Day 10 of 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways (with Amber Smith)
*Give Away has Ended*
Thanks for taking a break from your day and clicking your way over to day ten of my 12th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways! If you’re just joining in, be sure to start at Day 1 here.
Our guest today is someone I have gotten to know through social media after I discovered she’d read one of my books. Amber Smith is a Texas girl, an actor, a lover of baking and coffee, the wife of country singer Granger Smith, and the mom of three adorable kiddos—two here on earth and one sweet son, River, who went to be with Jesus this past summer. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She is an incredible woman with an astonishing faith and she is giving away a tremendous prize today. (Seriously. I may just comment under a fake name and win the prize myself!)
But first, here is the Christmas idea for the day—ways to make the nativity come alive!
Day 10: Making the Nativity Real & Remembered
The nativity scene and story of Jesus’s birth may be the most dramatized, reenacted, painted, composed about, and otherwise depicted event in history. But how can you write the story on your family’s hearts, not just plant it in their heads? These ideas help, and the moments experienced with the nativity can be living memories.
Tell the Story Over & Over
For a keepsake to treasure in years to come, film your children each year telling the nativity story. Toddlers will be able to articulate just the basics about the Christ child, the manger, the angels and the shepherds. As they grow, more details will be added to their narration. Once they are old enough to read, let them read the story from Luke 2 out loud to be filmed. It will be fun to hear how their voice changes from year to year. A great present to give grandparents!
Give the Nativity
When each of your children or grandchildren are young, purchase a nativity set for them to have when they are grown and leave your home. Figure out how many pieces are in the set. Then, each year, give them one piece in their stocking, timing it so that they get the last piece the year they are 18.
Live the Nativity
Take in a living nativity experience. Many churches reenact the first Christmas by having church members dress up like the characters found in Luke chapter 2. Usually barnyard animals are included and one live nativity near us even had wise men on camels! Children especially love to drive by and see the holy family, the angels, shepherds and wise men. Return home for some hot spiced cider or hot chocolate.
Build Suspense Along with the Story
Place your nativity set out piece by piece, telling the Christmas story as it is found in scripture in Luke, chapter two.
The first night, place Mary out all alone, as you come to the part of the Bible where she is mentioned. The next night comes the angel who appears to her. The following night, Joseph appears and so on.
You’ll soon be placing the animals, shepherds, baby Jesus, and finally the wise men, who arrived a few years after Christ was born. This is a great way to make the Christmas story last over several days and the kids will look forward to the new character put out each night.
Go on the Hunt for Jesus
Hide a baby boy doll and on Christmas morning crank up a yuletide tune to awaken the kids. Then hunt for baby Jesus, just like the Wisemen of old. After He’s placed in a makeshift manger, read the Christmas story from Luke 2, before opening your presents. Reiterate the point you’re illustrating: Jesus before ourselves!
Day 10 Giveaway
Amber is giving away a ton of goodies: a large sweatshirt, 2 small t-shirts, 1 medium T-shirt, two Granger Smith CDs (one is signed), 2 Yee Yee candles, and one Christmas wood sign. And in case you missed it, our Grand Prize includes Granger Smith concert tickets, and yep, that’s Amber’s husband!
Giveaway rules are listed below. Enjoy!
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Amber Smith is an actress whose work includes many national commercials and recurring roles on hit TV series including Dallas and American Crime. The Texas born mom of three loves to craft in her spare time making t-shirts and rustic signs. She also loves traveling with her husband, county music singer/songwriter Granger Smith. The pair tragically lost their youngest son, River Kelly Smith, in June 2019. While this loss has devastated their family, they have vowed to bring light from the dark, by creating the River Kelly Fund, designed to spread joy and help those in need, in his honor. To date the fund has raised over $300,000, including over $200,000 for Dell Children’s Medical Center, where their son received care, in Austin, TX. Learn more about the fund and the Smith’s mission here. Amber continues to share her faith-filled journey on her Instagram and on their family YouTube page The Smiths.
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12 Days of Christmas Giveaways Rules
- U.S. Addresses only please.
- You can comment on all 12 days (once per person) up until midnight Pacific time, Sunday, December 22. Each day will be linked below for easy reference.
- One daily winner will be chosen from each day’s comments.
- To enter to win the Grand Prize (worth over $150 and includes a $75 Amazon gift card, and two admission tickets (with meet-and-greet) to a concert with award-winning country music artist, Granger Smith, comment on, and share all 12 posts. You can use the share buttons below or repost and share on Instagram (my fave!) and tag me @karenehman.
