My Favorite Christmas Traditions!!

How to keep Christ at the Center of Christmas!

I love Christmas, but sometimes I'm overwhelmed by the overload of commercial products, all the hoopla around what Santa will bring, and feeling like your house has to be decorated perfectly. Remember, Christmas is all about CHRIST! It's about feeling peace in your home, giving from the heart, and enjoying traditions and memories together as a family. Here are some of my favorite things to do with my kiddos each year!

24 Days of Christmas Reading:

Ever since I was a kid I've been collecting Christmas books. I have some that say, "To Kirsten 1986, From Grandma and Grandpa B." I love that my mom saved these for me so that I can still enjoy them today with my kids!! Every year I wrap up our books and put them in a basket for the kids to open one each night! This helps our night routine go faster since the kids are excited to get to reading!

20 Days of Christmas Scripture Countdown & Ornaments:

A couple years ago I wanted an advent calendar that truly reminded me of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas. So I opened up my New Testament and marked my very favorites of the story of Jesus' birth and the nativity story. Each day the kids open the bag to find the scripture. We read it and open the tissue paper to find the item to either enjoy, create or decorate our tree!
I'm super bummed because I checked my computer (and my laptop) and couldn't find the document I created to share. So you'll have to type up your own, but here are the scriptures and the corresponding item I use!

Day 1: John 1: 1-5 Jesus is the light of the world (pull out the small Christmas tree and decorate with lights!)
Day 2: Luke 1: 26-32 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to the virgin Mary (angel ornament)
Day 3: Matthew 1:18 An Angel visited Joseph in a dream and told him to marry Mary (2 rings on a string (ornament) AND ring pops!)
Day 4: Matthew 1:21 Jesus shall save his people from their sins (cross ornament)
Day 5: Luke 2:1 There went out a decree that all the world should be taxed (chocolate coins)
Day 6: Luke 2: 4-5 And Joseph went up from Nazareth unto Bethlehem with Mary (plastic donkey toy)
Day 7: Luke 2:6-7 Mary brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger (nativity ornament)
Day 8: Isaiah 9:6  For unto us a child is born.. he shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace (ornament that says Peace)
Day 9: Luke 2: 8-12 And there were shepherds keeping watch on their flocks at night (3 sheep ornaments)
Day 10: Luke 2:13-14 Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men (musical note ornament- listen to Christmas music to fall asleep)
Day 11: Luke 2: 15-16 So the shepherds found Mary & Joseph and the Baby who was lying in a manger (candy canes turned into ornaments)
Day 12: Luke 2: 17-18 And when they had seen Him they made known abroad (jingle bells!! Did you know that the shepherds rang bells to spread the word?)
Day 13: Luke 2:19 Mary pondered these thing in her heart (heart buttons for the kids to make ornaments with OR heart ornament)
Day 14:  Luke 2:20 Shepherds return and praise God (rocks to decorate and put on pillows to remember to pray!)
Day 15: Luke 2: 21 His name was called Jesus (ornament with Jesus' name or Jesus nativity coloring book)
Day 16: Luke 2:24 Offer a sacrifice... in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves (not quite sure- either a service act we do for someone else OR a turtle dove ornament?)
Day 17: Matthew 2:1-2 There came wisemen from the East who have seen the star and come to worship Him (3 wooden game pieces to decorate like wisemen!)
Day 18: Matthew 2: 9-10 The wisemen followed the star in the East and rejoiced with exceeding great joy (JOY ornament)
Day 19: Matthew 2:11 They fell down and worshiped Him and brought Him gifts- gold, frankincese & Myrh (3 little presents)
Day 20: John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life!! (Christmas chocolate or candy- the gospel is so SWEET! Look at our completed Christmas tree pointing to heaven and represents everlasting life!)

A lot of the little pieces are from Michael's. The little animal buttons, sparkly candy canes, wooden pieces) Others I've collected over time. Because I have limited wall space, I have a shoe organizer that I use to put the items in the pockets for each day and I've cut out Christmas decorative paper for each pocket and covered clothespins to make it look pretty :) Below you can see our mini tree that goes in the boys' room and we add an ornament each day!

