I really liked the idea of the Lamb to help make our Christmas more centered on Christ instead of Santa, reindeer, and presents. (Not that those are bad, but they tend to take over the holiday if we let them.)
First, let's talk about where you can get your own Little Lamb set. They aren't on Amazon, so save yourself the search and check out these places instead:
Seagull Book or seagullbook.com (Direct link HERE)
Deseret Book or deseretbook.com (Direct link HERE)
And since many of my family and friends are from there, it can also be found at Service Drug in Delta, Utah.
This set has become pretty popular, and is selling out quickly, so don't wait to grab yours!
It comes in this box that will be great for storage at the end of the season. The box and the book contain many ideas for ways to use your Lamb this Christmas. You can make it as simple or as detailed as you like. Here are a few quick ideas to have your Little Lamb do (before I share what I decided to do this year):
- Have the Lamb deliver a scripture on a tag or paper each day/week
- The Lamb can bring service opportunities for your family to complete
- Let the Little Lamb be the messenger for the #LightTheWorld (25 Ways in 25 Days) videos and activities. There's also a great kids version HERE at A Year of FHE.
- Little Lamb can bring Family Home Evening activity ideas weekly
- Help build your nativity set by bringing each piece as you read the story of the first Christmas over the month of December
- Simply read the book and have the Lamb sit out as a reminder of the true meaning of Christmas
You can also search the tag #littlelamb on social media for more ideas.
If you're like me, you want things to be cute, but they HAVE to be easy. I found these cute FREE printable tags here at My Computer is My Canvas (Go ahead, click on the link so you don't forget, then hop on back over here. I highly recommend checking out her other printables too!) Just Pin her post to Pinterest and download your free set of Little Lamb tags!
She created gift tags for the set, 12 scripture tags, and 12 blank tags. Use as many or as few as you like. I decided to use the scripture and blank tags (you'll see them in the following photos) but I changed the numbers on them to fit my needs. (Mainly because I don't seem to know how follow instructions or to do anything like anyone else!)
>> Here's the part where I'll go through my plans for our family's Little Lamb experience. The days will correspond with the date (Day 1 = Dec. 1st) and I tried to plan ahead so we'd have the more time consuming activities on days we don't have parties, basketball games, or other events planned. Plus, I factored in our own Family Home Evening activities to be part of that day's delivery.
12 of the tags are scriptures from the nativity story found in the New Testament and will include pieces of our nativity set so we can build it as we learn. The other 12 are scriptures that teach us about another name for Jesus Christ and will include a treat/gift/activity to help us remember the name. I've also included a bonus scripture for Christmas Day. I did wrap all of the gifts, but I took the photos before so you could see what they were.
I have linked the scripture reference for each day so you can see how it correlates with the gift (some don't match perfectly, but we're building the nativity and every piece needed a part), or in case you'd like to read it before committing to share with your family. Look for the highlighted verse.
Day 1: Little Lamb will show up with the book, our wooden stable for our nativity set, and a tag with the name "Lamb of God" and scripture reference: John 1:29
Day 2: Donkey from our nativity + Luke 2:1
Day 3: Cow from nativity + Luke 2:3
Day 4: Joseph + Luke 2:4-6
Day 5: Mary + Luke 2:7
Day 6: Name: "Jesus" + Matthew 1:21 + Baby Jesus and Manger set (not the one that goes with our nativity, this one is for the kids' room)
Day 7: Name: "Prince of Peace" + Isaiah 9:6 + Reese's Pieces (get it??) I tried not to do too many treats... we're on day 7 and this is the first one!
Day 8: Name: "King of Kings" + Revelations 17:14 + Crown shaped cookie cutter
My goal for this one is to make sugar cookies with my kids, but depending on my level of laziness that day, we might be making crown shaped pancakes instead!
Day 9: Shepherd from nativity + Luke 2:7-8
Day 10: Sheep from nativity + Luke 2:9
Day 11: Baby Jesus in manger + Joy to the World DVD + Luke 2:10-12
This is one of our planned Family Home Evening activities. We'll watch the movie to learn about the birth and life of Jesus Christ. This has become one of our December FHE traditions, so it's kind of a "two birds, one stone" situation. This will probably be the most exciting contribution to the nativity for the kids too. This other movie is also great if you want to watch something shorter (and free).
Day 12: Sheep/Lamb ornament + Luke 2:13-14
This one was originally going to be an angel, but my nativity doesn't come with an angel. Then it was going to be a second sheep (for some reason I thought my nativity had two), but I didn't have one of those either. I found this cute ornament that matches my tree decorations though, and I liked the message, so I included it here. If you have an angel, it would make much more sense to include that here or on Day 10.
Day 13: Name: "Shepherd" + John 10:11 + candy canes (because they're shaped like a shepherd's staff) You can look up the story of the candy candy for a more in-depth discussion. The internet is full of useful information.
