Bubblegum ‘n’ Fluff: A Christmas activity

Sometimes it feels that there is more fluff than substance to Christmas time and that the deeper meaning of Christmas is lost. While still enjoying all the “fun” aspects of our Western Christmas, Bubblegum 'n' Fluff provides churches and chaplains a way to help primary 6 children to uncover the real message of Christmas; the celebration of God's incarnation in the person of Jesus.  The event duration is 2 hours and features games, sketches, spontaneous drama, craft ideas, storytelling, theme song, worksheets, and much more.

Here is some feedback from teaching staff:

"The pupils were fully engaged throughout and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the workshop especially the puppets!" 
"The activities were appropriate, enjoyable and motivating."
"It was a great way to get the children thinking about the Christmas story out with the December mayhem of school!"
"The children were involved in the storytelling which captivated their interest totally and definitely enriched their understanding."
"Very engaged pupils."
"Loved the gift of the candles."
"I liked the idea of getting all the fluff of Christmas to see what's underneath."
"Great mix of grouped activities and good collaboration/sharing of materials."
"A fabulous morning."

How could you start this yourself?

The first thing to do is to get hold of a copy of the resource book. This costs £6, including a disc with all the digital resources that go with the programme. Once you have looked through the book you need to build a core team of 5/6 people who will plan the event and present some of the upfront elements. By October you need to speak to your local school and book the P6 classes in for a morning at your church building in early December.  After that is done you then need to prepare some things well in advance e.g. puppet staging, craft materials etc. It is then helpful to have another 5/6 people from the congregation who will be there on the day of the event, to chat to the children, help with crafts and group times and serve tea and coffee to the staff.  Finally, have fun!