Gift Giving and Gift Exchange…
My kids will each receive 3 gifts on Christmas morning {Plus what is in their stocking}. Three to remember the 3 gifts given to Christ by the Wise men. One that Santa will bring, one picked out by Dad, and one from Mom. I don’t want to spoil my children, but I also want them to have something nice. Since we really don’t buy our kids anything extra except for presents on their birthdays I think that 3 gifts is just perfect. We are also going to pick a family member for them to get a gift for and then on Christmas Eve we will do a small gift exchange between the 6 of us.
Start a new tradition this year that puts Christ at the center of your Christmas celebrations. Gather your family each night in December to study the life and teachings of Jesus Christ as you countdown to Christmas. Children of all ages will love and remember these scripture stories as they place a symbolic ornament on your tree after each night’s reading. You will build lasting memories as you fill your home with the true meaning of Christmas. What better gift can you give your children and extended family this Christmas season?
I am excited to work on putting together these ornaments at night and surprising my kids with them. I am also going to purchase a small tree to put in the extra room where we can hang these special ornaments on.
Christi says
Thanks for this Kendra! I am so excited to do this with my kids.
LeAnn says
You have some awesome ideas that I will share with my children.
Blessings to you and keep on enjoying the moments!
Emily says
This is such a great idea! I am going to be printing it off for my family. I did a post about it on my blog: http://www.mycrazybliss.com/2011/12/christmas-scripture-chain.html
Abby says
I love this scripture chain. We do a count down to Christmas chain each year, but this will add a great new element to it. Thanks for sharing it.
Lanee says
I love this idea. Thank you. I may use this on Facebook to continue sharing the Good News!
Chocolate on my Cranium says
Great scripture countdown, Kendra!
Meg says
Just visiting from WW. 🙂
I love your scripture countdown. Great idea.
We love books in our home, too.
2 of our favorite Christmas books are “Christmas in the Country” by Cynthia Rylant and “Dream Snow” by Eric Carle.
Merry Christmas!
Holly says
Just popping in from WW. Could you list out the books and authors in another post? I really want to collect more Christmas stories and do one each day in December. I’d love to know more about the ones in your collection!
Curls says
LOVE that scripture chain. Thank you!
Anonymous says
A good book for Christmas that my girls loved was
Peef the Christmas Bear
Anonymous says
Another good one is The Legend of the Candy Cane. When I taught at a Christian school, it was one of the favs every year.
Boo says
What a great idea!
Deborah Bolton says
Do you actually cut each scripture off and make a Paper Chain, as you read them.
Kendra says
Deborah, we make then chain and then take them off as we read it.
Debra H says
I cannot wait to share this with the ladies I work with. Thanks so much for being willing to share!
Nica269 says
Are the scriptures in order or random Christmas scriptures?
Kendra says
They are in a random order. Just all scriptures about Christ.
Nica269 says
Thank you, Kendra!
Anonymous says
These are the weirdest scriptures ever for an Advent calendar. Some of them don’t even directly pertain to Christmas…there are so many other good verses you could have chosen….I wonder if you just picked them randomly….?
followerofJesus says
I wish you had 24 scriptures that come from the mainline Holy Bible and not the book of mormon.
Anonymous says
too bad the book of Mormon was included in this- now i understand why there is a gift from Santa. maybe we just need to remember that this is NOT about Santa but ALL about Christ even if He wasn’t really born in December. there is also a book called the Advent Jesse Tree that goes in order from the beginning of time explaining prophesies of Christ.a great book to read with the familya has ornaments for the tree
Kendra says
@Anonymous Yes I agree Christmas is ALL about Christ. I have chosen to also have fun with the belief of Santa by letting him bring one gift to my kids. (just like my kids love for super heroes…there is a small part of us that likes to hope that something like them is out there) It is the ideal that they inspire inside of us to do good.
As far as the Book of Mormon is concerned it speaks of Christ all though out the book. I wanted to show how the people living on the American continent also had signs of Christ birth and knew he was coming. Christ is the center of my religious beliefs, and I really would be lost without him in my life! He is on my mind through all hours of the day.
I will have to look into this Advent Jesse Tree book, it sounds like a great teaching tool!
Kendra says
@Anonymous Yes I agree Christmas is ALL about Christ. I have chosen to also have fun with the belief of Santa by letting him bring one gift to my kids. (just like my kids love for super heroes…there is a small part of us that likes to hope that something like them is out there) It is the ideal that they inspire inside of us to do good.
As far as the Book of Mormon is concerned it speaks of Christ all though out the book. I wanted to show how the people living on the American continent also had signs of Christ birth and knew he was coming. Christ is the center of my religious beliefs, and I really would be lost without him in my life! He is on my mind through all hours of the day.
I will have to look into this Advent Jesse Tree book, it sounds like a great teaching tool!
greenmenSLP says
Love this idea. I think our Elf on a Shelf will hold each scripture for the kids to find! THanks!
fhelessons says
Love this post! Thanks for sharing your scriptures! If you’re looking for new scriptures for this year, check out my posts on advent scripture calendars as well. You can find 25 scriptures that each tell about a gift Christ has given us here: http://wp.me/p2Ckhi-h7
And 24 scriptures that each reference a Name of Christ here:http://wp.me/p2Ckhi-dq
Merry Christmas!
Sandi says
Which one is the christmas day scripture? It printed blank… thanks!
Anonymous says
What kind of gifts do you choose that represent the gifts of the wise men?
Miranda says
I’m having a hard time finding the scriptures for the 25th. Any help would be great. mirandadduncan@yahoo.com thanks
Barbara Cook says
Hey, this is sooo amazing! I love those scriptures. Can we used religious Christmas quotes as scriptures too? Great one!
Kaylene Outnumbered says
I love your 25 days of Christmas stories! Thank you for sharing. We are starting something very similar this year. On my blog I am writing a roundup of the top 10 advent activities and will be linking back to this post. I would love to use one of your photos in that post if it is alright with you. Thank you again for sharing these ideas!
Kendra says
For sure Kaylene! Feel free to use anyone! Thanks for asking!@Kaylene Outnumbered