Children's Christmas Program

Wow! Thankful it's over, but thankful we did it too. The church was full for our first Children's Christmas program in years. The S.W.A.T. team, our Jr. High puppet ministry, performed several numbers in between our Sunday school and JAM - Diggin' In Bell Choir.

My favorite part though was the Bob Snook Christmas parody of the Family Feud. It pitted "Traditional Christmas characters" vs. "Non-Traditional Christmas characters. " The question was "What do you think about when you think about Christmas?" The 4 answers on the board were Santa, Shopping, Stockings, and Toys. Needless to say the Non-Traditional Christmas characters guessed all the answers. But the final poignant question to the audience was "What do YOU think about when you think about Christmas?!"

Anita, my wife and Children's Director, put in countless hours making costumes, writing the script, coordinating the teachers, setting up props, and so much more. Kudos to her for a great job!

The program went well, but there were minor glitches. Most could have been avoided or dealt with if only two things had happened: 1) Attend the practice. I know we lead busy lives, but if something is important to you, you must make time to practice it. 2) Show up early. We asked teachers to arrive 30 minutes early to help dress the children in their costumes and get ready. How some people think they can show up 5 minutes before the program and expect everything to run smoothly and everyone to be happy, is beyond me.

Final thought: We should have served some coffee and donuts after the program. So many of the parents and grandparents who came tonight don't attend church regularly or at all. Providing a time for volunteers in our ministries to mingle with those guests would have been a wise move.