The Gingerbread Man

This morning we went to the kids' school to see Trey perform his role as the Gingerbread Man.

This performance was done by the "Junior Primary" and the preschool kids. Junior Primary is equivalent to grades 1-3. There were eight kids in the production. Trey was the Gingerbread Man. It was absolutely adorable. When we first walked in they handed us "theater binoculars" that they had made themselves!

They incorporated several Christmas carols into the play and everyone sang. Between scenes they distracted the audience by having sock puppets dance to Christmas music.

The kids did a great job--they were so cute!

At the end of the play the kids took their bows and then sprayed silly string all over the audience! I've been to my share of childrens' productions and this is the first time I have seen this happen! I was standing by the director of the school when this happened. He had never seen silly string before so I know it wasn't his idea. After the children had finished their performance, the teachers had organized some Christmas games for the audience. We were divided up into two teams. The first thing we did was answer trivia questions about Christmas. Here are the questions as they were presented to us. The answers are at the bottom of the blog--don't cheat!

1. The biggest Christmas Tree in the UK which can be seen in Trafalgar Square is sent by which European country?

a. Russia

b. Denmark

c. Norway

2. What snack is often left out for Santa?

a. sausages and vodka

b. cookies and milk

c. a bar of chocolate

3. How many reindeer does Santa have?

a. 9

b. 8

c. 12

4. At Christmas it is customary to exchange kisses beneath a sprig of which plant?

a. Holly

b. Mistletoe

c. Ivy

5. How many dishes can you find on a traditional Polish Christmas table?

a. 7

b. 20

c. 12

6. What country started the tradition of exchanging presents?

a. Latvia

b. The Netherlands

c. Italy

7. What color is the Grinch (a cartoon character created by Dr. Seuss)?

a. Green

b. Purple

c. Red

8. What kind of Christmas cake is traditionally eaten at Christmas in Poland?

a. Fruitcake

b. Cheesecake

c. Poppy Seed Cake

9. Finish the line of a famous Christmas song "Last Christmas." "Last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day ____________________________________________.

a. you forgot about that

b. you gave it away

c. you didn't stay

10. Which country does the tradition of decorating a Christmas Tree come from?

a. Poland

b. Germany

c. The USA

The contest ended in a tie--both teams got nine out of 10. My team missed number one and the other team missed number six. Then Abbie and I represented our team and had to race two people from the other team to wrap a present. We could only use my right hand and Abbie's left hand. The other team was a little quicker but our present was prettier so we won! Then Natalie and a dad from the other team squared off. The goal was to draw a snowman on a piece of paper on top of their heads! Natalie had three snowballs in her drawing and the other team only had two so Natalie won that one. The last game was for each team to attach a small piece of paper with "Merry Christmas" in various languages to the correct country flags in the hall. I will just say that I was happy to have Ivija (from Latvia) on my team. She knew them all. I knew Spanish, French, German and that was it. She knew all the rest!

While all the parents were busy with these games, the kids were decorating very cute gingerbread men cookies to share with their parents. There was coffee and tea and other cookies for refreshments for the parents. This was a very well organized and fun Christmas morning! The teachers have been working hard with the kids for weeks on this play, and they did such a good job. We couldn't be happier to be a part of this wonderful little community!

1. c

2. b

3. a

4. b

5. c

6. c

7. a

8. c

9. b

10. b