big kid" hair brushes, and on that day I reminded them that our health is a gift. And finally, on the 12th day we gave the kids big hugs and kisses, and we told them that the best part about giving gifts to others is how happy it makes everyone feel. And then we gave the kids teddy bears, and I told them a story about one Christmas when I was a little girl, money was very tight and some really nice people from our church gave me a very special teddy bear. I loved it so much that I still have it to this day. And every time I come across that bear in the attic or see this picture, I think about that Christmas and how some really nice people decided to "give back", and how truly happy it made me feel. Truly, it is better to give than to receive! And that is the biggest lesson I wanted my kids to take away from our 12 days of Christmas celebration. I hope that we will continue this new-found family tradition in the years to come, because it was so enjoyable.

I am Avery's Room Mother for her Kindergarten class, so I had the pleasure of helping to plan the Christmas party for over 100 Kindergartners. A few weeks ago, someone suggested that I should take up a collection from the other parents with children in Avery's class, to go towards one gift to give to the teacher at the party. I sent notes home to all of the parents, and out of 20 children in Avery's class, I had 3 (yes only 3!) parents give money towards the teacher gift. Since I didn't have enough money from those 3 parents to buy the gift that I originally wanted to buy for Avery's teacher, I decided that I was going to give the money back to them. But before I could do that, I got an unexpected gift. And because of that unexpected gift, I was able to get Avery's teacher her gift. When I emailed the other 3 parents to tell them what I had bought for the teacher, one of the parents emailed me and asked if all of the parents from the class gave money towards the gift. When I told her no, she told me that she wanted me to sign the card from only the children who's families gave money. And in what I can only describe as God-given words, I suggested that I sign the card from the 4 individual children who's parents contributed towards the gift, and then underneath their names add the words "On behalf of all of your students." And she actually loved the idea!

I was in Avery's classroom this morning when her teacher opened the gift, and read the card quietly to herself. She told the class that the gift was from all of them. I saw all of their little faces light up. She opened the gift and showed them the James Avery charm they had given to her. Ooos and Ahhhs abounded from the children! She immediately hung it on her necklace. And then, one of the little boys got up and hugged her, and told her that he was so happy that he was able to give her a present. And as the children were all lining up to go to their Christmas party in the cafeteria, Avery's teacher came up and hugged me. And with tears in her eyes she thanked me for the gift, and she told me how that little boy's family could not afford to give her anything, but that she was so thankful to me and the other 3 parents who did give, because it made all of the kids in her class feel so happy and special. Because a few of us were willing to give, we made it possible for all of those kids to feel the true happiness that can come from giving to others. Truly, it is better to give than to receive!

Here are some pictures from Avery's and Samuel's school Christmas parties.