Once upon a time, my great-grandmother held her first annual Christmas party for her adult children (a dozen or so) and their families. Each year since, we all gather together at the local church hall for good food, family, and fellowship. Great-grandma has passed away, but the tradition continues.
I really look forward to this family party. It is so wonderful to see family from all parts of the country and the State and to catch up new family news. At this Christmas party I can always expect to: see a new pregnant mom, stare in awe at kids who I don't recognize because they seem to be growing like weeds, relive (even for a moment) my college days by swapping stories with those young-ones who are just back from their first semester away from home, receive the warmest hugs of the year from my aunts and great aunts, and more.
One of the most cherished and favored parts of the party is the "production" of the annual Christmas play. Yes, the family is soooooooo large that we always have enough children and willing adults to put on a play of the Nativity. Someone brings the costumes, musically inclined aunts play the piano and violin, we all sing along with Christmas carols and so on.
Here are some pics and comments from this year's production.
Oh Little Town of Bethlehem - Setting the stage... the star, the rolling hills, the manger.
Behind-the-scenes - All of the kids check out the costumes and decide on their parts.
Angels We Have Heard on High - Bro got lost in a sea of angels.
"Places everyone!" - All of the players lining up awaiting the start of the play.
"Come they told me pa-rum-pum-pum-pum" - my favorite Drummer Boy
Away in a Manger - Each year the youngest baby is chosen to play the part of baby Jesus. Since Lulu was not present (visiting family in Florida) she was relieved to hear that there was a baby younger then Bro at the party and that Bro would not be called to duty this year.
"Me too" - Bro decided that he's going to be a Drummer Boy next year.
Picture disclaimer: I have given up trying to get the camera to work properly inside under less than ideal lighting. Please excuse the blurry pictures. One day, I will get better. The upside is that the pictures were blurry enough to allow me to post pics of group setting without feeling guilty that I was posting a pic of someone elses child on the web.
Are you lacking 100+ willing participants for a personal Nativity play each year? Not to worry. Even a small group can pull off a great production, like D-Dawg's family did here.
3 comments:
I absolutely love this family tradition. Maybe one day we can do it at the McFamily celebration. I've got the three wise guys ... um I mean wise men covered. :)
I knew that you would like this. I posted these pics just for you. Did you check the link (last paragraph)? They don't have many people in their family and they do it. We're gonna try it next year!
What a wonderful idea. I can just imagine how everyone must look forward to it each year :)
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