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The humble robin is a traditional Christmas symbol in the UK, the colourful bird often depicted on our festive greetings cards and Christmas gift wrapping. We also use little robin decorations to trim our Christmas trees and our Christmas cakes or chocolate logs. It's hardly surprising that we cherish this pretty, cheerful little bird as part of our Christmas festivities because he is so colourful and most other birds have migrated to warmer climates. And during our long bleak winters it lifts us to hear the chirpy song of the festive robin.
However, there is more to this chirpy fellow then just cute Christmas cards of him posing on snow covered post boxes and nesting in old copper watering cans.
Robins live through out Europe (Except the far North) and Western Siberia. We notice an increased number of robins in the UK during our winter months as robins in colder climates move to warmer wintering gathering grounds during the autumn.
Robins who live in close proximity to people can become rather tame, especially towards avid gardeners. Some cheeky robins have learned to take advantages of unearthed worms caused from gardeners digging and turning the soil.
It has also been discovered that robins can fish. Not for large fish though, the robin itself being only 14 cm and weighing between 14 and 21 grams. Robins can hover and dive for fish in shallow waters.
Male robins are very territorial and sing to proclaim their territory, what sound like a cheerful winter song to us is actually a warning of occupation to other robins in the area. Robins will fight to defend their territory.
Robins mate and nest in late March. The female robin builds a nest from dry dead leaves and moss in crevasses in trees, wall cavities or in under growth.
Because robins don't build traditional nests with twigs and sticks and instead simply line holes and crevasses is why we hear tales of robins nesting in old watering cans and wellington boots.
The female lays between 4 and 6 small white to slightly blue speckled eggs which she incubates for 2 weeks.
At two weeks old the robin chicks can fly. By this time the father robin feeds his offspring for a further 3 week until the chicks become independent at around five weeks old, meanwhile the female rears her second brood.
Chicks are not born with the trademark vibrant red breast feathers. They shed their chick feathers to make way for their splash of red on their breasts.
Not many robin chicks get to show off their new red feathers with pictures poses on top of snow covered post-boxes or pine-trees because more than a half of the chicks die during their first year.
However, robins can live up to the ripe old age of 5 years, which is something to sing about.
So spare a thought for this festive little bird this Christmas time because he works hard for his living. Maybe leave them some tasty Christmas treats on your bird table, some bacon rind and a stuffing ball. And maybe leave out a few old terracotta plant pots for a homeless female robin looking for somewhere to build their nests.
Everyone knows Rudolf. He is Santa's leading reindeer on account of his red nose that lights Santa's way through the winter night sky every Christmas Eve.
However, there is no mention of Rudolf in Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem ''Twas the Night Before Christmas (�also known as 'A Visit From St Nicholas') written in 1822. More clearly names all of Santa's reindeer �
"Now Dasher! Now Dancer! Now Prancer and Vixen!
On Comet! On Cupid! On Donner and Blitzen!"
But Moore doesn't make any reference to Rudolf. Rudolf is a later addition tot he festive season. The famous Christmas song 'Rudolf the Red Nose Reindeer' was written by Robert L. May originally created as an advertising strategy for the Montgomery Ward Department Store in 1939.
The song depicts the heart-warming tale of the disfigured reindeer. Rudolf has the obvious deformity of a bright red nose. Because of his nose he is ridiculed and cast out from reindeer society.
"All of the other reindeer,
Used to laugh and call him names,
And they wouldn't let poor Rudolf,
Join in any reindeer games."
However, Rudolf's luck changes when Santa sees Rudolf's affliction as an asset and asks Rudolf - "Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?�
This simple but touching story line won the hearts of millions, so much so that Rudolf was added to the festive season as a special companion of Santa.
Are you thinking of dressing up as Santa Claus this wintertime? Maybe you have been invited to be Santa for the local school Christmas fair, or maybe you're off to a fancy dress party. Maybe you just want to do something special for your children this Christmas time by dressing up as Father Christmas and sneaking into their bedrooms this Christmas Eve, to deliberately be seen and to deliver them a special gift. Don't get caught though, because they'll never believe in Santa Claus again.
When buying your Santa costume there are some things that you need to consider to pass yourself off as an authentic Santa Claus.
Santa is rather a plump fellow with a 'little round belly, that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly' - 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Father Christmas isn't a heavy drinker, he doesn't have a beer belly. Obviously he is plump because he eats all those mince pies on Christmas Eve. Anyway, my point is that unless you also over do it on the mince pies, you're going to have to make yourself plump. The easiest way to do this is to sew tape ties on to the top of a cushion, so that you can wear it around your waist like an apron. You may need to give your new belly a bit of manual assistance to wobble like jelly when you laugh. When buying or renting your costume, make sure that you buy a size that will accommodate your new figure.
