Number three.

The third thing we do as a family to celebrate Christmas has to do with random acts of kindness within our home. I usually do this the first Monday of the month - during family home evening. We all sit down together and either Kyle or myself will read a story.

In short, the story goes something like this; an elderly man sits in his little cobbler shop reading of the visit of the wise men to Jesus. And he thinks to himself what he would offer the infant if he were to be born in his town that night which happened to be a pair of shoes he had just finished making.

So he goes to bed that night and has this vision that Jesus was going to pass by his shop tomorrow and that he should stand watch for him. So the next day Martin goes about his day helping random people that he notices are in need but never saw his "expected" guest.

As the day comes to an end, Martin goes to bed disappointed and with a heavy heart. But in a vision later that night he sees all the people's faces that he offered services to throughout the day. And then a gentle voice says, "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, ye have done it unto me".

After the story we draw names - every one of us - and then throughout that week we do random acts of kindness for the person you drew . . . but they have to be done in secret. It could be as simple as picking up toys for someone, making a bed, putting away clean clothes, or doing one of their chores. Then (here comes the part the kids like) for each act of kindness you do you are allowed to put one piece of straw in the manger.

Every Monday we will draw a new name. You may get the same person as the week before or it could be different.

Our goal is to get the manger as full as possible to make it as soft as possible for baby Jesus on the night he was born.