I've been trying to think of a way to keep our focus on the Savior this Christmas season, not just remembering Him (although that is very important) but serving Him by serving others. I've been seeing little calendars with service/kindness ideas around, and I like the thought of that, but planning it out ahead of time just stresses me out, and I haven't ever found one that really resonates with me. It ends up feeling like something we're supposed to do, rather than something we want to do. So I started thinking about what would work better for our family, and I came up with this. The first sheet we laminated so we can write in the box (with dry-erase marker) what our gift will be for the next day and erase it the following evening when it's time to write the next day's gift. The second sheet has gift ideas or you can type up/write out your own. We'll probably tape that page to the back so we can refer to it throughout the month and not lose it. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints so I also added a third page with ideas specific to LDS families, though others may find ways to adapt them for their own faiths as well. I think we will keep track on our calendar of what we do each day, then review on Christmas. There are other ways to keep track of what you have done: have little fuzzies to put in a jar each time you give your gift...or have slips of paper to write down what you do, then read through them on Christmas.... I've heard of people putting a piece of straw or yarn in a manger each time they do an act of kindness at Christmastime, to get it ready for baby Jesus to lay on. You could put stickers on a paper Christmas tree, or foil star stickers on a paper sky, or something else altogether...lots of options! Most of these gift ideas are small but meaningful. For me, as a mom, the gift I always want is for my children to get along and be kind to one another. I believe Jesus feels the same way about us. When we are kind to one another, we are giving a gift of kindness to Him, and that is the gift He really wants this Christmas.
Gift for Jesus free printable
Other similar ideas:
mormon.org #LightTheWorld calendar
Kindness calendar
theredheadedhostess.com #LightTheWorld calendar with ideas
Merry Christmas everyone!
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