The 12 Days of Christmas

Too often at Christmas time there is a mad dash to the Big Day, like the finish line in a big race. You can't wait to get there and the anticipation builds until you can think of nothing else. Everything else pales in comparison to Christmas morning when all present wrappings are ripped to shreds and before you know it the day has come and gone. I am ashamed to admit this was my house one year.

At a time when our kids where just old enough to know the drill, to understand there would be another present and then another, our house played host to a flurry of excitement and then I was hit by the inevitable let down. That's it? I had spent months shopping, planning, baking, decorating, wrapping (and working to pay for it all) for an hour of frenzied mayhem? There had to be a better way.

Over the years we have scaled down the gifts, and the festive engagements. We have simplified our Christmas and started our own anti-consumer Christmas. We still buy presents but we no longer compare ourselves to the standard on television commercials and talk shows. We keep it simple by not going overboard.

This year, my family and I are starting a new Christmas Tradition, actually it's an old Christmas tradition with a new twist. Traditionally the Twelve Days of Christmas begin on Christmas eve and continue until January 5. This orthodox way of observing Christmas does not necessarily fly anymore. By New Year's Day Christmas is a faint memory and prolonging the festive season when people are back to work and kids back to school just doesn't seem right, at least not in North America anyway.

We are starting our 12 Days of Christmas on Dec. 13. On the first day we will buy our real tree and decorate it. But the second day, and each day after will be a surprise. Each morning the kids will wake up not knowing what Christmas activity we will be doing. It may be making Christmas cookies, going to the movies, making a craft, observing winter solstice in a special way or even receiving a small gift.



To reveal our special activities I created a book, a hollow book that when opened will reveal that days surprise. I made up special cards that we will place in the book each night after the kids go to bed. When they wake up they can open the book and find out what we are going to do.



Each card is made out of acid free, scrapbooking grade paper and stickers so that I can scrapbook each day using the card and any pictures I took. It does take time to plan and create but it's a tradition I can see us doing every year. It prolongs the merriment of the season by creating a surprise every day instead of all on one day.