Since the birth of my girls, each year I try to begin my Christmas preparations just a little bit sooner than I did the last.  I have never been much of a procrastinator to begin with, but I find that by getting the majority of my gift purchasing and ‘must do’ items out of the way early, I can focus on all the family traditions and small memory making moments that I love!  So even though we have yet to carve the Thanksgiving turkey, I wanted to post an idea that you can prep ahead of time so it is ready to go on December 1st.

Anyone with children is familiar with the “paper chain” countdown, right?!?!  The door in our kitchen has been festooned with countdown chains for everything from countdown to vacation, to the end of the school year, to a birthday celebration.  It is a popular item for my 2 – 6 year olds!  This Christmas I decided that I am going to add a new spin to this popular holiday activity by adding a scripture to each link of the chain.  Using the verses of Matthew, each day will retell the story of the birth Christ, culminating on Christmas morning.  My first grader is an avid reader, so I know she will place particular importance and pride in sharing that day’s portion of the Christmas story.  I can’t wait to add this Christmas scripture chain to our family traditions!

www.hollyskeltonbooks.com

www.thelittleheartsproject.blogspot.com