Kirk Cameron Christmas Movie - MERGE

[Mama Mia]

So, not to totally hijack the Kirk-the-Twerp snark, what would be acceptable activities for a grade-school pre-winter-vacation party? Because I'm pretty sure I signed myself up to do the Winter classroom party for the kiddo's class. (They do 3 class parties a year - Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Winter/Christmas.) And after reading this, I'm starting to wonder what I set myself up for. (Do we have a "Panic" smiley?) Nothing religious, of course, but I guess Santa and reindeer are still sort of semi-secular Christian. Snowmen and snowflakes? It's a private school, so the winter musical performance is not holiday-related at all - it just falls halfway through the school year in December.

I'm another one who grew up in a "typical" very-rural-small-town US school in the 80s. Lots of pale people (with farmer tans), Christmas everything in December, pretty sure we sang a lot of Christian Christmas songs - along with Frosty the Snowman and All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth - and did Christmas decorations in art class. The most atypical thing I can think of is a girl in my class who was a Jehovah's Witness and left the room when we had birthday treats or anything like that. Not a lot of variety there.

I think you're in luck for the Winter Party this year! Just do a whole Theme around "Frozen"

( Latest Disney movie for any who don't know) . You could do all sorts of fun activities and foods and it even has a great soundtrack. You can get plates and cups and decorations at any big box store or amazon --- And you can go to Pinterest and get a billion ideas for crafts and food. Hey, if you show the movie you'll even have a couple hours taken care of :D and you'll completely avoid any holiday celebrations- without it being a big thing. And the kids will love it.

Bonus is it's not even a Disney movie where the "savior" is a Prince!

[ILoveJellybeans]

Definitely go for Frozen-it is the in thing with kids at the moment!

[Rescinded and Mended]

So, not to totally hijack the Kirk-the-Twerp snark, what would be acceptable activities for a grade-school pre-winter-vacation party? Because I'm pretty sure I signed myself up to do the Winter classroom party for the kiddo's class. (They do 3 class parties a year - Halloween, Valentine's Day, and Winter/Christmas.) And after reading this, I'm starting to wonder what I set myself up for. (Do we have a "Panic" smiley?) Nothing religious, of course, but I guess Santa and reindeer are still sort of semi-secular Christian. Snowmen and snowflakes? It's a private school, so the winter musical performance is not holiday-related at all - it just falls halfway through the school year in December.

I'm another one who grew up in a "typical" very-rural-small-town US school in the 80s. Lots of pale people (with farmer tans), Christmas everything in December, pretty sure we sang a lot of Christian Christmas songs - along with Frosty the Snowman and All I Want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth - and did Christmas decorations in art class. The most atypical thing I can think of is a girl in my class who was a Jehovah's Witness and left the room when we had birthday treats or anything like that. Not a lot of variety there.

Years ago, I was also in charge of planning the parties. After decorating and setting up the tables (the Frozen theme is a wonderful idea), I'd set the kids up with a craft to make for the rest of the party, usually a Christmas ornament or toy of some kind. Oriental Trading has some great ones for holidays, and you can buy them in increments of 18-25 or more, enough for a whole class.

Two things to keep in mind when ordering from Oriental Trading: 1) The approximate age of the children in your class. Kindergarten age kids might have more trouble with the concentration and fine motor skills needed to glue a bunch of tiny parts together compared to, say, 3rd or 4th grade age kids. You might have to do some prep work ahead of time on your chosen craft to allow for that and time involved, or just choose a less complicated craft. And 2) Oriental Trading projects sometimes have missing parts, so you should probably order more than you need. If your class has 22 kids, and you can order 25 in a set from the company, buy two cases.

I like going this route for an elementary school party because it will keep the kids busy until the bell rings, and the kits you can buy are often cheaper than going shopping at a craft store for individual crafting supplies. Here are a few examples:

Snowman ornament in keeping with Frozen theme -

www.orientaltrading.com/snowman-clip-ma ... tt=snowman craft kit

Ornaments -

www.orientaltrading.com/christmas-glitt ... =christmas kits

www.orientaltrading.com/rhinestone-snow ... =christmas kits

Marshmallow Snowman!

www.orientaltrading.com/marshmallow-sno ... arshmallow graham cracker sled

Good luck with your party! :) (I had way too much fun looking these up this morning) :lol: ;)

[RandomTrivia]

Thanks for all the ideas. I know the class (16 kids this year) has at least one boy with a Jewish parent, not sure about anyone else, but it usually doesn't occur to me right away that Santa and reindeer aren't as non-religious as they seem. They're not explicitly Christian, but the whole Christmas thing is, at least partially. So, snowflakes and snowmen!