Santa is also known for his rosy cheeks 'His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry' - 'Twas The Night Before Christmas. Of course being out in the night air so long on Christmas Eve, it's no wonder that his cheeks are rosy. Make your cheeks and nose rosy by applying some pink blusher. Make a pink circle on each cheek and a smaller one on the tip of your nose. Don't worry if you feel a little foolish, it will look great when you have the full costume on.
Santa's boots are very individual, you can't get away with just wearing black wellingtons. Santa rides on a sleigh, he doesn't wear boots to keep his feet dry, he wears them to keep warm. Your boots need to appear to be fur lined and they need to have a fleecy turnover at the top of the boot.
Finally, you need to perfect your "Ho, Ho, Ho." It needs to be in a low pitch and needs to sound happy. Santa's trademark "Ho, Ho, Ho" isn't just Santa's chuckle for when he finds something amusing, but he also uses it when he makes a mistake. So if he leaves sooty foot prints on the carpet "Ho, Ho, Ho,." If he knocks your Christmas tree over "Ho, Ho, Ho" and with cold numb fingers, Santa is often clumsy.
If you are dressing up as Christmas time, please make sure that you abide by this advice and do not blemish Santa's reputation, but do have a splendid time. Laugh lots, and hover around the mince pies!
Difficulty Rating - 
A cheap and fun childrens party game. Ideal for children of all ages. Its a race against one anther to collect your Christmas jigsaw pieces and to complete your jigsaw.
Preparing the Game A different Christmas card is needed for each player. Only the image on the fronts of the Christmas card is needed, the backs can be discarded.
The Christmas pictures need to be cut into four pieces. You may cut them into 4 equal parts, or into abstract shapes, or four traditional jigsaw shapes. Make sure that each card front is cut into four parts.
How to Play Show each player their jigsaw in its made state, so that they know what their jigsaw should look like, and so they can familiarise themselves with the individual pieces within their jigsaw.
Send all the players out of the room whilst you hide all of the jigsaw pieces in various places within the room. Behind curtains, under tables, behind cushions etc.
Let the players back into the room. They must now find all of their own jigsaw pieces, discarding all of the others, and be the first to complete their jigsaw puzzle. The first player to complete their jigsaw correctly is the winner.
Ice breaking party games are a brilliant way for a group of people to get to know each other, get over shyness, and generally 'break the ice' and therefore make way for festive fun. Icebreaker games are designed so that there are no winners or losers. The main aim of the game is to have fun as a group, so that there are no isolate persons. It also encourages the group to communicate and overcome shyness.
Here are three ice breaker games you could try at your children's Christmas party...
Christmas Tree
The group sits in a ring with the host or play leader in the centre.
The host labels the children with one of the following (making sure there is a minimum of 2 of each) Star, Bauble, Tinsel, Angel, Snowflake
The host now calls out one object. For example - Snowflake. All the snowflakes must now jump up and exchange positions with other snowflakes, the game continues in this way with the host calling out different objects and the children exchanging places with objects of the same kind.
If 'Christmas Tree' is called out, all of the children must jump up and exchange places with other objects.
This game is fast and furious and energetic and usually very well received by older and younger children alike. It breaks the ice by mixing the children up and sitting them next to new people.
Christmas Theme Chinese Whispers
An old game that can be given a Christmas twist, simply divide the children into two teams and arrange them to sit in two lines.
Have ready some (previously made) cards with festive sentences written on them, but make sure that the sentences are out of the ordinary.
For Example - Rudolf likes Christmas pudding on Mondays, but Prancer likes plum pudding on Mondays and Christmas pudding on Wednesdays.
To begin the game, give the two children at the front of the lines the festive sentence to read.
The children then have to whisper the sentence to one another until it has passed up the line. Remember: Each child my only whisper the sentence once, they may not repeat it.
Finally, when the message gets to the last child in the line, this child has to say the message out aloud for everyone to hear.
There aren't any winners or losers, its just lots of fun listening to garbled messages. If you have only a few children don't divide them into teams.
Christmas Pictionary
Preparing the game - Have 20 cards with a Christmas item written on each. For example: Christmas Fairy, Roast Turkey, Holly and Ivy, Santa's Sleigh, Christmas Trimmings, Christmas present label...
How to play
Divide the children in to two teams. Each team takes it in turns to play rounds. To play a round, one child in the team must be chosen to be the drawer for that round (The drawer changes for each round played) The drawer takes a card from the top of the pile and reads it without speaking.
The drawer then has tree minutes to draw what was written on the card. However, the drawer must write letters or words and they must not speak.
The rest of the drawer�s team must try to guess what was written on the card from the drawings, all within the tree minutes. A point is awarded each time a team guesses correctly (word for word) what was written on the card.
The first team to collect 4 points is the winning team.
This game can be difficult for younger children.
Ice breaker games help to introduce the children at the party to one another. Once everyone has had a chance to speak to a few new people, it paves the way for more party fun and everyone will have a great time.