Samantha's Preschool Christmas Party

Last Friday was Samantha's last day of preschool until January.  To say that she is very disappointed about that is an understatement.  Given a choice, she loves school so much that she would rather go every day if she could.  Still, I enjoy the break (not having to rush out of the house by 8 am with two fed, dressed and bundled kids three days a week) and am welcoming the chance to have her home with me a little more.

After their morning lesson, myself and one other mom showed up so that we could start the Christmas party festivities.  The kids already knew that Santa and Mrs. Claus would be visiting that morning, but we had a few other things planned, as well. 

We began with a simple craft project -- one that the kids really enjoyed, but kept the mess minimal.  Each of the children decorated a glittered foam stocking using a multitude of christmas foam stickers.  We did not limit them in anyway and they were able to use their imaginations to no end.  Most of the stockings ended up with layers of foam stickers on top of one another!

After that, the kids got to enjoy their snack.  Again, we kept it pretty simple with lots of fruit, some cheese and crackers, rice krispie treats, juice, and some cookies.

All 12 of the children were there that day ...

After we cleaned up from their snack, the kids moved over to the rug and formed a semi-circle so that I could read them a special Christmas story.  We planned it this way so that all of the children would be seated (and engrossed in the story) when Santa and Mrs. Claus made their debut.

Oh, the kids were extremely excited to see them!  There was so much magic in the room.  Each one of the children were able to sit on Santa's lap (if they wanted to) and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

And ... Samantha simply asked for a rubber duckie for Christmas.  That is the same thing that she asked Santa at the mall to bring for her.  Needless to say, Santa assured her (while winking at me) that he could most certainly bring her a rubber duckie.  {I would like to note that we have about SIX rubber duckies at our house already, and I am not sure why that is the one thing that she wanted for Christmas this year.}

After each child was done sitting on Santa's lap, they received a stuffed teddy bear from Santa and a gingerbread cookie from Mrs. Claus.  It was so thoughtful!

Then Santa called each child up, by name, to receive their gifts from under the Christmas tree.  For each one of them, there was a present from Mrs. Hicks, a present from Mrs. Alyce, as well as one from the student that drew their name for gift exchange.

The kids then insisted on singing a few songs for Santa and Mrs. Claus before they left.  They even used bells for their orchestra.

And then, before I knew what was happening, Samantha was off and running to give Santa an impromptu hug before he left.  Complete with a little leg-lift.  So priceless.

Each of the kids took turns going up to Mrs. Hicks with their gifts and opening them so that everyone could see.  I was amazed at how patient the kids were during this whole thing.  No one tore into their gifts, and each child seemed to show genuine interest in what everyone was receiving.

It was the perfect start to a nice, holiday week ...