((This shoe organizer also doubles as a Christmas card holder as well!! Just clip them to the clothespins and you've got yourself a fancy card display! ))

Christmas Pillowcases: 

My grandmother started a great tradition that I love!! She makes my kids special Christmas pillowcases! The pattern is super easy and simple, and they turn out so cute with their trimming and 3 coordinating fabrics. It would be fun to give them on Christmas eve to help the kids sleep well with all the anticipation and excitement... we love to enjoy them all month long!

Nativities:

I've simplified my decor quite a bit over the years. And what always seems to stay, is Nativity scenes! My entire mantle is my Nativity Willow Dolls and Creche that I have collected over the years.

Whether they're magnets, wooden blocks, little people toys, tiny clay figurines, or soft pillows, I LOVE having Nativities throughout the house that the kids are allowed to touch and interact with. I want to make sure my kids know what Christmas is all about and why we celebrate this special holiday. Then on Christmas Eve, we read the story of Christ's birth from the New Testament, and the children dress up as the parts as we listen and sing! It's probably my favorite Christmas tradition of them all!

One of my favorite gifts I made one year is this super easy home made nativity blocks:

I purchased a digital nativity scene, cut out the images, applied modge podge to the blocks and on top of the paper, and found a cute box at the part supply store! I made 10-15 of them for my parents, siblings, cousins, and other family members! It's definitely one of my favorite things to pull out of the Christmas decor boxes!

Service Elves:

I'm pretty sure my Grandmother made up "Elf on the Shelf" 30 years ago! They would have little stuffed elves visit their home, and move around each day as Santa's helper. Instead of making messes and getting into mischief (I have enough mess to clean up from my family, thank you very much!) Our elves come with a special note saying they are service elves. When you do something kind for another member of the family, you can "magically" (secretly) move the elf to that location. (For example, if Tyler makes Jackson's bed, he will move the elf to his brother's bed) Then Jackson can think of something kind to do for someone else and move the elf there. I want my kids to know that WE create the magic of Christmas by serving others and being kind!

A few more favorite Christmasy things:

Christmas Songs- Primary Singing Time

We were asked to sing Picture a Christmas (CS 50) for our sacrament meeting before Christmas, so it's time to start practicing! I'm printing these pictures: and laminating with magnetic backing so I can put up the pictures as we sing each part. (For sacrament meeting, I'll use a cookie sheet instead of a flip chart!) After we learn the song in primary, I'll pick reverent helpers to put each picture up as we sing that part. You could even print off a set for each class to do as we practice & sing!

We were also asked to sing Away in a Manger (CS 42) So we will learn that as well, and I'll do some fun things for the ":asleep" echos. Kids/teachers, boys/girls, left side/right side, junior primary/senior primary (we meet together)

Here are the other songs we will sing this month:
Christmas Bells (54)- with handbells! (maybe just for Senior Primary)
Jingle Bells- with pipe cleaners bent in circle with bells. Great for nursery too!
He Sent His Son (34) (from last year's program so they know this already. I love to use Dynamics sticks to show when to sing quietly, slowly, loudly- really helps to get feeling into the song! I use animals- bunny, snail, lion and they know what it means)
Jesus Said Love Everyone (61) quick & easy. Another fun one for 4 corners, or just 4 pictures to represent each line.
Once there was a Snowman- with actions, of course!!
The Nativity Song (52)- make 4 squares on the board and have a couple kids come up and draw a picture for each line. Then play 4 corners by splitting the room in 4 parts and having them sing just one part each, then switch parts so each corner sings a different line each time we practice!

My Obsession with Christmas Trees!

Evidently I'm obsessed with Christmas Tree Crafts! And a themed obsession combined with an obsession of Pinterest, is REALLY dangerous. I'll share some of my favorite Christmas Tree creations and where the inspiration came from:

Appliqued triangles, rectangle and a star makes a great T-shirt idea (especially one that is stained and gross looking anyway! --like trash to treasure!)

Inspired from:

(too bad I don't have little girls to add all the ribbons and bows- so cute!)

Last year I made these ribbon trees with the girls that I teach Craft Camp with:

I saw these on one of my favorite blogs, Enjoying the Small Things

Source: kellehampton.com via Kirstikoo on Pinterest

I love the modern spin on them and used plain green yarn. They took FOR-EV-ER! But I think they turned out great. I used a glue gun and two layers of yarn, then mini ornament balls for the top.

