Our 12 Days of Giving Tree

With all of the hustle and bustle of Christmas activities, it is sometimes easy to forget about those that are less fortunate.  I wanted to make sure that the kids would remember the spirit of giving during this holiday season and decided to do a "12 Days of Giving Tree" this year.

I have made the toilet paper roll pillow boxes before and got the idea to use them on the tree from Brown Paper Packages' advent calendar.  Thankfully, I only had to do 12 instead of 24 {and honestly I have only finished 6 up to this point!}

{Did you spot our little Elf on the Shelf?}

I covered the rolls with silver wrapping paper, tied them up with some baker's twine, and used some scrapbook paper from Echo park around the middle to add some color.  Now obviously the important part about this project is what is in the inside of the little rolls. We are going to be sponsoring a local family this year so some of the days are devoted to collecting items for their gift basket.

Day 1 - Take some money down to the Salvation Army Christmas fund.
Day 2 - Find some blankets to donate to the school cold weather drive.
Day 3 - Buy some toys for our sponsor family {this should be interesting having the boys pick out a present for a 4 year old girl!}
Day 4 - Take a neighbor a little gift.
Day 5 - Go grocery shopping and put some food in the Food Bank bin.
Day 6  - Buy some new clothes for our sponsor family.
Day 7 - Make a Christmas card to give.
Day 8 - Take some food and old towels to our animal shelter.
Day 9 - Donate some warm clothing.
Day 10 - Buy some Christmas goodies and other food items for our sponsor family.
Day 11 - Bake some Christmas treats for your friends.
Day 12 - Make a "gift certificate" for someone.  {I'm thinking along the lines of a card that will be good for a "breakfast in bed" or "help washing the car".  We will see what the kids come up with!}

Hopefully this will teach us all to be more appreciative of what we have and allow the kids to experience the joys of giving. 

I know I need some reminders myself to slow down and remember what Christmas is all about!

I linked up with The Shabby Creek Cottage, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, Tip Junkie, Skip To My Lou, Lolly Jane Boutique, Gluesticks, Blue Cricket Design, Uncommon, Under the Table and Dreaming, CRAFT, I Heart Naptime, Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, Thirty Handmade Days, Design Dazzle, Tidy Mom, The 36th Avenue, Somewhat Simple, Crafty Scrappy Happy and Delightful Order.