The 8th Day of Christmas with Courtney DeFeo–Lil’ Light O’ Mine

Welcome to the 7th annual 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!!!

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12 Days.

12 friends guest posting sharing a Christmas idea, recipe or favorite with you.

12 great giveaways for you to enter along with one GRAND PRIZE for someone who comments to enter all 12 days!!

And here is the GRAND PRIZE:

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It includes:

*A Proverbs 31 Real Life devotional Bible

*A tin of Holiday tea from Harney & Sons

* A bottle of twisted peppermint lotion from Bath & Body Works

*A Christmas CD by Michael O’Brien

* And a $75.00 gift certificate to Proverbs 31 Ministries to purchase books, dvd’s, Bible studies or something from the Fashion and Compassion jewelry collection where bullets from Ethiopia have been turned into gorgeous jewelry by at-risk women.

Be sure to comment on all 12 days to be entered to win the grand prize!!!!

And now….here is today’s guest…… 

Welcome to the Eighth Day of Christmas!  Our post today is complements of the completely cool Courtney DeFeo. Courtney is a popular blogger, authorcourtney-defeo of In This House, We Will Giggle and creator of ABC Scripture Cards and Light ‘Em Up. She is a graduate of Auburn University and has worked in marketing for Chick-fil-A. Courtney and her husband, Ron, are the parents of two children. To connect with Courtney, visit CourtneyDeFeo.com

How To Teach the Joy of Generosity Through Laughter vs Lectures

After school one day, I grabbed my two girls and their friend and told them we were headed on a little adventure. They are used to these bizarre antics from their mother. I started the Light ‘Em Up movement which is essentially ways for families to spread kindness together. So, they typically just roll with an after-school adventure like this one.

On this particular day, I had a bag of dollar bills, a bag of nickels and pennies, and a bag of Light ‘Em Up “surprise” gift tags. I told them we were headed to the Dollar Tree to hide Ziploc bags of $1.06 all over the store. They smiled so big.

It’s like Light Em Up Suprisethey could imagine the strangers finding their treats and they were ready to roll. So, the assembly line began in the back seat. One child would stuff the dollar, one would add the coins for tax and the other would toss in the note and zip it up. Once we got to the store, we had around 15 bags ready to go and we hopped out ready for our sneaky adventure. We walked in the store and headed to the back, trying not to make a scene. We taped a bag near the toys and a bag near the food. And one near the dog toys. We were giggling and running from people so we wouldn’t get caught.

Joy and laughter filled my girls hearts as generosity filled The Dollar Tree.

As we were pulling out, a homeless woman tapped on my window and asked if she could wash my window for change. I shook my head “no” since I was totally out of cash. My sweet Ella said, “Mom, tell her about the store!” My heart almost combusted with pride. “Yes, Ella!” I rolled down the window and told the kind lady where she could find a dollar (or fifteen) and she ran into the store with a smile.

Throughout our generosity journey as a family, I have learned that we just have to be willing. We never know what God has in store once we just say “yes.” My kids didn’t need a boring lecture on generosity that day. They got it. They learn virtues through experiences. They learn the joy of giving through laughter. In my recent book, In This House, We Will Giggle, I include a memory verse and virtue definition for each of the 12 virtues. It was really important that the book be a very practical resource for busy moms just like me.

Today, my gift to each of you is this easy downloadable virtue card on Generosity. You can print and put right on your fridge or back door. Or, put it in a frame. The definition puts it in a language our kids can understand. Generosity

Merry Christmas from my giggling house to yours!

Giveaway: Courtney is giving away one copy of In This House, We Will Giggle to the winner of Day 8’s comments. Simply Share your favorite way to spread kindness in your community during the holidays, in the comment section below.

About the Book:

In This House, We Will Giggle: Making Virtues, Love, and Laughter a Daily Part of Your Family Life offers parents a practical approach to instilling virtues in their children through laughter, rather than lecture. Designed to cover an entire year, each of the 12 chapters highlights one key virtue in developing a child’s character, along with insights to help infuse the virtue into everyday life. In This House, We Will Giggle teaches children to experience the goodness of God, the joy of following Jesus and the difference children can make in the lives of others.

So be sure to leave a comment and don’t forget to come back for all 12 days! {And remember, if you comment on all 12 posts, you might win the Grand Prize!} May your Merry memory making be met with giggles.

223 Comments

  1. We are going to Gatlinburg/Pigeoon Forge for our Christmas gift to each other this year. We don’t need anything other than good family time. We plan to help some others that need it when we get back, which will be in time for Christmas. God bless and Jesus is the reason for the season

  2. My kids like to head to a big store’s parking lot and look for loose carts or people who might have difficulty returning their carts to the returns or the store, and put them back for them.

  3. Somebody told me to keep $5 starbucks cards in your purse and hand one out to a cashier here and there while you’re Christmas shopping. They apparently can’t believe it when you hand them one. I’ve been wanting to try it!

  4. We love to adopt a needy family in our town (usually someone who we know through our church’s bus ministry) . We find out what their needs are, and then we take our kids shopping for that family. Last year, we gave coats, clothes, and a big box of food to the family we adopted. It was so much fun shopping for them, and we now often see them wearing their coats/clothes. Such a special privilege for our family to take part!

  5. Toys for toy drive… paying for meal/coffee for someone behind me in line at drive through… Anonymous donations to those we know need it. I LOVE Courtney’s book! :)

  6. We begin the season by packing operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes and this year we had the opportunity to also work in the distribution center. We also help by purchasing gifts for children in need. This year we are putting packages of teas and hot chocolate together for several woman who will be spending their first Christmas without their spouse.

  7. I like to pay for someone in front of me at grocery store…of course we don’t make a lot either so they have to not have a full cart ;-)

  8. We give as much as we can all year long, but especially at Christmas. We live in a cold climate, so we look for those who need extra clothes, blankets, coats, and donate food to the local food bank, too. Always feels good to give to others!!

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