Every year I like to do a Christmas party-playdate for Lydia and Asa’s friends. One year we did a Gingerbread Party. This year we did an Operation Christmas Child Party. I just saw an awesome idea for a Christmas Playdate from my friends at When You Rise. I was trying to think of other non-Santa, semi-faith-centered themes I could use for a playdate and that’s when it hit me: Veggie Tales! Their new Little Drummer Boy movie would be perfect for a Christmas party. Or even a December birthday for a little boy!

I’m so excited to show you my…

TOP TEN IDEAS FOR A LITTLE DRUMMER BOY PARTY

1. Drum Cake

Source: google.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

You can’t go wrong with a drum cake. And it’s pretty easy, too!

2. Drum Craft

Source: minieco.co.uk via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

There are tons of make-your-own drum crafts online. But I like this one that’s made out of a balloon because, honestly? It seems the quietest!

3. And Another Drum Craft

Source: alittlelearningfortwo.blogspot.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

And even though this one is loud, I like it because you can hang it around your neck. And it has drum sticks. Which are just fun.

4. Little Drummer Boy Coloring Sheets

Print these off from the Veggie Tales’ website and let your kids have at ‘em!

5. Watch The Little Drummer Boy

Sit down with your drum cake or some popcorn and let the kids chill with their Veggie friends!

6. Mr. Lunt’s Hat

Mr. Lunt wore the best hat in the movie–and I’m tellin’ you the whole time I was watching the movie, I was thinking about these cookies:

Right?!

7. Play “Follow the Dancing Leader”

Grab your drum (preferably, a Veggie Tales drum!) and let the kids follow you around the room dancing like Aaron and his animals!

8. Gift: Stand Up Puzzle

Source: store.veggietales.com via ohAmanda {impress your kids} on Pinterest

OK. I did not even know these existed! A stand up puzzle?! I want one.

9. Salt Dough Ornaments

I’ve linked to this post like 12 times, but I love it! You know I love being purposeful and active in helping my kids GIVE and do something HARD even when they are little. And this idea from Vanessa at Silly Eagle Books to make salt dough ornaments in the shape of animals, in order to sell and buy an actual animal for a needy family is just brilliant!

And since The Little Drummer Boy is partnering with World Vision to encourage families to give their best this Christmas, this is a perfect tie in. How fun would it be to let the kids make and paint ornaments together? And then set up a stand at the end of the driveway to sell? Or put them on Facebook for friends and family to gobble up? I totally want to do this.

10. Cupcake Toppers

Look! I made something for you! If you’d like to have your own Little Drummer Boy party—for your friends or just with your kids, what’s more fun than cupcake toppers? (Not much, based on how excited I am about these!) Just print them off, cut them out and attach to a stick!

Pin It

I (sadly) didn’t have any cupcakes. So, I wedged them into some ornaments. Cute, huh? Download your free cupcake toppers here! (There are 4 different designs!)

Oh,  I also made a Little Drummer Boy Pinterest board with more fun ideas!

What would you do at a Little Drummer Boy Party?

linked to ohAmanda‘s Top Ten {Tuesday}

disclosure: Veggie Tales sponsored me to the Relevant Conference.

 

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

I know I’ve mentioned Veggie Tale’s new Little Drummer Boymovie a few times since Veggie Tales sponsored my trip to Relevant. (I still can’t stop laughing every time I think of that If You Give a Blogger a Drum video.) We even had an interview about Little Drummer Boy with Mike Nawrocki, co-founder of Veggie Tales and voice of Larry the Cucumber. But I still haven’t given you a review of the movie yet!

With Thanksgiving as the doorway to Christmas, I thought you might like to grab this DVD to watch on Black Friday (because I know you’ll be at home buying Truth in the Tinsel instead of running through the mall, right?) and get your Christmas holiday started off right!

It begins with a very Princess-Bride-ish Grandpa Pa Grape reading the story of the Little Drummer Boy to a begrudging Junior the Asapragus. Junior is upset because he thinks his friends ditched him for Christmas caroling.

As Pa Grape tells the story, we see the connections between Junior’s bad attitude and the Little Drummer Boy, Aaron. And here’s where the sensitive alert comes in: Aaron’s house is burnt down by the Romans and his parents gone! (After my brother’s house fire this year, that scene hit close to home.) So, Aaron has a bad attitude towards…everyone!

He ends up meeting a group of traveling gypsy-type circus performers (Mr. Lunt and friends) who want to use his drumming talent (and Aaron’s dancing pets) to make money. In their travels they meet the Three Magi (look out for some funny Jedi=Magi jokes!) and as they travel to Bethlehem, Aaron’s pet lamb, Baa-Baa is hurt.

When Aaron stumbles upon baby Jesus in the manger, I thought for a second that baby Jesus was about to heal the lamb. (Now that would have been something for Veggie Tales, huh?) Instead, Aaron’s parents return and the family is reunited. (Which heals that hard part about the fire from the beginning!)

Aaron learns to have love and forgiveness for those that hurt him. And of course, Junior, listening to the story does, too.

My very favorite part is at the very end when Aaron and his parents are reunited. They are standing in front of baby Jesus and Aaron’s mother says, “God has drawn us back together again.” And I know she’s talking about her family, but I think it was written to remind us that Jesus was born to draw us back to our Heavenly Father! The story of the Little Drummer Boy is actually the story of us! We were lost in our sins and while we were still sinners, Jesus came for us, died for us and loved us! He drew us back to him! Merry Christmas, indeed!

So, yes. I loved Little Drummer Boy! It needs to be in your Christmas classics rotation.

And to celebrate Christmas (ok, the day before Thanksgiving), Veggie Tales is giving away a Little Drummer Boy DVD and O Holy Night: Journey of a Little Drummer Boy CD to one of you today! The CD is a beautiful collection of songs featuring BeBe and CeCe Winans, Wynona Judd, Steven Curtis Chapman, Amy Grant and Matthew West! HELLO! That is awesome!

To be entered to win, just leave me a comment with your favorite Christmas song! I’ll choose a winner this weekend.

Don’t forget to check out Veggie Tales and World Vision’s partnership–give a gift, change a life!

Veggie Tales sponsored by trip to Relevant & gave me this DVD and CD in order to post about it. Opinions and text are mine.

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

Veggie Tales was my lovely and generous sponsor at the Relevant Conference so, I brought a little Veggie Tales prop with me. An 8 inch drum to be exact! Since The Little Drummer Boy is their newest (and most fabulous) new movie, I thought I’d see if I could get some of my fellow bloggers to help me out in my own movie featuring our little drum:

 

{email readers, click over to see the fun!}

Are they great or what?! I really wish I had a video of it from the outside because it’s mainly me, hysterically laughing behind the camera. These women are all incredibly fabulous–I am honored to know them and inspired by them regularly! I hope you read all their blogs and connect with them on facebook, twitter or elsewhere.

So, do you know anyone else who might like a Little Drummer Boy drum for themselves? Veggie Tales is giving one away to one of you today! I think it’s the perfect save-it-and-use-it-as-a-Christmas-present! I had to practically pry Asa’s fingers off it so I could pack it in my suitcase, so I know your kids will love it! Just leave me a comment about the video above–do you read any of the blogger’s blogs? If not, which one are you off to read first?!

Thanks to my dear bloggy friends for being willing to sing a silly song just for me: Mary, Jen, Alle, Jendi, Jolanthe, Katie, Heather, Kristi, Erin and Brooke, Heather, Eryn, Dawn and Tara!

Thank you again, Veggie Tales for your fabulous sponsorship!

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***