I was in charge of the Christmas Party last year at my church. I thought I'd share a few ideas of what we did. It was simple, but full of the spirit of Christmas. We featured the Nativity figures that were there the day that Christ was born as found in the New Testament. I …
This was the BEST CHRISTmas party! It was focused all on our Savior and left us all feeling inspired to be the LIGHT OF THE WORLD! Every table was set up with different nativity sets- it was fun …
About 4 weeks ago I was asked along with my two counselors to be in charge of our ward Christmas party. With not much time to plan, w...
How to plan an EPIC White Christmas Party for upcoming holiday party on a small budget. This complete party plan includes decorations, menu and other ideas!
Ward Christmas Party-Table Settings Ward Christmas Party-Table Settings I am so proud of my Ward this year! They did such …
As ward activity committee members, it can be difficult to come up with unique ideas for the ward Christmas party year after year. Here are some ideas for making this December's event an enjoyable experience for members of all ages.
About 4 weeks ago I was asked along with my two counselors to be in charge of our ward Christmas party. With not much time to plan, w...
Today I'm sharing all the details from our church Christmas program we put together a few weeks ago! It includes the script, the props, and all the details from the night.
How to plan an EPIC White Christmas Party for upcoming holiday party on a small budget. This complete party plan includes decorations, menu and other ideas!
Lds Christmas Party Ideas . Best 25 Lds Christmas Party Ideas . the House Of Nash Ward Christmas Party
Light the World Designs... we participated in this wonderful initiative and it has been valuable to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. Free printables!
Whether you're a missionary, ward mission leader, or member of the ward counsel, these outreach ideas are PERFECT for bringing people together!
The stress of my life for two months now: The Ward Christmas Party! After a very successful Halloween party, and lots and lots of compliment...
Some posts contain affiliate links. See my disclosure policy for more information! Create a Christmas party inspired by the pioneers! Use these ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Includes free printables! A few years ago, my husband and I were called to be over our ward (our neighborhood church group) Christmas party. We were […]
About a month and a half ago, Paul came home from a church meeting and mentioned that the bishop (what we call the leader of our congregati...
This was an activity that was in the very early stages of planning when I got released. (Sorry it has taken me over 6 months to post!) While I do not have all of the details I will post what I do know as it was a huge success. First of all, I will tell you that my Ward had done "Christmas in Bethlehem" about 5 years ago (Before I was called) and it was far too unorganized and far too much work. The feedback wasn't necessarily positive after that, so when I suggested it as a possibility to my committee, you can imagine the looks I received. If you have never heard of the concept of Christmas in Bethlehem, you may want to first read about it {{HERE}}. I promised my committee that we would not be too elaborate and that keeping it simple would help to make it a success. They all agreed, especially because our budget was small. Who: Everyone! Objective: Fellowship, Build Testimony of Christ, Celebrate Christ's Birth Budget: (I am not sure what their budget was as I was release nearly 11 months earlier.) Flyer: We pretty much used the same verbiage as was found at the link above. Invitations were rolled up into scrolls and tied with small twine. Set-Up: The Relief Society Activity Committee helped the Ward Activity Chairperson in getting all of the assignments made. Starting the 1st Sunday in November, the sign-up sheets were circulated through. Unlike many wards, we did not ask classes or quorums to run a booth. (The downfall of the prior attempt 5 years earlier.) We wanted families to be able to enjoy the evening together and didn't want unattended children running all over the place. There were sign-up sheets asking families to run a booth (I think we had about 8-9 booth). We had sign-up sheets for those who could donate canopies for booths. And there were