December Daily Gifts
It’s officially here — December! If there were ever a month built for traditions, this is the one. So let’s talk about one of my favorites.
When Bailey was little, I started doing daily Advent gifts 🎁. It was just the two of us then, and those tiny gifts made the whole month feel special. They weren’t fancy — she was so little — but the tradition quickly became our thing.
Fast forward a bit. When Jeremy and I got married and our family grew, I brought the tradition with me. Starting December 1st, every child got a gift every single day through the 24th. (Not Christmas Day — that one explains itself!)
And because I’m me, I couldn’t just do random gifts. Oh no. Each day had a theme.
Candy day. Pajama day. Sock day. Body wash and bath sponge day. Every gift within the day “went together.” I treated this like the Olympics of gift curation.
As the kids got older, the gifts… well, they got more expensive. Let’s just call that what it is. But the excitement? Worth every bit of it. The kids looked forward to December 1st more than Christmas morning. They’d fly downstairs at sunrise ready to tear into whatever that day’s surprise was. Our “December Daily Gifts” became the official kickoff to the holiday season.
So what does this actually look like?
Two words: A LOT.
Worth it? Absolutely.
Work? Also yes.
With four children at home, that was 96 presents — all themed, all planned, all wrapped or bagged. I became a professional-level gift curator. Honestly, I think I enjoyed the hunt as much as they enjoyed the gifts.
How I make it happen
- I start in October and try to have everything ready by December 1st.
- I keep a running list for each child, organized by day.
- The black-and-yellow storage crates live in my dressing room all season.
- If I have one child’s gift but not the other’s, I stick a little Post-it on it so I know what’s missing.
- I use white organza drawstring bags for each day’s gifts and — thanks to my very clever husband — I add a numbered gift tag so I can just grab and go.
I did make one rule: once you move out, the daily gifts stop. We’ve got to draw a line somewhere, right?
Some days are small — Christmas body wash and a bath scrunchie. Some days are bigger now that they’re older — like paying their car tag renewal. We did that last year and you’d have thought I handed them each a winning lottery ticket.
Let me be honest, because that’s something I’m working on: some years this has stressed me out beyond measure. I have come dangerously close to losing the love of Jesus while trying to coordinate all this. Thankfully, I’ve mellowed a bit as I’ve gotten older.
This year, for December 1st, the two still at home got pajamas. Ralph Lauren pajamas. Apparently the elves have gotten a little bougie.
Last year, our two young adults still living at home surprised us with a daily gift. Every day we each received a handwritten card from them — a memory, a sweet note, something they appreciated. It was thoughtful and meaningful, and we still have every single one.
I’m not sure what I’ll do when the last two move out and I don’t have kids at home for this anymore. Maybe grandchildren will become the next lucky recipients.
What I do know is that this tradition has woven itself into the fabric of our family. The kids remember it, talk about it, and love it — and my hope is that they carry it forward to their own children one day.
Traditions don’t have to be big to be meaningful. They just have to be consistent — and full of heart ❤️.