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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.
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.
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.
By Enid Edginton
Sometimes decorating a christmas tree can seem so complicated that you feel like singing "Uh oh christmas tree" rather than "Oh christmas tree". Whether you are decorating a natural evergreen or an artificial tree here are some tips for making the entire experience a little less disorganized.
2. Whether or not your tree looks really good might be dependent on what kind of tree you choose. Believe it or not there are some species of trees that are easier to decorate than others. Pine is the type of evergreen tree that is voted most likely to lose its needles and turn into a version of the pathetic Charlie Brown Christmas tree. The best types of trees when it comes to holding ornaments are firs and spruces. This is because their branches are the sturdiest. Of course if you are decorating an artificial prelit tree than this tip is really not much use to you.
3. If you are decorating a christmas tree that is real make sure it is fresh. You can tell if a tree is fresh or not by bending the branches. If the branches bend a bit that means it is full of moisture and more likely to support a christmas decoration. If it snaps, don't buy it. It is too dry to support decorations and likely to spill its needles all over your floor too.
4. If you are buying a natural tree, remember to put the Christmas mat below it before you put it on the stand. Some christmas tree skirts and mats come with a slit in the center and buttons or Velcro fastens others. Make sure you note what kind you have before you t the tree on the stand as you can't slip a christmas tree skirt over the tree's head like a person would a sweater.
5. When decorating a christmas tree make sure that you unsnarl the lights before you try to drape them around the tree. It is also safest to make sure all the bulbs are working before you try to do this too. There is a tiny chance that if you try to change burned out christmas bulbs while they are on the tree that a spark could ignite the tree and turn it into a christmas candle.
6. You may have heard that decorating a christmas tree with electric lightbulbs is much safer than decorating them the old fashioned way with candles. This is true as long as you obey one cardinal rule: don't rest a bulb directly against the branches of the tree. Like the old fashioned candles, hot christmas bulbs can heat up needles and catch fire. This is especially true if you shopped for a christmas tree at the last minute and ended up with a dry tree. The absolutely safest trees to buy are prelit artificial christmas trees as some of them have automatic shut-down features if they get too hot.
7. If you have lots of pets and children running around during the holiday season an artificial prelit tree might be safer than a natural one with bulbs strung around it. There is less risk of tiny fingers pulling bulbs down or getting electrocuted. There is also less danger of pets and children swallowing the needles that are shed from natural trees.
8. Decorating christmas trees is ultimately all about proportion. When hanging decorations put the largest sized decorations at the bottom and the smallest one at the top. The effect is just more pleasing to the eye.
9. When decorating a christmas tree it is best not to throw clumps of tinsel at the tree as if they were handfuls of spaghetti. The most attractive effect is achieved by hanging clumps of tinsel just at the very edges of each branch. Think a bit about how real icicles look when they are hanging from real trees.
10. Do choose a theme for your tree. Choosing a theme and sticking with it gives you the most fashionable looking tree. You can choose a color theme - sticking to gold, silver and red or pink and gold only (which looks great on a white prelit artificial tree) or you can style the tree after traditions such as the German style tree (decorated mostly with food), the Victorian style tree (decorated with tiny detailed ornaments and lots of angels) or the Country style tree (decorated with glass balls, wooden ornaments and plenty of flocking to simulate snow.)
11. When decorating a christmas tree remember to make it uniquely yours by adding heirlooms that have been passed down from generation to generation. Another nice touch is Christmas cards or cookies and candies that you have made in your own kitchen. This gives your xmas tree a unique personal touch.
12. Whether you are decorating a natural or prelit artificial tree remember that less is always more. Otherwise the tree could look very cluttered is is not just the general rule of thumb of christmas tree decorating. It is a golden rule that applies to all interior decorating.
by Gary
I think it is safe to say that one of the most celebrated days of the year in our country is Christmas. It is such a popular holiday that often those not of the Christian faith participate in the festivities. It is also safe to say that this day is widely celebrated around the world, even in cultures that are not Christian in culture or persuasion, such as Japan and China. They too call it "Christmas".