The party as such only lasts an hour, so it's basically snack, a craft, and/or a game or two (or two or three games for a couple kids each, and rotate the kids through). I'm thinking cupcakes, maybe hot chocolate instead of kool-aid, and see what turns up at Michaels or Jo-Anns in the crafty kit section. One of the party crafts last year was the $1 wooden frames from Michaels - a frame for each kid, plus a big tub of holiday-themed foam stickers and they decorated their own frames. I will have to dig up the December issues of Family Fun, they usually have good ideas.

Frozen is good, although I'm burned out on it - the kid spent the whole summer singing Let it Go, almost non-stop, and is still going strong. We don't have time to watch the movie, but I could take the soundtrack - or even be a rebel and take the French version I tracked down. :) The kid made a marshmallow-and-pretzel-stick snowman at Barnes & Noble's Olaf singalong party, we could always do that.

[Palimpsest]

You're right, Palimpsest. I knew about the rules regarding fasting during Ramadan, but neglected to clarify in my last post. I don't think the teacher knew about them at all, but I can see where the restrictions on fasting and activities would have thrown a wrench in the works. Thanks for setting me straight. :)

You are welcome. But I do hope you realize that my post wasn't aimed at you, but at the well-meaning and clumsy teacher you referenced.

I do set a very high standard for teachers. Perhaps too high for the younger and less experienced ones. As a community we have to help them out if we think their best intentions are leading them in the wrong direction. Gently and thoughtfully.

[Coco]

Years ago, I was also in charge of planning the parties. After decorating and setting up the tables (the Frozen theme is a wonderful idea), I'd set the kids up with a craft to make for the rest of the party, usually a Christmas ornament or toy of some kind. Oriental Trading has some great ones for holidays, and you can buy them in increments of 18-25 or more, enough for a whole class.

Two things to keep in mind when ordering from Oriental Trading: 1) The approximate age of the children in your class. Kindergarten age kids might have more trouble with the concentration and fine motor skills needed to glue a bunch of tiny parts together compared to, say, 3rd or 4th grade age kids. You might have to do some prep work ahead of time on your chosen craft to allow for that and time involved, or just choose a less complicated craft. And 2) Oriental Trading projects sometimes have missing parts, so you should probably order more than you need. If your class has 22 kids, and you can order 25 in a set from the company, buy two cases.

I like going this route for an elementary school party because it will keep the kids busy until the bell rings, and the kits you can buy are often cheaper than going shopping at a craft store for individual crafting supplies. Here are a few examples:

Snowman ornament in keeping with Frozen theme -

http://www.orientaltrading.com/snowman- ... tt=snowman craft kit

Ornaments -

http://www.orientaltrading.com/christma ... =christmas kits

http://www.orientaltrading.com/rhinesto ... =christmas kits

Marshmallow Snowman!

http://www.orientaltrading.com/marshmal ... arshmallow graham cracker sled

Good luck with your party! :) (I had way too much fun looking these up this morning) :lol: ;)

That little marshmallow snowman on a s'more sled is absolutely adorable! :D

[Rescinded and Mended]

Coco, I actually bought the snowmen for one of Boy R and M's classes one year. Those were a lot of fun for the kids to make, and no glue involved, since every part had adhesive strips on it. ;)

@Palimpsest, I understand, and I think you are right. It is important that educators be aware of these things so that they can keep the best interests of their students in mind at all times. And thank you. :)

Random thought: has anyone ever noticed that 'Do You Wanna Build a Snowman' has lots of awkward pauses in it when you're not actually watching Frozen and just listening to the soundtrack? Without watching Anna wandering around the palace, it just doesn't sound right.

[Olive Plant]

Saving Christmas Making money off Christians too dumb to see the irony

[julie paradox]

Previously comforting and familiar traditions both religious and secular bring nothing but pain now.

Oh Phoenix, I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't sing Hark the Herald for years without breaking down (and the relevant funeral was in March.... I'm such a wimp).

It will be number 20 this year. I've found it's got easier, but Constant Vigilance! is necessary at certain points.

Brave heart, my dear.

[Grimalkin]

Oh Phoenix, I know exactly what you mean. I couldn't sing Hark the Herald for years without breaking down (and the relevant funeral was in March.... I'm such a wimp).

It will be number 20 this year. I've found it's got easier, but Constant Vigilance! is necessary at certain points.

Brave heart, my dear.

I am so sorry! I always feel a bit sensitive doing the winter parties at school. I know a couple students who lost their moms to cancer over Christmas break, and wonder how it affects them.

I have a friend who was raised by a single mom who got breast cancer when she was a teenager and she talks about quietly eating pizza by herself on Christmas trying not to disturb her mom while resting. This picture breaks my heart.

[thoughtful]

There's new publicity out for this film, not that it tells us anything new.

Kirk Cameron announced this week that his highly anticipated "Saving Christmas" film is headed to select theaters for two weeks only on Nov. 14.

:roll:

"My hope for 'Saving Christmas' is that families all across the country will join with my family in putting the Christ back into Christmas," Cameron said in a press release. "For too many years Christmas has been attacked and hammered by those outside the church, and it's even changed how we think about Christmas inside the church.