Day 14: Name: "Morning Star" + Revelations 22:16 + star tree topper
You could also use glow in the dark stars (the ones you put on your ceiling), starfruit, star ornament, or starbursts, but my kids have their own little tree, so I thought this would be a fun way to incorporate the Star (plus it was on rollback at Walmart.com for less than $3).
Day 15: One of the Three Wisemen from Nativity + Matthew 2:1
Day 16: One of the Three Wisemen from Nativity + Matthew 2: 2, 8-10
Day 17: One of the Three Wisemen from Nativity + Matthew 2:11
Day 18: Name "Emmanuel" + Matthew 1:23 + Nativity book
Read the scripture to understand this one more. The book pictured sold out for the season a month ago, but this book is also a great choice and it has beautiful illustrations! This is another FHE night, so you could read the entire story from the Bible if you wanted or read multiple picture book versions of the story. You could also let the kids build the nativity as you read since all the pieces have been added by now.
Day 19: Name "Bread of Life" + John 6:35 + Bread mix
You could also include a recipe book or card to make the bread from scratch, or make it easy and buy an artisan loaf from your local grocery store. Bonus points if you share the bread and scripture with friends or neighbors.
Day 20: Name "The Life" + John 14:6 + LIFE Cereal or The Game of Life
Enjoy both as a family, or choose which one fits into your day best. (Smith's grocery stores often have Life cereal on sale and most places have board games on sale this time of year if you don't already have the game.)
Day 21: Name "True Vine" + John 15:1 + Grapes or grape juice (because grapes grow on.... vines!)
I was originally going to buy some grapes for this one, but I didn't want to forget to pick them up (they'd go bad by then if I bought them now), and I had a bottle of grape juice in my storage room already. I also almost didn't wrap this one because it was so heavy, but I got it done- big fan of slapping a bow on something though!
Day 22: Name "Rock" + 1 Corinthians 10:4 + rocks
You can use pop rocks candy, a prayer rock, collectible rocks, a large rock from your yard, or smooth stones to paint (the last one is what we'll be doing). My kids collect rocks, so this one will be fun for them. You can make an entire activity out of this delivery. Sing "The Wise man and the Foolish Man", and paint the phrase "Wise men still see Him" on your rocks with pictures of houses and stars. Hide the rocks around the community for others to find or keep them to display all season long.
Day 23: Name "Living Water" + John 4:10, 14 + Mini water bottles
You could use full size water bottles, but I think miniature versions are cuter.
Day 24: Name "Light of the World" + John 8:12 + Candle
You could also use a flashlight or lantern. I thought a candle was perfect for Christmas Eve though.
*Bonus*
Day 25: Little Lamb will be sitting by our "Believe" sign. The scripture on the sign is John 3:16 which is a great reminder of the importance and mission of our Savior Jesus Christ. He is the real gift, so this day doesn't come with anything fancy or wrapped in paper, just the simple reminder of the true focus of Christmas.
Tips:
A few things to remember or try so you don't get overwhelmed by the whole experience.
- Plan ahead: prepare all of the deliveries or at least a few at a time so you aren't scrambling each night (or morning).
- Use things you already have. Things like candles, games, nativity sets, and stars don't need to be brand new. Find deals on items you don't have or shop at the dollar stores to keep the cost low. The focus shouldn't be on the money spent. (I only purchased 6 things for this- one was the Lamb set- the rest were things I already had)
- To take the focus even more away from the gift aspect, (and to save on time and energy) don't feel like you have to wrap the deliveries. As long as they are with the lamb, they'll be easy to find.
- I didn't realize the pre-made tags had the day number on each one already before I printed them. To save on time, write the scripture reference and name of Christ on slips of paper instead.
- Focus on service opportunities instead of gifts for older kids or anyone who needs to be reminded of others this time of year. (This is probably how I'll do the Little Lamb visits next year- this year we'll just have to make it 2 separate activities).
- Don't wrap the tags inside the gifts! Trust me... I had to learn from experience haha (check out the photo below to see where I had to break into the star tree topper...)
- Number the wrapped gifts or tape the tag to the gift. Trust me on this one too... it's really fun having to guess which nativity piece you wrapped ten minutes ago... not!
- Move the Lamb each night, or don't! Decide if you want to have a designated spot for Little Lamb visits, or if you'll be moving the Lamb each night for the kids to find. If "hiding" the Lamb each night or trying to find it after kids played with it will stress you out, don't worry about it! (Or make a rule that they can't touch the Lamb)
- Have fun with it! Your excitement will help your kids be excited for whatever the Lamb brings.
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| re-taped after breaking in to find the tag |
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| gifts are all wrapped and ready to go! |
Thanks for reading! If you liked these ideas, click on any of the pictures to PIN this post, or copy the link to share on social media.
Have more ideas or know where else to get the "Little Lamb from Bethlehem" set? Leave a comment below.
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