I am on activities committee in our ward (and alex is unofficially). The committee had talked earlier in the year about each picking one activity to be in charge of, and I picked Christmas with the brilliant idea of doing a Whoville theme. While it was brilliant, it was a lot more work than I had planned. A couple days before the big day my dad asked me if I had "bitten off more than I can chew." I told alex later that I could in fact chew it, but it turned out to be more like chewing over-cooked steak when I had expected fall-apart-in-your-mouth salmon.
It really really was really fun to do, make, and plan. Not going to lie...it was just nice to be busy and involved with something creative and time consuming. The party included: breakfast, decorations, and a program (requested by bishopric). So I figured: bright colors and fun shapes, and the Grinch play...which was previously done in the Foothill Ranch Ward back in CA.
Breakfast was planned and taken care of by our friend on the committee, and I took on decorations and putting the program together. Decorations were easy, fun, and simple. But the play was another story. I might have gone overboard for a ward party Christmas program. Considering the only stage experience I've had is a couple of stake roadshows, I was nervous. But time, work, and some stress made it all work out. Here's what went down......
Decorations:
Pretty much just focused on the tables. I planned, got supplies, made samples, then let committee members make different crafts.
-Tinsel trees from Dollar store, hot glued glitter star on top, dipped brads in paint then glitter for tree ornaments.
-Candy Cups. I got clear plastic cups from the grocery store, dipped rims in paint then glitter, filled with rock salt and stuck in colorful candy canes (also from dollar store).
-Table runners. Cut wrapping paper into long strips. Size and number per roll will change depending on the amount of paper (and size of it) on each roll. With this paper I got 12 out of each roll. Each runner about 13in x 6ft long.
-Whoville-tree shirt at Target, just for fun
-Heart Ornaments. One for each family. Made dough with 2 cups flour, 1 cup salt, 1 cup water. Cut with heart cookie cutter, poked holes for ribbon, baked at 325 degrees for 20 minutes until hard, but not brown. Then painted, stamped with darker red for design, and added tag that said "Welcome Christmas, while we stand, Heart to heart, and hand in hand." Someone from the committee explained the hearts to audience, said something about service and making ourselves grow through service, etc... (sorry picture is bad quality and not rotated)
For the Play:-2 backdrops, one "Outside scene" one "Inside scnene." We projected the Grinch movie onto 2 rows of butcher paper taped together. We'd pause the movie on the cave, paint, pause on the trees, paint, then the village. Same with the inside one's archway. And we definitely improvised a few times.
-Props like fireplace, sleigh, heart reader, roast beast
-Grinch costume. Green sweats, socks, and gloves. Furry green yarn wrapped around wrists and neck. Face paint and hair spray color. Santa costume red long sleeve t-shirt with white fluffy fabric sewed on openings. Hat $1 at Walmart.
A few Christmas Miracles that came with this event:-We did a read through once mid-Novmeber, then one run through Friday night which was a mess considering it was our first time through it. So we met Saturday morning before the breakfast to practice again and it went amazing. Absolutely. Then the actual program was just great. Amazing. Still kinda can't believe it pulled together.
-We have a lot of sky lights in the cultural hall so I wasn't happy with how the lighting wouldn't be as dramatic, etc...but the sky that morning was dark and overcast, and it snowed...for the first time after a few weeks of bright sunny days. Definitely set a nice mood for us.
-I am sure there were other ones along the way, like finding sales, getting a free small christmas tree and wrapped present props from work, etc.
I really couldn't have done it without our ward members that participated. The only actor a part of the committee was Max the dog. Also, Alex for all his help and support and for holding me when my hormones/stress got the best of me. Thanks Alex.
(We're trying to figure out how to do video....so stay tuned)
