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12 Virtual Days of Christmas

Are you struggling this year? And are you frustrated that you might not be able to do some of your favorite holiday traditions? Are you worried that the holidays are ruined? Well, you are not alone! I talk with people every day that are struggling in their hearts to see how this holiday can be as special as past holidays. Before we go any further let me assure you, this holiday will be different. BUT, that does not mean that it can’t be incredibly fun, special, and filled with joy! I believe this is the year to add new traditions into the mix that will make this year incredibly special! So, we have decided to have 12 Virtual Days of Christmas!

12 Virtual Days of Christmas

How to make it more than just okay.

I don’t think there is any point in trying to have a sub-par, just okay, not to bad holiday. In fact, I believe just as I do every year, that we need to do our best to make each holiday and family event really special! So with that in mind, my family and I started brainstorming on what we could do to make this holiday really special even though we would be missing family members, unable to travel or be traveled to, and well, we would all be keeping our distance to avoid illness.

Leading your family to a memorable virtual Christmas.

The idea that resonated with all of us, was to have a virtual 12 days of Christmas! Everyone loves having a 12 days of Christmas celebration with some festive note every single day, and keeping it virtual will keep everyone involved. Even teens were agreed that this would be fun!

We are going to invite our family locally, and far away to participate in a virtual 12 days of Christmas Celebration! Each day for 12 nights in December we will be celebrating together…but far apart! Each family will post a picture of the days celebrations, and it will go into a digital folder that we can all access. At the end of the 12 days, my daughter will make a video of all of the pictures in collage form and share it with the whole group.

Keeping in light.

If you are going to join in on the Virtual 12 days of Christmas let me tell you first that you can change it up to whatever works with your family. The list below is what our family decided on. Make it your own, and make it doable for all levels of family members. Remember it is about fun and virtual togetherness, not perfection.

Day 1- Picture of Family in front of Decorated Tree

Our family puts our tree up traditionally on the day after Thanksgiving. This year we will be having carpet laid the next week, so we are more likely to wait a week to put the tree up. So, we are going to get creative and take our photo…and photo shop in a tree!

Other ideas include taking a photo shopping or cutting down your tree. Or a pic of your family putting the tree up. I should take a minute to make a point…Mom’s don’t hide from the picture. We do that too often and your kids are going to want to see you in the pictures too!

Christmas Tree

Day 2- Making Christmas Cards

Is your family Crafty? Have a Christmas Card making party and take photos of the cards your family is making. Are you not a crafty family? Then buy your cards and have every member of the family sign each card while enjoying hot cider and sharing favorite memories of past holidays.

Christmas Cards

Day 3-Baking Cookies

This is totally one of my favorite things to do at the holidays! I have a bazillion Cookie Cutters, Cookie Sheets, and decorations to add the perfect touch. Last year we had a blast with 10 of us around the table making cookies. My niece Betsy was making them for the first time at age 2, and my Mom made them for the last time at age 79. When I look back on the pictures it brings back such warm memories of the time we had together, and that we took time out of our day, with our phones off, to decorate cookies….and spend precious time together.

And if you don’t have time to bake the cookies, that’s okay! Buy pre made cookies and decorate them. Or purchase Pop Tarts or Graham Crackers and make “gingerbread” houses. It does not have to be Pinterest Perfect, it just has to be time well spent.

Christmas Cookies

Day 4- Car Caroling while Looking at Christmas Lights

One of our family’s favorite activities every year is to get dressed in warm clothes, fill up the thermos with hot cocoa, and go out in search of Christmas Lights. We live out in the country, so lighted houses are pretty few and far between. So, between houses we sing Christmas Carols. It is such a simple and special time we all look forward to it every year!

Day 5- Creating Nativity Set

This idea is a little more on the crafty side. So again, if you are not particularly crafty, spend time as a family putting out a premade nativity set and talking about that amazing night.

But if you are crafty, or want to have some fun, gather materials, and make nativity sets. You could put the names of the key players (Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds, 3 Wise Men, Angels, Animals, Inn Keeper) in a hat and have each member pull them out to see who makes each figurine. My suggestion would be to use old fashion clothes pins or empty toilet paper rolls to make the figurines. That keeps it simple!

Day 6- Watching a Christmas movie

Every family has a favorite Christmas Movie to watch together. So make a plan to have a good snack (Check out my Hot Cocoa Munch Recipe), something warm to drink, and leave all phones and devices in the other room). Cuddle up under blankets and watch your favorite holiday film together.

Our Family loves Christmas with the Kranks, Elf, Arthur Christmas and a Charlie Brown Christmas to name a few!

Baby Elf

Day 7- Pet Costume Dress-up

Almost everyone has a pet and a pet dress up day is so fun! You can use a costume from a past holiday or make a fun costume out of whatever you have laying around the house. My grand puppy pebbles loves to get dressed up, and loves the attention that we all give her when she is dressed up. Okay…we are always giving her attention because she is an adorable peekapoo!