- All winners (including Grand Prize) will be announced here on the blog on Monday, December 23, and contacted via email. Please allow 4-6 weeks to receive your prizes.
- If you’re not already subscribed, click HERE and you’ll receive an email notification each day of our series, plus my Bless Don’t Stress devotional.
DAY 10 GIVEAWAY QUESTION:
Do you have a Christmas tradition that has to do with the nativity story? What is it? If you don’t, is there another favorite tradition you can share with us?
Let us know in the comments and you’ll be entered in today’s giveaway. Remember, if you want to enter to win the grand prize, you must comment on and share all twelve days.
Day 1 with Candace Cameron Bure
Day 7 with Phylicia Masonheimer
We have done all the above except videoing. I wished I had, but they are all out of higher school now. One thing we did one year was to do random acts of kindness for people. It could be a stranger (open a door while we were at a store) or a family member. My house got cleaned so much that year!! And every time you did something you got a handful of hay and put it in the homemade manger by the tree. The idea was to have a nice bed of hay for baby Jesus come Christmas morning. The more acts of kindness, the more hay he would have To lie his sweet head on. We kept a bucket of hay by the door outside.
We look for a new Nativity scene each year to add to our tree or place in our home. I love the beautiful reminders of the reason we celebrate Christmas. <3
My mom always displayed this beautiful nativity set and now it’s mine to display. We also open one gift on Christmas Eve and it’s always pajamas:)
We have grandkids now and we’ve started using Shepherd on the Search and a modified advent calendar to reinforce the story of the Nativity.
Our tradition was making Jesus’ a birthday cake.
Opening a gift on Christmas Eve – always PJs
In our home Dad read from Luke 2 on Christmas Eve after we had attended the Christmas Eve Service at church. Our children played with the nativity pieces as he read. They were trying to play act as he read the story of the birth of Jesus.
I’m a new Nana since August of this year. And I’m very intrigued with the idea of buying a piece of the nativity set each year for my granddaughter so she will have her own nativity set when she turns eighteen. That would be something sentimental as well as useful to her.
We have a hands on nativity set out and we read the Christmas story. We love the candlelight service on Christmas Eve.
When the boys were little we got them their own nativity to set up. It was fun to watch over the years where they put it and how they set it up.
My grandparents had a nativity set under the tree. A tradition that my in-laws have done is singing a special song to Jesus on Christmas Eve.
We always had our nativity set out early but Jesus was put in on Christmas Eve.
We don’t have a tradition like that. A friend of mine mentioned how her younger kids colored coloring pages of the nativity. Then when they went looking at Christmas lights they would leave them in people’s mailboxes that had outside lighted nativities.
We read the Bible Luke 2 and we have a plastic children’s nativity they can move the pieces and tell the story and the baby comes out, it’s not a permanent type thing. So when it’s Christmas we put the baby in, of course. We also make a very special fancy cake for the birthday boy!!
Moving the nativity wiseman closer to the star and stable each day through december. the kids love watching them travel. Similar to elf on the shelf but its the wise men on the move!
Well we have Nativity sets out. One nice one and one my daughter painted when she was 3. We also have a Nativy magnet story telling book.
Another Christ centered thing we do is throw a birthday party for Jesus on Christmas Eve.
My Mother was Roman Catholic, & My Father was Southern Baptist! So We Celebrated the Nativity a little differently. Christmas Eve was My Moms to celebrate, and Christmas Day was my Dads. Too many good memories to list. But I do miss that.
We read the Christmas story together as a family each Christmas.
We always do a Jesse Tree with little ornaments that represent the parts of the Nativity.
We always love to drive around and look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve after attending a Christmas Eve candlelight service. We always love seeing the various Nativity scenes in various yards.
Love the nativity ideas- especially recording the children reciting the nativity story. We love going to a live nativity. This has been a tradition in my family since I was a little child.
Going to grandmas for Christmas and Santa comes amd reads from the Bible.
We read the Christmas story from Luke 2 every Christmas morning! But, now after reading this we may fo the baby Jesus hunt too!! Thank you for the opportunity to win these great prizes!
We have husband read Luke 2 and The Little Match Girl every Christmas.
My mom had a tiny porcelain nativity set and I loved the little lamb in it. We set it up on the same buffet table below where we hung our stockings.