12 Days of Christmas - Day 8 - Spicey Wise Men Gift

Seeing the star, the wise men, who had studied the prophecies, set out to find the newborn King. Among their belongings and supplies were gifts to give the King. These were gifts given to those of royal birth. Can you remember what they were? Gold, frankincense and myrrh. Some believe these gifts had special significance: gold for His kingship, frankincense for His priestly role and myrrh for His embalming when He died. The wise men must have been so excited to finally find the King they had searched for. Have you found The King? Are you excited about it? Don’t you want to share that joy with someone else?

We all know what gold is! Frankincense and myrrh are both resins from trees. You might not be able to give these as a gift to someone else, but you can give them a gift of spices!

Put together in a jar:

2 sticks of cinnamon

1 Tablespoon of whole cloves

A few star anise

2 whole nutmeg

Some dried ginger

1 Tablespoon cardamom pods

Spices need to be heated to release their aroma, so to fill your house with the smell of Christmas, place the contents of the jar into a saucepan, cover with water and heat to a simmer.

This would make a great gift – simple and easy!

‘… they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.’ Matthew 2:9-11

12 Days of Christmas - Day 7 - Gingerbread Man Ornament

Gift-giving doesn’t need to be expensive or something large. I think some of the nicest gives are the ones that are hand-made. Here’s a simple little one that would be easy to make a number of at one time. Great for friends, teachers, Sabbath School leaders or to decorate your Christmas tree with.

Make a batch of your favourite gingerbread recipe and cut out little gingerbread men.

While they’re baking in the oven, get a clear, plastic ornament (you can find some in craft stores, or we picked this one up in the after-Christmas sales last year!). If you have one like ours, carefully cut almost completely around it with a stanley knife (only an adult should do this) – leaving a bit connected to act as a hinge. Glue some string or ribbon to tie it closed with, and then decorate the cut edge on one side.

Use the recipe below to make some royal icing. Place the royal icing in a piping bag, and decorate the gingerbread man – give him a face, some hands and feet, even some buttons!

Once the icing is dry, place a large amount of it in the bottom of the ornament and stand the gingerbread man in it. You may need to hold him there (or prop him up) until the icing is nearly set.

And there you have it! A little gingerbread man gift! And as you give this gift, think of how the wise men brought their gifts to baby Jesus.

Tomorrow, you'll need some whole spices like cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and a jar!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6 - Movie Night!

It’s become tradition in our home to have a movie night on Saturday night. Last night, though, we were involved in a big Christmas concert so we’re doing it tonight instead! And it’s worked out well – I think I might be rather tired after just getting through the last week of school and a concert!

And, Christmas isn’t Christmas without watching at least ONE soul-lifting, joyful Christmas movie! So, today, why not plan to watch a movie together tonight!

What movie will you watch? The top of my Christmas movie list is always White Christmas and Miracle on 34^th Street. After watching them I’m left with a sense of Christmas, maybe some tears (!) and a happy, joyful soul – remembering what Christmas should be about – sharing love and family – not about getting what’s on your Christmas list.

Add a special touch to the night and make some donut popcorn (see recipe below) and spiced hot chocolate (just add a pinch of cinnamon and make the hot chocolate with hot milk instead of water for a smooth, creamy hot chocolate!).

After (or during!) the movie, have a chat about how you can bring those same Christmas feelings of joy to those around you. Jesus was born to bring joy – to show us the wonders of heaven. Share the joy around this Christmas.

'I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.' John 15:11

12 Days of Christmas Starts Soon!

Planning on joining us for our 12 Days of Christmas? We get started TOMORROW! Simply keep an eye out for a post here on our blog and facebook page. To make sure you don’t miss out, you can subscribe to our blog to have each post emailed to you!

To get ready for tomorrow, you might want to collect some plain cardboard, washi tape (Christmas style if you have some) or ribbon, button, scissors, hot glue and a hole punch.

Set aside some time so you’re not too distracted by other things, keep some table space clear and set up all that you’ll need ahead of time.

It's going to be great, Christmassy fun with the special girl in your life!