sign-up sheets to ask people to bring the following food items: Breads/rolls. Cookies. Cheese Cubes. Black Olives. Cut-Up fruit. Special Instructions: As each family arrived, they were asked to sign the Census. (Husbands of the Activity Committee were dressed like roman soldiers.) The soldiers gave each member a small bag containing coins. (12 pennies per bag. This was enough to get their food and then a few more items.) We were then all guided to the chapel. There we sang a Christmas Carol and the activity chairperson explained how the marketplace worked. The overflow area was set up with a little pathway (cardboard "walls" and battery operated candles in paper sacks) leading to the gym. They gave about 30 minutes for people to "shop" and eat before they were invited to be seated and watch the reenactment of the nativity. We have a lady in our ward who has all of the props and costumes for the nativity. She created these years ago for her children and extended family. Every other year we ask her to run that part of our Christmas program. She loves it. She gets all of the actors organized and rehearses with them. There are places in the nativity program for the rest of us to sing a verse of a Carol. We love it too, as it takes added pressure from the committee! Turn-Out: We had several people attend (I counted close to 100) and everyone had a wonderful time. I think the pictures tell the best story, so without further adieu... The committee basically flattened a ton of cardboard boxes and using really fat black permanent markers turned them into "buildings". They were cut, shaped and then taped together and set along the outskirts of the room. Here is the Water "Well". The Base is actually a plastic tub (Sitting on a step to make it taller), filled with ice and then water bottles, then covered with thick brown paper and the rim is a spray painted pool noodle. The wooden frame helped to keep everything in place and was cute. 1 Bench was brought from home, while the other three were confiscated from the Primary, YW, & Relief Society rooms. Booths were created out of modern-day canopies. Sheets were hung in between to create "walls". The insides were lined with Christmas White Lights and other things such as baskets. Poster boards were used for the sign shops. At David's Toy Shop we were "selling" little dreidels. The Committee purchased these online in bulk. There were other toys and trinkets that were in the activity closet from activities past, so we thought it would be a good idea to "sell" those too. The Bishop's winery had sparkling Grape Juice. (Grape Juice & 7-Up in punch bowls) The fruit market contained grapes, orange slices, banana halves, pineapple slices and apple slices, all donated by members (via the sign-up sheets). Ruth's Bakery contained rolls & honey along with several types of cookies and bars brought by the members (via the sign-up sheets). The Gift of the Magi was selling Gold (chocolate gold coin), Frankincense, and Myrrh. I don't remember was the Frankincense was, but 1 token got you all 3 and the Myrrh meant you got to use some of the lotion. Potiphar's Pita hut "sold" pita wedges and toppings such as Hummus, Cream Cheese and Honey. The Activity Committee supplied the food items for this hut. Benjamin's Meat & Deli was offering grilled chicken strips (provided by the committee) and "Deli Kabobs" of cheese cubes and black olives (provided by members via the sign-up sheet). Rachel's Rentals contained a basket full of blankets for those who did not bring one to sit on. One of the members brought these benches from home. The "actors" for the Nativity program sat here until it was their turn to go on stage. The back corner of the gym was set up with tables. It was announced ahead of time that these were for the elderly or for those who could not sit of the floor. The tables were decorated with simple burlap cloths and mini lanterns. This was taken after it the marketplace opened for business. During the Nativity. The lady who organizes this for us uses all Primary Children and no adults for this. When most of the kids are playing a part, it's easier to keep them from running around. :) That is a brief overview from our night in Bethlehem. I hope it inspires something for you! Good Luck!
So by disbanding the ward activities committee, our ward was left at having the Elder's Quorum in charge. Of course they are great guys, but...
