I'm getting together a pre-Christmas evening Christmas partylike affair this year for our church. What started it was the observation that school kids here no longer get to sing the traditional carols in school, as used to happen, and our church has long had a tradition of not having any Christmas music until Christmas Eve -- and that ends within a week.

As a result, kids and adults rarely sing carols together any more, and it has always seemed to me that these songs embodied a spirit that was almost as much traditional secular-American as well as Christian and was worth trying to preserve.

At any rate, I have figured out that there can be carols sung and small reminiscences interspersed at this gathering, with room for a couple activities which may have a Christmas link. Tentatively, these is a small-gift swap ('gifts' provided) and a large game of musical chairs.

We would come back to carols throughout the evening but feel we have to keep things sort of moving as there will probably be little kids involved.

Any suggestions or tips of any kind would be welcome, but especially activities that have a play-party Christmas connection of some sort and are so simple that even Episcopalians can understand them.

Hoping to hear from you.