The 12 Days of Christmas & Lil Light O’Mine Giveaway

Five years ago I had a little idea. What if for 12 days in December I let 12 of my fellow ministry partners at Proverbs 31 take over my blog. We could get to know them and what they do at Proverbs.  But best of all?

We could make it all Christmas-y with a holiday recipe, decorating or gift idea, or a way to make memories with your loved ones.

Oh, and offer a great giveaway each day?  Ta-da! The annual 12 Days of Christmas was born.

This year’s series starts Monday December 3rd and runs until the 14th, although you will have time to comment on all of the posts until Sunday night the 16th.

There will be one giveaway each day and a grand prize for someone who comments on all 12 days!!

Be sure to come back and join us.

Or, better yet, sign up for to get my posts delivered automatically to your in-box by clicking on the envelope icon in the top sidebar. I CAN’T WAIT!!

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Well, it is not the 12 days of Christmas yet, but I do have a festive treat for you today!

First of all, the LET. IT. GO. blog tour continues over at two friends’ sites:  Alina Joy and Courtney . And click here for the dozens of others on the tour. You could win the book or a Kindle Fire!

And secondly, while my friend Courtney is featuring me on her site, I am featuring her here!

I met Courtney last year at our Proverbs 31 She Speaks conference.

She is a way cool chick…

With a way cool website ( I LOVE the look and feel of it!)……..

and she sells these way cool ABC scripture cards for kids. (Pssst….stay tuned. She is giving away a set valued at $25!!)

But what I love most about her site at this time of year is her Light ‘Em Up series of ideas.

This series includes several cool printables with awesome ideas for your family to reach out during the holidays.

I could try to describe it to you, but I want you to see it for yourself so click here.

I love her Light “Em Up ideas so much because our family has learned over the years to be very intentional in doing for others (often anonymously) at the holidays.

Some of the things we like to do are take hot cocoa around to the  Salvation Army bell ringers in town, scrap windshields in the mall parking lot on a snowy day or bake cookies for the police of fire station.

One year, we organized an anonymous 12 Days of Christmas for a recently divorced dad whose wife left him (and his 5 kids). Each morning when they awoke, a new basket of goodies was awaiting them on their porch full of food, gift cards, board games, dvds, Christmas decorations (they had none). It was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever organized!!!

So, as promised, here are Courtney’s cool ABC scripture cards.

Leave a comment with a clever idea you have done (or one you’d like to do this year) and one winner will be chosen at random to recive a set of ABC Scripture cards!

Don’t forget to come back for the 12 Days of Christmas on Monday!

104 Comments

  1. Love to read all the clever and thoughtful ideas posted here. My husband and I make Swedish Tea Ring coffeecakes every year for neighbors and friends. This is a tradition that my mother and my three sisters do as well. Thank you for all the inspiration!

  2. we’re moving, having a baby and just got a puppy, so we weren’t going to decorate or go nuts this christmas. but it’s our first married christmas and my husband surprised me and put up our tree! it can’t wait to continue these traditions. i love these cards and would love to share with our first baby due in february! thank you!

  3. I take a card from the angel tree and fill a gift bag full of gifts, and I do some baking for nieghbors and people that I know that are home alone for Christmas, I make ‘Jesus Kits’ to put in every package I give or sell in my bisiness.

  4. I bake cookies each year and me and my kids decide to pick someone special to receive some yummy baked goods. This year we will be taking some to the fire station to thank them for their service :)

  5. We are going to candy cane our neighborhood this year. Our two kids are so excited to think that they get to do this without the neighbors knowing!

  6. What wonderful ideas! We don’t have a certain thing we do each year…I try to do random things all through the year not just at Chistmas some examples are: I have paid for a police officer’s soda just to say thanks for your service; I make it a point now to be sure to speak to each soldier in uniform I meet and thank them for their service also; I have taken vegetable trays and trays of wings to the staff at a skilled nursing facility. I try to take a few extra minutes for the elderly at church or those having a difficult time because of disabilities. I am anxious to incorporate some of the new ideas!! Thank you for sharing!

  7. My crazy family has a tradition of caroling on Christmas eve. Everyone goes-youngest to oldest. We all wear green and whilte felt elf hats that my mom made years ago. We make our way to the homes of those we love, those we know might be alone, those that are shut in or experiencing health problems. We don’t sound like an angel choir but the looks on their faces make it all worthwhile.

  8. Sweet. What great ideas. I love you 12 Days of Christmas. I think we will be intentional like this every month, 12 Months of Christmas.

  9. Every year on Christmas Day we volunteer at an organization that brings food to shut-ins, people that don’t have family, people living in low income areas or subsidized housing. It is a great family tradition and we are giving back. Some of the people don’t like company when you deliver meal but often we get a chance to go inside and talk to the people. We try to share the real meaning of Christmas with them and not just the provide a meal to them.

  10. My kids and I are actually going to make Christmas cards to deliver to local nursing homes. It is small, but it makes a big impact on my kids and hopefully brings a little joy into someone’s life. I cannot wait to take a closer look at these ideas and try some of them out. I want my kids to see Christ’s love in action instead of only thinking of presents or decorations.

  11. One yr when my dad was.in the nursing home we got our family together to do a Christmas hymn sing at the home … what fun!

  12. We pick an ornament off the giving tree in our church foyer and then let the kids pick out the gift and wrap it. We’ve also gotten in the habit of collecting items throughout the year for our Operation Christmas shoe boxes. Each of our kids make a box for a child similar in age and write a personal letter to the recipient. It’s been a great way to get my kids involved in reaching out to other kids that they can relate to.

  13. We try to different things every year. This year was the first time we delivered a Mocha to the bell ringer at Walmart. It was so awesome!

  14. The kids and I packed our first Operation Christmas Child shoebox. We LOVED it! I think it brought us more joy than the receiver…just imagining their tiny faces when they open them!!!

  15. One year, my friend’s husband was fighting cancer. I purchased their family an Advent book which they received anonymously. I’ve heard her discuss how much that has meant to them during that time and even now. It’s best because to this day she still has no idea who did it!

  16. We are doing Secret Santa at work again this year. I am going to give a note or small item to each of my co workers along with my secret sister. I do it periodically throughout the year but I am afraid they are figuring out who is doing it,

  17. Every year with our church we take gifts to about 20 Nursing Homes in our area. We reserve about 3 Nursing Homes and go to those with a group from church after our worship service the Sunday before Christmas. The residents love it because they get to see the kids. The kids love it because they are the ones that give the gifts to the people and say “Merry Christmas! God bless you!” to each one. It is a wonderful time!

  18. I love the Kight Em Up tradition………. Every year we pick angels from the angel tree and then enjoy shopping for them.. We have done this for years with our kids teaching them it is more blessed to give!!!!!!!

  19. We’re starting a Light Em Up tradition in conjunction with our Advent Christmas tree this year! I’m so excited to make our giving/doing more intentional this year! I would love to win the cards :) Merry CHRISTmas!!

  20. Wow, there are some amazing ideas listed here. Thank you for the wealth of information!!! I look forward to putting some of these ideas into practice, not just around Christmas, but all year round.

  21. We are starting the Light Em Up tradition this year…. love the idea of just trying to be as anonymous as possible and letting the kids take the lead on it. It allows them to feel a HUGE part of it. ;) I would SO love to win these cards… been looking at them on her blog and hoping for them. THANKS for the opportunity to get some.

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