Dress Up Your Dog

If you don’t have pets, you could have an ugly sweater contest with items laying around the house or build the biggest paper chain party.

Day 8- Candlelit Board Games

One of my children’s and grandchildren’s favorite thing to do during the winter is playing board games by candlelight. The tradition started years ago when we were living through a long winter power outage. We had been in the house a long time and needed something fun to do. So, we made popcorn on the fire, and some hot cocoa too, lit candles, and played board games at the table. It was such a wonderful time. We did this for a few years, and then decided that we don’t have to wait for the electric to go out to have this special fun.

Board Games

So, make a big bowl of popcorn, warm up some drinks, turn out the lights and all electronics, and light a few candles. This time around the table will be really good memory making time. And, if your family is not into board games, you can simply sit around in the near dark asking questions and answering. Here are a few questions to get you started:

If you could meet and talk to one historical figure, who would it be and why?

What is your greatest childhood memory?

If you could visit anywhere in the world where would it be and why?

Or you can go silly…as our family does:

Would you rather swim a river of snot or climb a mountain of maggots?

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

If you were a dog, what kind of dog would you be, and what would your dog name be?

12 Virtual Days of Christmas

Day 9- Hot Cocoa Bar

A few years ago, my daughter Victoria and I were traveling for business at Christmas and went to a Christmas Fair that was happening near our hotel one night. One of our favorite memories of that night was having an amazing over the top Hot Cocoa that included Cocoa, candy Canes, Whipped Cream, Sprinkles, a cool Snowman, a cherry on the top, and a chocolate drizzle! It was such a fun and festive night! We had such a great time that we decided to have a Hot Cocoa Bar on Christmas Eve at home!  First, we set out hot cocoa, marshmallows, chocolate sauce, sprinkles, whipped cream, caramel sauce, crushed candy canes, and more! We used big Christmas Mugs and family members could create their own towering hot cocoa. It was tasty, but also so fun to see everyone’s creativity.

Hot Cocoa Bar

Day 10- Christmas Pajamas Picture

Growing up our family opened presents on Christmas Morning, we still do in fact…its tradition! But our parents would always allow us to open one present the night before Christmas. It took a while before we caught on that the present was almost always going to be Pajamas. Sometimes they were Christmas Specific, and sometimes they were regular pajamas. I don’t think I realized until I had my own children that it was my Mom’s way of ensuring we would all look decent in Christmas Morning pictures! Lol. So, you guessed it, my kids always received pajamas on Christmas eve as well!

A few years ago, I decided I was going to make everyone that was coming for Christmas plaid pajamas. So… I spent a few weeks sewing and turned out 15 pairs of plaid pajamas! The photos were so worth the work. Halfway thru the day we had everyone go outside in the cold in their pj’s and pose for pics. Some were serious, some silly, but all were filled with memories and have since reminded us of such a good time together.

Even if you are not going to go crazy making 15 pairs of pajamas, you could have everyone don their red, green, and white clothes/jammies/sweats, and add a few Santa hats and your have a great picture ready for the making!

Christmas Pajamas

Day 11- Christmas Eve Party (Zoom)

Zoom has taken over the world and I love it!!! I have used it for work for a while, but recently attended my first Zoom party. It was such a blast! The party was for the lifelong best friend of my Mom Ruth. The party was so neat because people from all of the world were on the Zoom meeting. Her son and daughter in law in China, friends from all over the United States, and friends that were closer as well. We watched a photo montage, everyone shared a memory or well wish, and then people chatted. It was really a special time. So even if you cannot get your family together, you can be together online.

If you have family members who are not used to getting on Zoom meetings, you can invite them to a pre party a few days ahead where you take the time to walk them thru setting it up, and ensuring they will be able to join the party. Trust me, it will be worth it!

Zoom Virtual Christmas

Day 12- Christmas Day Breakfast Brunch

A Christmas Day Brunch would be a great time to open Zoom, or Skype or even facetime to share the moments with family and friends. I have a three-year-old niece that lives in another state and we frequently spend time together on facetime. Sometimes she shows me a dance, or something she made at preschool. Sometimes she calls to tell me she went got hurt on her finger. And sometimes she just calls. But it is fun to spend time seeing her grow and change. And of course, I adore her little smile.

I am going to bake cinnamon rolls in the shape of a Christmas tree the day before, so I can just heat them up and frost them that morning. I am also making a breakfast casserole with eggs, sausage or ham and cheese that I can put in the oven Christmas Morning and it can cook while presents are being opened. Then just add orange juice and a quick easy breakfast is ready!

Whether you are committing to do 12 virtual days of Christmas, or just one or two, I hope that you and your family spend time making this Christmas a very special one. It has been a difficult year in many ways, but there have also been so many blessings, and family for certain the best one!

Cinnamon Rolls

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