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We were put in charge of our church or ward Christmas party this year. We needed to plan something with families and have it be for around 250 people. I immediately got on the internet and found on Sugardoodle a list of suggested Ward Christmas Parties. One caught my eye since we had just been in charge of the Pioneer Trek this summer and that was Christmas in Nauvoo in 1843 posted by Paige Moore. Christmas of 1843 was the last Christmas that Joseph Smith was alive and he recorded in his journal being woken up that morning by carolers and that he and his wife Emma hosted a dinner for 50 in the Nauvoo Mansion and that they had music and dancing all evening. It not only had the theme idea but it had a list of assignments for the various committees and a program and facts about old Nauvoo, Illinois. The first thing I wanted to add was a horse and carriage for the evening to set the stage for old Nauvoo. I had just used this wonderful company this fall for a Miss Utah County parade event so I contacted them and we got their Vis a Vis Limousine carriage. The carriage company, Burch and Sons is located in American Fork, Utah and they have a huge collection of wonderful carriages. There was a line-up for carriage rides all evening. One of my close neighbors was asked to play the prophet Joseph Smith. He even grew his hair out and styled it like Joseph's was styled in 1843. A costume was rented from Hale Center Theater. Nauvoo was famous for the beautiful brick homes the people built while they lived there so we printed out large rolls of red brick on paper and decorated the various "stores" we had around the church building. Different organizations in the ward were assigned to be in charge of setting up and running their "stores" and the Young Women organization went over the top with their charming Scovil Bakery. One of the leaders even brought over this charming cupboard. They made snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling. You felt totally transported as you entered their room. They were asked to have gingerbread cookies for the children to decorate but they took it a step farther and decided to create a bakesale and donate the funds they raised to needy families. I love the wooden cash box they had in their bakery. This charming tree was lit and in the corner with a darling banner hung above it. They even turned the chalkboards in the room into windows in the bakery and hung lights around them. You are looking out through this window! Isn't this an adorable idea. The round tables were set up with plastic tablecloths for the decorating of the gingerbread cookies. We printed off whitewashed wood planks for the Stoddard Tin Shop. Here the children could come in and make a punched ornament or necklace. You could hear the pounding of little hammers down the hall. The kids really loved this one too. These cute guys were all dressed in period clothing and having a great time showing off for the camera. The Red Brick Store was famous in old Nauvoo and we had the Elder's Quorum set it up like a store with barrels of peanuts and candy. Here you could bring toys and clothing and gently used items for the needy and drop them off. Back in 1843 large church meetings were held in "The Grove" or out under the cover of trees as there were no large church buildings. Here the children played pioneer games. Our postmaster was here to help people write letters or emails to the many missionaries we have from our ward serving around the world. One of those is my son who is serving in Seoul, Korea. The Bishop's Storehouse was a place where you could make donations of food in Old Nauvoo which would be shared with the needy so we had people bring food and products the Food and Care Coalition in town need to help the homeless. The Nauvoo Mansion was built to house guests and visitors in Nauvoo. We printed off stone blocks on paper to create an entry for it. The Mansion was the cultural hall or gymnasium at the church. And the stage was Joseph's room where he was seated writing in his journal. He was so great - he stayed in character the whole evening and children said, "Joseph is here, Joseph is here!" They wanted to be up on stage by him. We set up 24 long tables in a fan pattern and the tables were covered with red tablecloths and a wonderful roll of burlap. Each set of tables had 3 silk wreaths and 2 glass hurricanes and one metal and glass hurricane with artificial snow on the bottom of the hurricanes. The candles of course were electronic. The burlap ran down the serving tables too. I created two tall urns with evergreens and artichokes and lemons. All candles have to be battery operated in the church building for fire codes. You can see the tables beginning to fill up. We also set up chairs around the edges. Every seat was used. It was the best attended ward party we have had. You can also see a child standing up on the stage next to the desk. How adorable is that? We asked everyone to come in period clothing - at least no jeans for men and no pants for women. It really added to the atmosphere. The ward provided holiday ham and turkey and fresh rolls from Shirley's Bakery. Every family was asked to bring their favorite holiday side dish or dessert. The tables were stuffed with delicious food. As a follow up invitation, we sent out this "How to arrange a Christmas Dinner" published in 1847. It is fun to read through and see the traditional dishes mentioned. I don't think anyone brought turnips, boiled onions or dressed celery! My niece Shaunna did the designs for both invitations, the signs for the shop doors and the brick, wood and stone walls. She was a fabulous help! We had a group of carolers wandering down the hall. After dinner we had a short program that was included on the site I referenced. We added to it with a song that our Joseph (Del Moody) wrote about Emma and then he stood at the end and bore witness to Jesus Christ citing Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24 "This is the testimony, last of all. that we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the father." It was so powerful after the song about Emma and it brought tears to many eyes. These were our actors playing Porter Rockwell and one of the military officers who were part of the program. The choir sang several numbers in the program and the Young Women sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Many said it was the best ward Christmas Party they had ever been to. I hope if you need to do a ward party, and choose to do Christmas in Nauvoo, that this will give you some ideas and inspiration. Incidentally, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was also published on December 19, 1843. I had researched the costumes of the period and then I went production by Hale Center Theater in Salt Lake this year. Their costumes really followed the time period with their hairstyles featuring the sausage curls, the waistcoats and morning coats for the men and the women's dresses with lower and pointed waistlines . It was fun to see how they would have actually dressed up for a party in 1843. I will be posting this with Tablescapes Thursday Seasonal Sunday Weekend Wrapup
Ever since returning from a trip to the Middle East I have wanted to prepare a supper where we ate on the floor with blankets and pillows. This night is the perfect time to do that. “Ba…
I bought each of my seminary students a mini manger at the 99 cent store and needed a good quote to go with it. I found this quote and thought that it was perfect. I put together this printout to attach to the manger. I have it in two different forms. One you can printout onto the paper of your choice. The other is done in the chalkboard style. If you would like to use it for Christmas then just click on it and save it into your pictures, or copy and paste it into your printing program. To see all of my seminary ideas just click here. And to see all of my Christmas ideas just click here.
