December 8, 2011
Christmas is only a few weeks off, and if you are looking for a way to ratchet up the excitement levels in your 3-6 year olds, this will do the trick. Helena Johnson's very friendly elf put the little ones at ease with one-to-one chat and smiles.
Lots of interactive sections - learning songs and sorting Father Christmas' letters - helped keep the children's attention, and the key points were repeated several times, which made sure everyone could cotton on to the story. Magical moments included a beautifully-lit puppet story and song. It was fantastic to see a whole nursery school giggling furiously at Father Christmas' comedy neighbours.
There were enough strands to the story and amusing asides to make it entertaining for the grown-ups, though I wonder what little children make of job dissatisfaction and climate change. Hopefully these horrendous realities go over their heads until they are ready to know - just like the truth about Father Christmas!
Parents of younger children might want to explain about costumes and actors before you get there, and perhaps introduce the concept of the beard if they haven't met one in person before.
Lots of interactive sections - learning songs and sorting Father Christmas' letters - helped keep the children's attention, and the key points were repeated several times, which made sure everyone could cotton on to the story. Magical moments included a beautifully-lit puppet story and song. It was fantastic to see a whole nursery school giggling furiously at Father Christmas' comedy neighbours.
There were enough strands to the story and amusing asides to make it entertaining for the grown-ups, though I wonder what little children make of job dissatisfaction and climate change. Hopefully these horrendous realities go over their heads until they are ready to know - just like the truth about Father Christmas!
Parents of younger children might want to explain about costumes and actors before you get there, and perhaps introduce the concept of the beard if they haven't met one in person before.
