12 Days of Christmas Freebie

December 20, 2021

The 12 Days of Christmas is a popular carol, but what does it all mean? Why would anyone gift someone a partridge in a pear tree? Or Leaping Lords and swimming swans? It’s just begging to be updated.  So why not give your child the opportunity to write their own version? This is a fun creative writing project!

The 12 days of Christmas isn’t a lead-up to Christmas, but refers to the religious holiday after – the days from Christmas day on the 25th of December through Epiphany on January 6, with the coming of the wise men.

Frederic Austin, a British composer is credited with the traditional version of the lyrics in 1909, giving us the familiar verses today. The publication “Mirth Without Mischief” circa 1780-1800 included “four colly birds,” which is Old English slang for blackbirds, or birds dark as coal. Also a “very pretty peacock upon a pear tree” could be heard in some other older renditions. But bird replacements aren’t too strange… unlike the “Arabian baboons” and “bulls that were brown” that were gifted in some older Scottish versions of The Thirteen Days of Yule.

Harry Potter 12 Days of Christmas

When my daughter was younger, she wrote a Harry Potter version:10843_1278443077042_3239078_a

On the first day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
A car in a Whomping Willow tree.

On the second day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Two remembralls,

On the third day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Three pints of Butterbeer,

On the fourth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Four fake wands,

On the fifth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Five bags of Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavor-Beans!

On the sixth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Six Quidditch posters,

On the seventh day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Seven Quidditch players,

On the eighth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Eight Firebolt brooms,

On the ninth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Nine Chocolate frogs,

On the tenth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Ten socks for Dobby,

On the eleventh day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Eleven boggarts in a wardrobe,

On the twelfth day of Wizard Christmas I gave to Harry,
Twelve pots of polyjuice potion,

Middle Earth 12 Days of Christmas

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A while back, I wrote this Middle Earth version:

On the first day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
One ring to rule them all.

On the second day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Two wizards dueling,

On the third day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Three stone trolls,

On the fourth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Four riddles in the dark,

On the fifth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Five Lembas cakes!

On the sixth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Six Palantirs,

On the seventh day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Seven pipes of pipeweed,

On the eighth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Eight horses of Rohan,

On the ninth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Nine members of the Fellowship,

On the tenth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Ten Ents a’walking,

On the eleventh day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Eleven elves a’singing,

On the twelfth day of Middle Earth Christmas, my hobbit gave to me,
Twelve bouquets of Elanor,

Write Your Own 12 Days of Christmas!

So here is your chance to let your child’s creative juices flow! It can be anything they want – a Channukah version (8 nights instead of 12 days), or Kwanza, or whatever winter holiday you celebrate. Or maybe a favorite tv show or fairy tales – let your imaginations run wild! (Note – this is a version of a project found in the Jan Brett Christmas Unit Study).

Download your “12 Days of Christmas Song Sheet”  Freebie here

Financial Impact Side Note

In 1984, the PNC Bank calculated the price of buying each gift mentioned in the traditional version of the song at about $20,000.  The PNC Christmas Price Index has been updated each year since. With the current analysis of market conditions, impacts of COVID-19, and other supply issues, the cost has more than doubled in 2021. Who knew swans cost almost $2000 each (times 7)?!

And that is just $41,205.58 for the 12th days’ haul, you actually have to give each previously mentioned gift with each subsequent gift… which brings your cumulative total of 364 gifts. And that figure also does not account for all of the bird food expenses.

See Also:
Happy, Hygge Homeschooling?
Jingle Bells! Jolabokaflod! Reading All the Way!
Unit Study: A Jan Brett Christmas!


Emily Cook is the author and creator of the secular homeschool curriculum Build Your Library, a literature-based K-12 program infused with the teachings of Charlotte Mason. She writes full-year lesson plans as well as shorter topical unit studies. Emily has been homeschooling her four children in Southern NH for 21 years. She is passionate about reading aloud to children of all ages and loves to share her love of literature with others. She and her family also make incredibly dorky videos about homeschooling, books, and more on Youtube at ARRRGH! Schooling. You can follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can also check out her author page on Amazon.

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Have you been looking for a literature based homeschool curriculum that is secular? How about a way to incorporate narration, copywork, dictation and memory work into your child’s education? Or art study that ties into history?

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