This game was created to go along with Primary manual 1, lesson #25: I Love My Whole Family, but can be adapted for any lesson or unit on families. Turn all 18 cards face down on table or floor. Kids can take turns turning 2 cards over. If they get a match, they can go again. If not, it is the next child's turn. Continue until all cards are revealed. {Family Memory Game Folder} {Page 1 Printable} {Page 2 Printable} {Page 3 Printable}
About 4 weeks ago I was asked along with my two counselors to be in charge of our ward Christmas party. With not much time to plan, w...
Wow! This December meeting was incredible! We combined with our Temple 1st ward and Spanish Branch sisters, and also encouraged everyone...
We were put in charge of our church or ward Christmas party this year. We needed to plan something with families and have it be ...
Christmas in Nauvoo submitted by Donna Cuillard Here is the script we used when we did Christmas in Nauvoo a couple of years ago. “Christmas at the Mansion House in Nauvoo – 1844”…
Okay, my husband and I were actually put in charge of the Farmington Ranches 4th Ward Christmas Party - TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO! I figured I better post these pictures and share before I forget -- again. When I prayed and pondered over a theme for the party (I work best with a theme) I kept coming back to the idea of "Help the children come to know the Savior." We had about 250 primary kids at the time (3 nurseries!) so I took this inspiration very seriously. I then asked myself (and the Lord), "How can I make this about the Savior, and yet keep it fun for the kids?" The worst in my mind would be 250 bored little children packed into a warm gym. It had the potential of a runaway train. After many more days and weeks of praying (starting in September) I finally came to the theme of "In A Stable." I wanted to make the party about the kids and yet about our Savior. After the initial idea of a theme, I was blessed with 8 committee members (4 wonderful couples) and we set to work. We had one big planning/brainstorming meeting and the rest was done via email. Who: Everyone! Objective: Celebrate the birth of Christ, Fellowship, Missionary Work, Help children strengthen their testimony of the Savior. Budget: $1200 Flyer: I had a blue background with a silhouette of the stable, and all of the event details in white font. I forgot to save a copy of the hard copy to share, but here is the "banner" image we used on our Facebook Event page. Set-Up: We had a huge ward with a half-court gym. Thankfully, I had an engineer on my committee! I told him how many of each sort of table we had, then he measured the gym and came up with a blueprint of how to set everything up. Here are some photos of that... For decorations we bought rolls of plain newsprint paper from the local paper for $7 a roll. Then we re-used some red burlap from previous years as table runners (hand cut, "raw" edges). A lady in our ward had made little centerpieces for a RS dinner a few years back and still had these simple wood Jesus-in-a-manger pieces. We also found red glass votives in the storage closet, so we pulled those out and filled them with crayons from the library. In storage were also clear vases wrapped with red yarn and red "branches". My committee thought these would be a great accent and give a simple elegance to the room. The kids loved coloring on the paper while waiting for the food, by the way. We also took Hershey's kisses and spread them around on the tables just before everyone arrived. One of my committee members bought some extra red burlap and made four wreaths to hang on the two far ends of the gym. She also brought in one of her extra Christmas Trees and decorated it with traditional decorations and white lights. Menu: Our ward is so big, which is why our budget for this event was so large. We spent very little money on the decor (3 rolls of news print x $7 = $21, Burlap for wreaths = donated by our committee member (who planned to use them in her home after the ward party), and about $35 to print up about 300 invites (4x6 photo), which the Deacons delivered while they were out collected Fast Offerings. This left us a really good chunk of money for the food. We bought spiral hams, bagged salad, ranch dressing, potatoes, foil, dinner rolls, butter, sour cream, and shredded cheese - all from Costco. We were told that even though we had over 600 members in our ward, typically only about 350 come to the party (this is still THREE TIMES more than in my previous ward!). So, we planned for 375, just in case. A word to the wise. Plan on only half a potato, half as much sour cream, and about half the salad as what the serving sizes say. Little kids cannot eat that much. We had way too much of these left over - which we took to families in need. For dessert, we decided to do a Brownie Bar, which we asked ward members to donate. About 3 Sundays before the party, we circulated copies of 2 different sign-up sheets. 1 - asking for volunteers to help cook the potatoes at home and drop them off at the church by 5p. (We bought the potatoes and dropped off 2 lbs of potatoes and a roll of foil to each volunteer.) 