With love and blessings to you...
Tiff
Christmas Ward Party 2011-- Picture a Christmas
Invitations
Sent out three weeks in advance. Hand addressed.
"Picture yourself at this year's Ward Christmas Dinner Party"
Family pictures will be taken, delicious food served, and the children will act out the Nativity.
December 9th, 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. dinner served at 6.
Bring a friend.
Decorations
One foyer has several pictures of Jesus on tall easels and a Christmas Tree. Bishopbric is there to welcome everyone, take coats, and invite them into the gym.
Another foyer is set up like a photo booth for families to come and have their picture taken.
Multipurpose room has round tables in it with a picture frame craft for each family to do. Oriental Trading simple foam kits or something like that.
Gym has long tables to eat at and serving tables. Walls are decorated with pictures the children drew of the Christmas Story, matted on construction paper and hanging from ribbons. (These would have been drawn during singing/sharing time one Sunday)
Tables have paper and crayons on them for families to draw pictures on while they wait for everything to get started.
Menu:
Ham, provided by the ward
Funeral Potatoes made by the members
Salads brought by the members
Rolls brought by members
Schedule:
6:00 Bishop welcomes, calls on prayer, and we eat.
6:30 After dinner, members are split into two groups.
One group goes into the foyer to have their family picture taken. (They will sign releases for this picture to be used for church purposes, such as the church website and the directory). Our ward desperately needs these pictures, and that is the whole reason the theme of this party came as inspiration!
The other group will be sent to the multipurpose room to make picture frames.
6:45 Then the groups will switch.
While this is going on, the tables will be taken down in the gym and chairs will be set up to watch the play. (Maybe even the soft chairs from the Relief Society Room!) Papers with the music that the congregation will sing during the play will be put on the chairs. (Oh Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger, and Picture a Christmas) (A table or two may be left out in case people could not come at 6).
7:00 After the two groups are done, the youth & adults will go into the gym and have dessert (nice dessert that adults appreciate, like different cheesecakes!) and the children will go into the Primary Room and get in their costumes for the play. They will watch a movie in the Primary room until it is their turn to go on stage. (They will have seen the play in a dress rehearsal).
7:15 Nativity Play
7:45 After the play is enacted, The Bishop will let the children know there is a special present for each of the children in the foyer, under the Christmas Tree. He will make any remarks and call on a closing prayer.
The present under the tree will be a small framed picture of Jesus that is wrapped, and some candy. These will have the names of the children on them, so that the Primary Presidency can bring them to the children who weren't there as their Christmas gift that year.
A special thought to add to this: I think it would be awesome if the members of the ward would contribute to a nice picture of the Savior to go in the Bishop's office (if his office is decorated sparsely, as is ours). This could be wrapped with a card from all of the members, and left in his office or given to him somehow.
The pictures that were taken in the foyer will be printed and put into the picture frames that were made, and hung on the Christmas Tree in the foyer until the season is over, when families will take them home.
The Play Script
The following play is a conversation between a young girl, her mother, and her grandmother. It just happens that we have this configuration in our ward. These women also happen to own sheep, and they can also sing, and they aren't afraid of getting up in front of people, so they fit the part great. But you can adapt to your own situation. Anyway as they are talking the curtain will periodically open with a little "still shot", or scene from the story of the Nativity. This way, the Primary children do not have to learn any lines (they are burnt out on memorization after the program), and they don't have to move around on the stage in any certain way. They just hold still (ha ha) as a song is sung, and then the curtain closes and the next scene is prepped. They do sing two songs all together at the end: Picture a Christmas and the Nativity song. Other than that, there will be special musical numbers provided by the ward and the audience. Costumes will be sewn by ladies in the ward (cross fingers). Sets will be simple (a star, a manger, maybe a palm tree. Basic Basic).
Picture a Christmas-- A Play
Three Generations are holding some photo albums, sitting on nice chairs from the foyer, with a lamp, on the left side of the stage. (child is on mom's lap in one chair, Grandma in another).
Mother: Look, Katie, here is a picture of you at Christmas when you were three! You are having so much fun with your toys!
Katie: Look at my messy hair! I just woke up in that picture!
Grandma: You have such bright eyes and are so happy it is Christmas.
Mother: Here is another picture. This is one from when I was a child. That was the year I received my first doll.
Grandma: I remember that doll. You took such good care of her.
Katie: Will I get a doll this Christmas?
Mother: We'll see!
Grandma: Christmas Pictures bring back such good memories. Katie, I'd like to show you a very special album of Christmas pictures. (Grandma brings out her scriptures)
Katie: Grandma, those are the scriptures! They don't have pictures!
Grandma: Oh but they do! You just need to see the pictures in your mind as you read. Let's start with a picture in the Book of Mormon. It says here that five years before Jesus came to the earth, there was a prophet Samuel. He stood on a wall to preach to the people.
