The Twelve Days of Christmas Birthdays

Introduction
Use this Christmas Party game involving the popular Christmas tune "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to raise the energy level and get everyone involved.

Game Description
Participants will stand up when the "Twelve Days of Christmas" verse corresponding to their birthday month is sung or heard.

Game Materials

• Song: "The 12 days of Christmas" (Can be sung or played)
• Chairs for each participant.

Game Preparation
None needed

Game Play

• Explain that Each of the "Twelve days of Christmas" corresponds to a month of the year. (For example: First day = January, Second day = February, Third day = March, etc.
• When the verse corresponding to a person's birthday month is sung or heard, they must stand up. When the verse is finished they must sit down. They must also stand up whenever the gift for that day is sung in the chorus.
• Once you get a few verses into the song, you have people popping up and down like crazy. Great to get the energy up. By the end of the song EVERYONE is involved!
• Add a little more life by requiring participants to sing loudly for their verse and the mention of the gift in the chorus.

Take it to the Next Level
Like many Christian traditions, the secular is often mingled with the spiritual. Sometimes meanings are lost. Sometimes the meaning is revised as we get further and further away from the historical events that inspired them. While Christmas and December 25th is almost certainly NOT the actual date of Christ's birth, it is an opportunity to celebrate the fact that Christ the Savior was sent to us more than 2000 years ago. God came down, and because of his birth, death, and resurrection our lives are forever changed. Because of his birth and what he did, we can be born again. God became flesh and suffered on the cross that we might receive a new birth and be reconciled with God. It doesn't matter when you were born, you can be born again today if you will accept Christ into your heart.

To Note
Contrary to some stories circulating around the internet, the song is very unlikley to be a symbol or metaphor for he basic tenets of the Christian faith. Click here for for details.

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