2 - we also asked for volunteers to donate 1 pan of brownies UN-CUT, any type they wanted to bake. We asked for 20 people to sign up for this, but we had more than 30 women who did! Other Activities: It's going to sound like we had a lot of sign-up sheets. Well, we did. We ALSO had a sign up sheet for our Nativity Room. We set up the primary room with long tables covered in borrowed fancy table cloths. We asked for members who were willing, to bring in their nativity sets to display in this room. We provided little slips of paper, so they could put their name card in front of their nativity set. During the "Nativity Walk" (which I'll explain soon), we had one of our committee members "guard" this room to make sure no one touched any of the nativities on display. We also had a Nativity Art Gallery. I bought a few packs of 14x17 drawing paper. I then printed up on small strips of paper these instructions, which I taped to the back of each blank drawing paper page: Please have (or help) your child draw or color their rendition of a nativity scene. This can be free drawing, water color, markers, crayon, a sketch, or as simple as tracing a picture. Under their drawing, please include their name and their age. Return completed drawings to ___________ by [date]. These drawings will be on display in our Nativity Walk Art Gallery during our Ward Christmas Party. It was announced at the pulpit that every child ages 3-18 would receive this blank piece of paper in class to take home. About a week before the party, the Primary President and nursery workers allowed some of the children who might have been previously absent to draw or color their nativity picture. These drawings were hung in one of the hallways leading from the gym door down to the primary room. I was so fortunate to have some great helpers on my committee! I know this sounds like a lot of prep work, but when delegated, I honestly felt like I didn't do a whole heck of a lot. Here is how it all went down... Brownies and potatoes were dropped off in the kitchen and we had several helpers distributing 2 different types of brownies per dessert plate and place them in the adjacent YW room on tables. Potatoes were kept in a warmer. Just outside of the kitchen doors, we set up a serving station. We had a Salad Server (a gloved hand is a fast way to "dish up" salad onto someone's plate!) (dressing in bowls already on tables), a Ham Server (someone else was in the kitchen slicing it), a baked potato server (people could select "half" or "whole", butter & sour cream on tables), and a Roll Server ("one or two?"). After the opening prayer, everyone was instructed through which door they should go to retrieve their food. We tried our best to streamline this process and we were complimented by many, stating that ours was the fastest food service line of any ward party they had attended! It helped to have a kitchen "gopher" who went back and forth from the kitchen to the serving stations, replenishing needed items. After everyone was served, and mostly finished eating, we announced it was time for the Nativity Gallery Walk. They were told that talking was not allowed during the nativity walk. They were told they would walk through the Youth Gallery, and to please stop and enjoy the artwork in the halls. At the end of the hall, they would enter one door of the primary room, where they could view the nativities of some of our very own members, but no touching. Once they exited out of the other primary room door, they would continue to follow the hallway around to the the YW room, where they would pick up one plate of dessert per person, and then return to the gym to enjoy their dessert. They were reminded again, no talking. If they must speak, to please do so in a whisper. We had some soft music playing over the speaker from the chapel, which helped set the tone. One table at a time, they were dismissed through the southwest gym door and after one group was about halfway down the hall, the next table was dismissed. This worked out soooo well! The kids would point and smile as they saw their own artwork. It was fun to hear everyone take the no talking seriously too. Even though there were lots of excited whispers, it was reverent. (To help keep the flow of traffic through the designated doors, we had printed and hung "Please Use Other Door" signs on the doors we did not want them to use.) Once back in the gym, some of our committee members did a nativity puppet show to an audio recording of the nativity story and song. (I was busy in the kitchen, so I only popped in to take a quick picture, and therefore couldn't tell you what the story was, but you could easily do sock puppets to "The Friendly Beasts" recording if desired.) After the puppet show, we had the bishop add a few closing remarks and we also had him announce seconds on brownies and the children could take their pictures off the wall and take them home, then we had the closing prayer. So many people stayed to help clean up, it was wonderful! We started PROMPTLY at 6:30p and we were completely done with the activity BEFORE 8p! I was shocked at how quickly we managed to get everyone through the line. Seriously. We had advertised 6:30p-8:30p. But I think many were happy we were finished early as they wanted to get their littles home to bed. Here are some additional pictures: Nativity Walk Youth Art Gallery The Nativity Room The Brownie Room (older kids of the committee members LOVED helping in this room) Nativity Puppet Show Turn-Out: 350 people, give or take a few, judging by the fact nearly every seat was taken. Let me know if you decide to do something like this for your ward Christmas party! And good luck!