Katie: Oh I remember learning about him! They threw arrows and stones and could not hit him!
Grandma: Yes, Katie. Can you see the picture in your mind?
(Curtains open halfway, with primary child dressed as Samuel standing, pointing to heaven, and maybe another child with a bow drawn to shoot at him?)
Grandma: He told the people that in 5 years a new star would appear in the sky. This would be a sign of Jesus' birth.
(On the right hand side of the stage: special musical number: Samuel tells of the baby Jesus)
(curtains close)
Katie: He knew Jesus would come?
Grandma: Yes, and so did other prophets. Another Book of Mormon prophet, Nephi, saw a vision of the birth of Jesus. He saw in a vision what Jesus' mother looked like. He knew her name would be Mary.
Mother: When I picture Mary, I think of the most beautiful woman in the world.
Grandma: Nephi also would have seen Joseph, who helped Mary as she prepared to bring forth the Son of God. Joseph must have been a very special man.
(Curtain opens on Mary sitting on a donkey (either child dressed up or wooden painted donkey in front of a stool), Joseph leading the donkey with a rope)
(Special Musical Number: When Joseph Went to Bethlehem)
Grandma: Katie, now I want you to picture in your mind what it was like on the night Jesus was born. As you know, he was born in a stable, away from the crowds in the city. What do you think it looked like there?
Katie: I think there were animals all around, but I think they would have been nice.
Mother: I think so, too. I think of that night as so peaceful and holy.
(Curtains open to show Joseph & Mary coming to the stable. Other children are dressed as nice animals :)
(Congregation sings "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem")
curtains close during last verse
Grandma: Let's see what other pictures we can find in the Bible. Oh, yes. here is one of my favorites, because as you know we look after sheep. It says in Luke, "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night."
(Curtains open to see shepherds and the sunbeams in sheep costumes)
(Special Musical Number: Young Men sing the First Noel)
curtains close during ending of the song
Mother: Do you remember what the shepherds saw in the sky, Katie?
Katie: Angels!
Mother: That's right! The Bible teaches us that there was a heavenly host, which means many angels, who sang "Glory to God in the Highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men". What do you think it would have been like to be tending the flocks and to see this?
Katie: It would have been amazing.
(Curtain opens to girls dressed as angels on different levels (tables, chairs, etc. covered with black fabric), with a fan blowing on them)
(Special Musical number: Young Women sing "Angels we have heard on high).
curtains close
Grandma: Well, Mary had her baby that night, and I'm sure she held him and rocked him so sweetly, just as I rocked your mother, and your mother rocked you. I like to picture the baby, wrapped in swaddling clothes, or bands of simple cloth, sleeping in his mother's arms on his first night on Earth.
Mother: I wonder if Mary sang Jesus a lullaby that night. I used to hold you in my arms and sing a song to you, Katie. It is a song that my mother sang to me.
(Curtains open on Mary holding the baby, Joseph watching over.
(Grandma and Mother sing Mary's Lullaby)
curtains close
Katie: I like that song. I think Jesus liked hearing his mother's voice, too!
Grandma: Oh I think so, Katie. So now let's picture how the shepherds came to find Jesus. I'm sure they were very reverent as they came and looked upon him.
Katie: You mean like at church?
Grandma: Sure! I picture them gathering quietly, being careful not to disturb the little baby. I'm sure they felt the spirit on that night.
(Curtains open, now Joseph, Mary, and baby are surrounded by shepherds kneeling and sheep and other animals)
(Congregation sings away in a manger)
curtains close
Mother: As Samuel prophesied, a new star did appear in the sky. There were some special, spiritual men who would follow that star. They were called foolish Men!
Katie: No, silly, they were Wise men!
Mother: Yes, you are right. I was just making sure you were listening. It said in the Bible that "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." I like to picture them following the star. They wanted to find the Savior and bring him gifts!
Katie: Yes! Gold! and... and some other gifts.
Mother: Yes, Katie. It says in the scriptures that they were to bring young Jesus treasures! Gold and Frankincense and Myrrh. These were special things. When we give gifts to each other, we are like the Wise Men. We like to think carefully about what to give to people we love. Sometimes we even make things for others.
Katie: Yes! Like when I made ___________ for _____________.
Mother: Let's picture the wonderful Wise Men
(curtain opens to three boys dressed up as wise men and two children in camel costume)
(special musical number, We Three Kings, by three brethren in the ward)
curtain closes.
Grandma: Did you like my picture album, Katie? Can you imagine these wonderful stories from the scriptures?
Katie: Yes, Grandma. You did a good job telling them!
Grandma: I love the story of Christmas. It is a story of love. I hope you will tell it to your children and grandchildren.
Katie: I will! I love it, too.
(Curtain Opens, all children are on stage)
Everyone sings Picture a Christmas.
Children Sing the Nativity Song.
Closing prayer.
