Christmas Symbols Countdown

One thing I have tried to do with my children since they were very young was teach them about the symbols of Christmas. I have tried to do this a bunch of different ways...but several years ago I finally found something that is fun for our family that has become one of our favorite traditions.

We have one of those little tabletop trees that newlyweds have in their new, teeny-tiny apartments :) One year I realized it would be fun to get different ornaments to represent the different symbols and hang them on our little tree. That simple idea has transformed into an advent of sorts and something we all really look forward too. All you need to do this fun activity with your family is a little tree and the following ornaments:

Christmas Tree
Bell
Wreath
Candy Cane
Gift
Star
Red ornament
Green ornament

There are more symbols of Christmas but these are the ones I use. I wrap up each ornament and every night starting on December 16th we unwrap one ornament, discuss what it symbolizes, and hang it on the tree. On Christmas Eve I always make sure we unwrap the Gift ornament, and we talk about the symbolism of the Greatest Gift of all time...the birth of our Savior and his Atonement.

I took pictures of each of the ornaments we have and put what they symbolize as well. I use THIS story to get the meanings of all the symbols.

This has become a precious tradition in our family and a wonderful way to help my children understand the true meaning of Christmas!

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I hope this maybe gave you one more way to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.