Our Christmas party this past year was fun! We had a waffle bar breakfast, a craft for the children, a few families lips sinked to some fun Christmas songs, sang a few Christmas songs together (wit…
Last weekend I helped a few ladies from my church plan our wards Christmas party: A Night in Bethlehem. We wanted to create a Christmas experience that celebrated the life of Christ. I'm on the enrichment committee,
Our Christmas party this past year was fun! We had a waffle bar breakfast, a craft for the children, a few families lips sinked to some fun Christmas songs, sang a few Christmas songs together (wit…
We were put in charge of our church or ward Christmas party this year. We needed to plan something with families and have it be for around 250 people. I immediately got on the internet and found on Sugardoodle a list of suggested Ward Christmas Parties. One caught my eye since we had just been in charge of the Pioneer Trek this summer and that was Christmas in Nauvoo in 1843 posted by Paige Moore. Christmas of 1843 was the last Christmas that Joseph Smith was alive and he recorded in his journal being woken up that morning by carolers and that he and his wife Emma hosted a dinner for 50 in the Nauvoo Mansion and that they had music and dancing all evening. It not only had the theme idea but it had a list of assignments for the various committees and a program and facts about old Nauvoo, Illinois. The first thing I wanted to add was a horse and carriage for the evening to set the stage for old Nauvoo. I had just used this wonderful company this fall for a Miss Utah County parade event so I contacted them and we got their Vis a Vis Limousine carriage. The carriage company, Burch and Sons is located in American Fork, Utah and they have a huge collection of wonderful carriages. There was a line-up for carriage rides all evening. One of my close neighbors was asked to play the prophet Joseph Smith. He even grew his hair out and styled it like Joseph's was styled in 1843. A costume was rented from Hale Center Theater. Nauvoo was famous for the beautiful brick homes the people built while they lived there so we printed out large rolls of red brick on paper and decorated the various "stores" we had around the church building. Different organizations in the ward were assigned to be in charge of setting up and running their "stores" and the Young Women organization went over the top with their charming Scovil Bakery. One of the leaders even brought over this charming cupboard. They made snowflakes and hung them from the ceiling. You felt totally transported as you entered their room. They were asked to have gingerbread cookies for the children to decorate but they took it a step farther and decided to create a bakesale and donate the funds they raised to needy families. I love the wooden cash box they had in their bakery. This charming tree was lit and in the corner with a darling banner hung above it. They even turned the chalkboards in the room into windows in the bakery and hung lights around them. You are looking out through this window! Isn't this an adorable idea. The round tables were set up with plastic tablecloths for the decorating of the gingerbread cookies. We printed off whitewashed wood planks for the Stoddard Tin Shop. Here the children could come in and make a punched ornament or necklace. You could hear the pounding of little hammers down the hall. The kids really loved this one too. These cute guys were all dressed in period clothing and having a great time showing off for the camera. The Red Brick Store was famous in old Nauvoo and we had the Elder's Quorum set it up like a store with barrels of peanuts and candy. Here you could bring toys and clothing and gently used items for the needy and drop them off. Back in 1843 large church meetings were held in "The Grove" or out under the cover of trees as there were no large church buildings. Here the children played pioneer games. Our postmaster was here to help people write letters or emails to the many missionaries we have from our ward serving around the world. One of those is my son who is serving in Seoul, Korea. The Bishop's Storehouse was a place where you could make donations of food in Old Nauvoo which would be shared with the needy so we had people bring food and products the Food and Care Coalition in town need to help the homeless. The Nauvoo Mansion was built to house guests and visitors in Nauvoo. We printed