I added red, white and green buttons to a set that I sent for the Winter Swap!

I made 30 of these felt ornaments to decorate a Christmas Tree at our Church Ward's Party-- half of them are being sent to military troops on care packages!

And last year I made this Merry Christmas Tree applique pillow-- I ended up making 20 for a friend to give as gifts!

I think this would make a super cute small pillow with just one, and I saw this cute version on neutral colors- darling!

Source: ourwonderfilledlife.com via Kirstikoo on Pinterest

My 4 year old came home with this tree from Preschool and I LOVE it!!

Handprint art is my very favorite and I love how simple it is.

I am way too cheap to buy a tree skirt, so I decided to make my own!

I used Make it & Love it's tutorial here and loved that all I had to do was cut and sew on some already ruffled trim. I used fleece so I didn't even hem where I cut- wahoo!

Source: makeit-loveit.com via Kirstikoo on Pinterest

For how much I love Christmas Trees you'd think I'd have a great theme for decorating mine, but I really don't. I use colored balls and snowflakes and silver ornaments, but then there are the special ones and the cutesy ones, so I just have a little of everything...

Well, I hope you had fun!! Here are some other fun Christmas Tree crafts, projects and inspirations:

Holiday Gift Guide- Holiday Pillows {Chapman Place}

Who doesn't like a good pillow? I am in LOVE with these pillows from Chapman Place! Jessica has an adorable blog with lots of fun tutorials and geat decorating ideas. I honestly wish she was my own personal decorating assistant!

Jessica has an amazing sense of design and style. I love the fonts and colors she uses! The HOHOHO is my very favorite. I'm a sucker for a set of three somethings :)
Let it Snow!
NOELPeace on EarthLet it Snow... again. In a set of 3!!
And Mrs. Chapman's personal favorite... Poinsettia!
The cute poinsettia is made out of felt. Wanna make your own?! Go HERE for the tutorial from Centsational Girl.

These pillows are very reasonably prices and you can find all of them at Chapman Place on ETSY! Wanna make your own? Her stencils are also available HERE! I love that she uses drop cloth material for all her stenciled pillows. What a great idea!

Thanks for participating Jessica!

Merry Christmas Tree Pillow

These Christmas Tree Pillows were featured on Lolly Jane Boutique last year! I love them so much I just had to bring them back again this year!

Supplies:

(2) 18X23 pieces of dark green flannel

Scraps in 3 different fabrics (red, white, green) for trees and brown for stems

1/4 yard Fusible Web or Wonder-Under

Red tulle

Green ribbon

Thread

1. Download template, cut out 1 large and 2 small Christmas trees from three different fabrics and 1 piece of brown for the stems. Also cut the same out of the fusible web.

2. Iron fusible web to the triangle trees, using the directions given.

With the stem piece, iron under 1/4 inch on long sides and cut in thirds (just eyeball this, it doesn't have to be exact and is kinda fun when the stems are different lengths.)

Fold under one short side 1/4 inch, then slip the unfinished edge of the stem under each tree and iron the trees to the flannel.

3.Sew around each tree and each stem, about 1/4 from the edge to reinforce the fusible web- I like to use contrasting thread colors on the trees!

4.Cut 10 inches from the green ribbon and sew down the middle using the longest stitch you have. Then pull on the bobbin thread to scrunch up the ribbon like this:

Fold under each edge and pin to the red tree. Sew down the middle of the ribbon again (with your regular stitch length)

5. Now we'll do the same thing with the red tulle. Cut a 6X6 square and fold in half long-wise. Sew down the center, using the longest stitch and pull on bobbin threads to get the tulle to ruffle

6. Place near the top of the green tree and sew down the center of the tulle, on top of the previous stitching.

7. Now you are ready to sew the pillow together! With right sides together, sew using a 3/8 seam allowance on all sides, leaving a 4 inch opening to turn fabric and stuff with polyester fiberfill!

And you are ready to place on your comfy couch or give as a wonderful gift to someone you love!

I am working on another very special Christmas project right now... Can't wait to show you!

{Linking up here:}