There are plenty of movies coming up for the Christmas holiday period and it's helpful to read some information about these movies and what to expect when planning to watch them. Crosswalk has put together an article that lists their Top Family Movie Picks for the holiday period- recent release movies and DVDs: Arthur's Christmas, Hugo, The Little Drummer Boy, The Adventures of TinTIn, The Muppets, Puss in Boots, Dolphin Tale (don't forget to download the resources for this movie), The Lion King, Winnie the Pooh, Rio.
Each movie includes a short overview with extended review and release dates. Remember, Australian release dates will differ so check with your local cinema.

This week, the children's ministry team and church were devastated by the loss of a valued and passionate leader due to an aggressive form of leukemia, a leader committed to impacting young lives for Christ. And, through the shock and loss, we looked for ways to support the grieving family, particularly the youngest daughter of only 8 years. I don't think we ever feel really prepared and ready to handle these heartaches and tough issues in family life, especially when they impact us personally, too, as leaders.  But Group has a publication that is filled with helpful advice and insights for dealing with such challenging situations and, it is available in downloadable format. It deals with issues such as tragic loss, poverty, a parent with alcohol/drug addictions and provides counselling advice, practical tips, real-life scenarios, Scripture connections, what to say and what not to say, and other resources for reaching out in love.
So, what did we do in this instance? The church is working on ways to assist the family in tangible and practical ways like providing cooked meals. And children's ministry is also preparing a special cuddly teddy dressed in an outfit covered with the signatures and messages of other children in kidz church to remind the grieving girl that so many others love her and are thinking and praying for her.
Check out Group's Emergency Response Handbook here....

 We've recently highlighted a couple of Christmas programs for your children's church  that you might like to consider over this holiday period. This series of 4 Christmas lessons from Phil Vischer and 'What's in the BIble' looks to be an 'easy to prepare and organise' style of program and contains Classroom DVD (fully mastered DVD with 4 weeks of videos and bonus features, including sing-along worship songs)
- Video & Music Clips DVD with media files you can put into presentation software or play from your computer
- Print Materials (PDFs and customizable documents)
Check out the trailer below or visit their website for more information.....

Kidz Matter produce a downloadable Christmas program that you might like to consider. See below or check out their website for more information....

Holly Jolly Kids’ Church includes four jam-packed lessons to use throughout the Christmas season!

Each lesson includes at least 12 activities … yes, you heard us right … 12!  Stuff like: object lessons, science experiments, games, puppet scripts, crafts, and snacks.  You’ll also get PowerPoint slides for each message, 2 DVD songs from Yancy, and a parent take-home page for each lesson.  Wait, there’s more!  There are also 3 videos—Dr. Bunsenburner lights up something unexpected, a TaterTale “Spud Visits Santa,” and a visit from Gabriel as he recounts his appearance to Mary.

Christmas printables and activity sheets are really useful to have on hand to reinforce a lesson or to use at the close of a session while waiting for parents to collect the kids. They can also provide a quiet moment to sit down and talk with the children and interact with them about this special season and its significance in their young lives.
activityvillage.co.uk provides a large number of these types of activity sheets and a couple of them can be found in this post in pdf format. See below. Check out their website for their full listing.
highlightsteachers.com provide a large number of hidden picture puzzles such as 'Trim the Tree' puzzles. Check it out here..   
Nativity Colour-in Sheet.....   Help the shepherds find Jesus maze... 

If you're looking for a special family event for your children's ministry or church this Christmas, then check out Christmas with a Capital C.

In the small town of Trapper falls, Alaska, Christmas has always been an exceptional time of love and tradition. But when lawyer Mitch Bright (Daniel Baldwin) returns home after 20 years, holidays and traditions go under attack and it's up to Mayor Dan Reed and his family to defend and preserve the celebration of Christ in Christmas.
Prepare some popcorn, gather friends and family and be reminded that we keep the Spirit of Christ in Christmas through our own attitudes and example.
Special movie event deal includes 2 minute trailer, event poster, full length film, handbills and tickets- all downloadable. See trailer below.