off stone blocks on paper to create an entry for it. The Mansion was the cultural hall or gymnasium at the church. And the stage was Joseph's room where he was seated writing in his journal. He was so great - he stayed in character the whole evening and children said, "Joseph is here, Joseph is here!" They wanted to be up on stage by him. We set up 24 long tables in a fan pattern and the tables were covered with red tablecloths and a wonderful roll of burlap. Each set of tables had 3 silk wreaths and 2 glass hurricanes and one metal and glass hurricane with artificial snow on the bottom of the hurricanes. The candles of course were electronic. The burlap ran down the serving tables too. I created two tall urns with evergreens and artichokes and lemons. All candles have to be battery operated in the church building for fire codes. You can see the tables beginning to fill up. We also set up chairs around the edges. Every seat was used. It was the best attended ward party we have had. You can also see a child standing up on the stage next to the desk. How adorable is that? We asked everyone to come in period clothing - at least no jeans for men and no pants for women. It really added to the atmosphere. The ward provided holiday ham and turkey and fresh rolls from Shirley's Bakery. Every family was asked to bring their favorite holiday side dish or dessert. The tables were stuffed with delicious food. As a follow up invitation, we sent out this "How to arrange a Christmas Dinner" published in 1847. It is fun to read through and see the traditional dishes mentioned. I don't think anyone brought turnips, boiled onions or dressed celery! My niece Shaunna did the designs for both invitations, the signs for the shop doors and the brick, wood and stone walls. She was a fabulous help! We had a group of carolers wandering down the hall. After dinner we had a short program that was included on the site I referenced. We added to it with a song that our Joseph (Del Moody) wrote about Emma and then he stood at the end and bore witness to Jesus Christ citing Doctrine and Covenants 76:22-24 "This is the testimony, last of all. that we give of him: That he lives! For we saw him, even on the right hand of God; and we heard the voice bearing record that he is the Only Begotten of the father." It was so powerful after the song about Emma and it brought tears to many eyes. These were our actors playing Porter Rockwell and one of the military officers who were part of the program. The choir sang several numbers in the program and the Young Women sang "Go Tell it on the Mountain". Many said it was the best ward Christmas Party they had ever been to. I hope if you need to do a ward party, and choose to do Christmas in Nauvoo, that this will give you some ideas and inspiration. Incidentally, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens was also published on December 19, 1843. I had researched the costumes of the period and then I went production by Hale Center Theater in Salt Lake this year. Their costumes really followed the time period with their hairstyles featuring the sausage curls, the waistcoats and morning coats for the men and the women's dresses with lower and pointed waistlines . It was fun to see how they would have actually dressed up for a party in 1843. I will be posting this with Tablescapes Thursday Seasonal Sunday Weekend Wrapup
Have you ever wondered how people celebrate Christmas around the world? Let's take a journey to explore the different Christmas traditions & celebrations.
As ward activity committee members, it can be difficult to come up with unique ideas for the ward Christmas party year after year. Here are some ideas for making this December's event an enjoyable experience for members of all ages.
For many years we have had two different ward parties, a Breakfast with Santa and an Adult Ward dinner, but as life has become crazy we have tried to simplify and I really felt bad that the kids we…
As Christians, we celebrate Christmas because of Jesus Christ. We know that all praise and glory belong to Jesus! The world around us wants to diminish the true reason for the Christmas Season with the
I was in charge of the Christmas Party last year at my church. I thought I'd share a few ideas of what we did. It was simple, but full of the spirit of Christmas. We featured the Nativity figures that were there the day that Christ was born as found in the New Testament. I …