Despite the widespread recognition of this holiday, Christians the world over lament how commercialized Christmas has become and how convoluted the reason and meaning. We see signs hanging in department stores that say "remember the reason for the season", but it seems the author of this Yule-time slogan had customer spending in mind rather than something spiritual.
There are myriad examples we could site regarding the world's commercialization of this sacred Christian holiday and the loss of festive understanding, but too often we Christians come up short ourselves in this theological arena. As our Lord said, sometimes we need to remove the beam from our own eye.
How much do you really know about Christmas? How much of what you think about Christmas is Bible and how much is world? Could you pass the following quiz on this topic? Test your knowledge. There are no trick questions, but you might be surprised by some of the answers. Score 5 points for each correct answer. I will leave it up to you to decide whether you passed or not. The answers are at the end of the quiz.
1. Christmas (the day Jesus was born) probably actually occurred on:
a. December 25th
b. March 29th
c. April 1st
d. We do not know
2. How many angels spoke to the shepherds?
a. 2
b. a multitude
c. 1
d. it cannot be determined
3. A manger is:
a. a feeding trough
b. a barn
c. a stable
d. a room behind an Inn
4. Where was Joseph's family from?
a. Bethlehem
b. Nazareth
c. Jerusalem
d. Galilee
5. How were the shepherds to find and recognize the Lord?
a. by following a star
b. by asking at the Inn
c. by looking for a babe in a manger
d. by looking for the Magi
6. How many wise men came to see Jesus in the manger?
a. two
b. the Bible doesn't say
c. three
d. none
7. How did Joseph and Mary get to Bethlehem?
a. walked
b. by cart
c. Joseph walked/Mary rode a donkey
d. The Bible doesn't say
8. When Mary was found to be with child, she and Joseph were:
a. married
b. companions
c. engaged
d. The Bible does not say
9. Who told Joseph what to name the baby?
a. Mary
b. An angel
c. God
d. Jewish elders
10. Where did the wise men find Jesus?
a. In the manger
b. On a donkey with Mary
c. In the field
d. In a house
11. Who saw the star over Bethlehem?
a. Joseph and Mary
b. The shepherds
c. The three kings
d. Everyone
e. None of the above
12. The Innkeeper told Joseph:
a. There is no room
b. We don't allow children
c. You can use the stable out back
d. None of the above
13. Who told Joseph to go to Bethlehem?
a. an angel
b. Herod
c. The tax collector
d. Caesar
14. What is meant by "heavenly host"?
a. an arch angel
b. greeting angels
c. an army of angels
d. an angelic choir or herald
15. What song did the heavenly host sing?
a. "Away in a Manger"
b. "Joy to the World"
c. "Glory to God in the Highest"
d. They did not sing
16. What animals were present at the birth of Jesus?
a. cows and sheep
b. cows, sheep and mules
c. cows, sheep and camels
d. unknown
17. What is the most accurate definition for "Magi"?
a. Magicians
b. Wise men
c. Astrologers
d. Eastern kings
18. Why did Herod want to know when Jesus was found?
a. So he could worship him
b. So he could tell others
c. So he could kill him
d. None of the above
19. How long was the trip for the wise men after they saw Herod?
a. Two years
b. Less than 1 day
c. A little less than two years
d. None of the above
20. How many shepherds were there in the field?
a. 3
b. 4
c. 6
d. We are not told
ANSWERS TO QUIZ
1. d
2. c
3. a
4. a
5. c
6. d*
7. d
8 . c
9. b
10. d
11. e (3 kings are not mentioned - all the wise men saw the star)
12. d (no mention of the Inn Keeper is made)
13. d (see Luke 2:1-3)
14. c
15. d (we are told "a heavenly host saying")
16. d (the Bible does not say what animals were present)
17. c
18. c
19. c (Herod had all the male children under 2 put to death)
20. d
*6 - the Bible says they saw the young child in the house - they were not present at the manger - and no mention is made as to how many Magi there were - we often assume there were three because there were three gifts
