TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
We grown-ups can talk about The Twelve Days of Christmas all we want to.
Twelve means absolutely nothing to excited children.
Children understand Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning and little else.
They are not as silly as we are.
We drag things out until we wish that a beautiful holiday like Christmas would come and be gone.
I searched through my jars and bowls and containers.
I found many teeny tiny objects to use for my project.
I also bought other teeny tiny things at various craft stores when they were on sale or when I had a coupon.
I looked for teeny tiny packages of multiples.
Using an old jewelry holder from the thrift store, I sorted the treasures
and threaded the string, cord and ribbon through their little holes and hung them in groups.
It was easy to see everything and to look behind and beneath and beside.
Some of the grandchildren came to visit as I finished threading the tiny things. To each of them, I gave a nice, new, paper egg carton. I asked them if they would like to choose twelve favorite little things and put them into the twelve egg-holes in the carton ?
The answer was YES.
This child wanted symbolism in every piece and took some time to choose
just the perfect 12 pieces for her
Twelve Days of Christmas.
She kept exclaiming:
“this makes me think of —-” and “ohhhhhh . . . this is perfect for the 5th day.”
Things like that.
She asked for a pen, which she used to write numbers at the bottom of each compartment.
When she had chosen, she wrote her name and the contents on the top of the lid.
When she went home, she carried her treasures carefully to her mother’s car.
I loved seeing and hearing each child as they sorted through the hanging treasures.
“There’s a hedgehog!” “Oh, how cute . . . it’s a little starfish.”
I could never in a million years have predicted which treasures would have appealed to which child.
I could see how important it was for me to let them pick their own Twelve Days of Christmas.
I have little bags with little tags numbered from one to twelve.
Onto each tag I stapled a little treasure.
These are for my friends and neighbors.
Here are just a few of the little teeny treasures that can be put on a teeny, tiny Christmas Tree for 12 days in a row.
Here are the rest of this particular Twelve Days of Christmas set.
And here is one more set with tags.
Now, go home and put them near the tree and then go outside and play.
Love, Grandma