Just a quick update...Video Blocks has announced 7 days of free downloads (20 clips) of free stock  of video, motion backgrounds, sound effects, production music and more...Check it out here..

Although I've already listed some worthwhile Christmas clips in a previous post, I keep remembering, or finding, others that are also worth checking out. Take a look at some of these clips. Some of them are more suited to older groups or perhaps for a Christmas presentation to whole families. The first is a clip from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones, one of my favourite Bible storybooks, and narrated by David Suchet. It does run for 5 minutes, though, which you might need to consider, depending on your viewing audience.The second is the nativity story according to the internet, a fun one that you could share with your children's ministry team at Christmas. Click here to view it..There are a number of clips from the cartoon Bible CEV that you could consider. See here..  The Skit Guys present the Innkeeper's Dilemma and these clips can be purchased or you can purchase their scripts and produce your own version. The last one is a free clip from forgottenchristmas.org designed to remind us all of the true meaning of Christmas and encourage and inspire us to think of others and impact the lives of those in need.

High Voltage Kids Ministry has released a special downloadable Thanksgiving lesson chock-full of features to help you present an exciting and meaningful lesson for Thanksgiving. Although Thanksgiving is not a holiday event on our Australian calendar, it would be great to take some time out from our normal lesson content to focus on thanks to God and to encourage our kids to look for those ways that God has blessed us and continues to do so. Check out the included elements of this Thanksgiving lesson: THANKSGIVING TURKEY COUNTDOWN" (five minute countdown video to play before service)
  "LESSON INTRO VIDEO" (Ashton talks about the importance of Thanksgiving)
  "CHARACTER SKIT" (complete comedy script featuring Wacky Wally) "POWER POINT GAME" ("THANKSGIVING TRIVIA" Game where kids test their knowledge about the Thanksgiving "ILLUSTRATED MESSAGE" (full lesson "GIVE THANKS" teaches kids about living a life of gratitude to God; includes object lesson and graphic illustrations for the Bible Story - story of the Ten Lepers)
  "POWERPOINT SLIDES" (graphic slides to enhance every part of the service) "REVIEW QUESTIONS" (see how much the kids learned)
Preview the lesson below:

OK.. so you've organised and rehearsed your special Christmas items, downloaded your Christmas countdown but now need a clip to present the Christmas story. Well, there are quite a few options there, too. The Nativity from Big Book Media produce a dramatised reading of the Biblical account of Jesus' birth  from Luke.  Check it out here..  A Very Special Baby (see below) retells the nativity story through the eyes and illustrations of a child.. and Tiny Bible Treasures produce a number of cartoon-style simple Bible stories and you can preview the Nativity here..     Angels Visit Shepherds (see below) is just one of a number of clips taken from the Reel FX Christmas movie, The Very First Noel.
Last, I've included a Christmas music clip from Yancy that would be great to show while children file past in a nativity procession or take their places in a nativity scene as a small Christmas vignette.   The Greatest Gift (Yancy)

Multimedia is an integral part of your Christmas presentation or Christmas in Story & Song type of event and over the next few days, I'll highlight  just some of the media resources available to download for your Christmas events.
Remember, a Christmas countdown helps to contain the excitement and focus everyone's attention ready to begin, and there are plenty of these countdowns available. Probably the hardest part is choosing one, and you can even create your own. But if you're pushed for time, and I'm expecting that to be the case, have a look at some of these countdowns. Keep in kind that a countdown may be simply an attractive visual with music and the timer, and that's great. They can also be interactive which work well with high-energy kids who need to move, but may not suit a mixed audience of families with grandparents and friends. Something like the Christmas Presents Countdown   (HIgh Voltage Kids) below may be the best choice for a wider church group or the Christmas Decorating Countdown below. from sermonspice.com Kids will enjoy the Interactive Christmas Countdown which involves them while they wait. The Christmas Trivia Countdown is a different style of countdown and would involve all age-groups and the Christmas Movie Trivia Countdown is an interesting version that has a message of its own. However, it would probably be geared more for the older age-groups who would know the context of the questions. Yes, plenty of choices....