Don’t stop celebrating Christmas on December 25th! Keep celebrating with the 12 Days of Christmas. It’s a fun way to keep the season going a bit longer.
The time leading up to Christmas can be so magically. There is so much excitement while you countdown the days. For many the day after Christmas can be a bit of a let down.
When I was a kid we left Christmas decor up until at least my brother’s birthday in early January. We would also usually keep watching Christmas movies and celebrating the season. There is something calm and peaceful about the days after Christmas.
You can also be intentional about extending the celebration. After such a tough year it’s a great time to start a tradition of celebrating the 12 days of Christmas. It also can help make the long, cold winter days a bit more cheerful.
What Are the 12 Days of Christmas?
The 12 days of Christmas, also known as Twelvetide, isn’t just a Christmas carol, it’s also a traditional way of celebrating after Christmas.
The 12 days of Christmas is a Christian season celebrating the Nativity of Jesus. Christmas Day is usually concerned the first day of Christmas with the twelve-day being on January 5th, followed by Epiphany.
Epiphany is a day celebrating the Wise Men that visited Jesus. Traditionally Christmas decorations would stay up until Epiphany on January 6th. This is a tradition many still follow.
Even if you aren’t religious you can still use the 12 days of Christmas as a way to extend the holiday season. It can help prevent those feelings of let down after Christmas is over.
Ways to Celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas
There are several ways you can choose to celebrate. These are some ideas that may work for you and your family. You can also mix and match to make a bigger celebration.
- Watch a Christmas movie.
- Do one festive Christmas activity.
- Have one small gift.
- Read a Christmas book.
- Do some random acts of kindness.
- Create your own candy 12 days of Christmas calendar.
- Celebrate weird and fun holidays.
- Buy an advent calendar on sale and open two boxes each day.
This year I’m celebrating by putting together 12 small gifts, basically stocking stuffers, for my husband to open each day. I plan to also watch Christmas movies and do any of the Christmas activities I didn’t have time for before Christmas.
Knowing I have these days to celebrating makes the days leading up to Christmas less stressful. I’m not rushing to do everything I want to for Christmas before, I’m taking my time to celebrate.
12 Days of Christmas List
Plan out what you want to do each day with this free printable 12 days of Christmas list. You can use it for any of the above ideas or to mix and match them.
Hang it up on the fridge or keep it in your Christmas planner. It will help you make sure you have everything you need for each day.
12 Days of Christmas Gift Tags
If you are giving gifts each day you can use these free printable gift tags to keep track of each gift. They are cute and fun little tags to add to your gifts.
This is something fun you could do for Christmas in July as well. Sometimes we need a bit of Christmas magic half way through the year and this would be a fun way to do just that!
If you celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas be sure to share how you celebrate in the comments. It’s always fun to hear how different people celebrate holidays.
Leave a Reply