What a hero, huh?

http://www.christianpost.com/news/kirk- ... ly-126495/

And did you know their website was hacked?

The Saving Christmas website was hacked by Muslim hacking group from Turkey called the Ayyildiz Tim International Force. According to The Blaze, on Sunday and Monday morning, visitors to the site saw Turkish messages and were sent to Ayyildiz Tim’s Twitter account after hearing music and a gunshot.

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religi ... g-grinches

[ViolaSebastian]

I'm no marketing genius, but wouldn't it make more sense to have a Christmas themed film out something around, I dunno, Christmas?

[thoughtful]

I've been reading along and thinking, why not celebrate a secular Christmas in schools? Reading some of the other posts caused a lot of introspection.

I realized that I was raised as a white protestant. I have spent all but about 5 years of my 57 year life in the Pacific Northwest. That means I can remember the one black kid at school or the Chinese sisters whose parents ran the only Chinese restaurant in town. Celebrating holidays at schools was such fun and something we looked forward to.

As I read I realized I was panicking because I was nostalgic for those times and wanted them for my grandchildren. But...my husband and I have been atheist for years and the same is true for most of our children. I don't want any child to think that their spiritual practices from home are not as important just because they are in the minority at school.

FJ has taught me a lesson today. No religious based holidays at school.

Thank you all.

Nana, this is the thought process I wish my co-workers were able to have. Some did, but most didn't. They really couldn't get past what they wanted, pretty much for personal reasons.

I am nostalgic and sentimental about many things from my childhood. But lots of those things don't belong in school, and it never would have occurred to me to insist that I had to include them as part of my job as a teacher.

If I had, the classroom would have been full of dogs, and I would have showing old movies all day instead of teaching. :lol:

[Coco]

And did you know their website was hacked?

http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religi ... g-grinches

Fans of Kirk Cameron can't see through that? :lol: *not surprised*

The team behind the film knew that their work would be challenged, and this attack has only strengthened their resolve to continue with their mission. Ben Howard, senior vice president of studio Provident Films said, â€This incident only heightens our resolve to help this important message get out.â€

"Hey, guys this movie is tanking. Tim, don't you have a friend in Turkey? Get him on the phone with the guys in IT. Plan some big scary hack with a weird dude in a suit of armor. Gunshot, include a gunshot! Somebody get to work on a post on Facebook! Make the image go viral!"

maybe it was real, i have no idea :lol: but why would hackers in Turkey care about a goofy movie? Just seems really manufactured imo.

[thoughtful]

"Hey, guys this movie is tanking. Tim, don't you have a friend in Turkey? Get him on the phone with the guys in IT. Plan some big scary hack with a weird dude in a suit of armor. Gunshot, include a gunshot! Somebody get to work on a post on Facebook! Make the image go viral!"

[attachment=0]so drama.JPG[/attachment]

maybe it was real, i have no idea :lol: but why would hackers in Turkey care about a goofy movie? Just seems really manufactured imo.

But are these guys smart enough to do something like that?

I guess, if they made a movie, some of them must have the skills.

[ThisOlGirl]

I googled the name of the "Islamic Hackers", and it seems like they're just doing it for their own enjoyment, not to make any sort of religious statement. One of the sites that was hacked appeared to be a landscaping business. Plus the graphics look kind of video game-ish to me. I don't know, it just seems like 'ol Kirky is stirring the pot again, like he did when Facebook banned his movie (they didn't).

[thoughtful]

I googled the name of the "Islamic Hackers", and it seems like they're just doing it for their own enjoyment, not to make any sort of religious statement. One of the sites that was hacked appeared to be a landscaping business. Plus the graphics look kind of video game-ish to me. I don't know, it just seems like 'ol Kirky is stirring the pot again, like he did when Facebook banned his movie (they didn't).

Well, that can give Kirk his next project:

Put the Land back in Landscaping! Evil Muslim terrorists are releasing Satanic turkeys on our Godly lawns!

:wink-kitty:

[Naga Viper]

Well, as long as they're not releasing those turkeys from helicopters (to tie in a different holiday).

[bBvideo 560,340:3dcygnme]

[/bBvideo]

[thoughtful]

As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.

[RosyDaisy]

No. People can celebrate Christmas however they choose or not at all. But Christmas is my favorite holiday, but that's just me.

[onlysaneperson]

Here's the trailer for his new film. Definitely snark-worthy :lol:

Enjoy!

[Anny Nym]

Halloween, Christmas,... that guy is quite multitasking. Anything already covered for Easter too? Or maybe 1. May? :lol:

[browncoatslytherin]

will kirk cameron ever go away?

[doggie]

will kirk cameron ever go away?

kinda like herpes.

[browncoatslytherin]

kinda like herpes.

ewwww kirk herpes