Christmas comes but once a year... Christmas Carols but not as you know them

By Annette Osborne -

  

 

Christmas Carols but not as you know them:

When it comes to singing at Christmas, providing a good balance is important.  Christmas Carols have fabulous words and tradition, providing an important connection with the past. The parents of the children you work alongside may have wonderful memories of singing these carols as a child, and will enjoy singing along with their own children. But there are some great Christmas songs that can be added into the mix. Here are a couple you might like to have a listen to and buy. While they might not be your taste in Christmas music, they might be just the thing your children will love! 

Hey! Mary! 

Straight from NZ: Malcolm Gordon’s song “Hey Mary” was composed with his son Sam and released just last year for all of us to enjoy. Click here to listen to this song: Youtube
Click here to download the sheet music! Dropbox

Raise your candle: 
Click here to listen to this song and see the actions: Youtube
You can purchase the song from the Amber Sky Record website: Amber Sky Records 

Go tell it: 
Click here to listen to it on Youtube 
If you think you know this song then think again! This would be great with a group of dancers, or simply for a dance party in your Sunday School. Click here to go to the Amber Sky Record website to purchase it: Amber Sky Records

Angels we have heard on high: 
Click here to listen to it and see the actions: Youtube
Click here to purchase it: Amber Sky Records  

Peace Has Come:
This is a beautiful song by Hillsong. Not a 'kiddie' song, but then, there are plenty of kids who don't like kiddie songs. They love to sing alongside the adults. 
Have a listen to it on Youtube  
Check out Hillsong, have a listen to the song and purchase it: Hillsong
It can also be purchased from iTunes for $1.79

Do you hear what I hear: 
This is a lovely version of this carol by 'Out of Eden'. Well worth a listen. This song works well for Bible in Schools classes. 
It can be purchased from iTunes. 
Click here to listen to it: Youtube 

Away in a manger:
This is sung by New Zealand children and is a great one to use with younger children. See the 'Love to Sing' website for more: Love to Sing Xmas 
It can be purchased from iTunes.  
Click here to listen to it: Youtube

Bethlehem Bop: 
This is a good song for Bible in Schools classes, 9 years and under. It is by Johnny Burns, an Australian musician. Check out his website at: www.johnnyburns.com.au  
The song can be purchased from iTunes.   
Click here to listen to it: Youtube (the recording isn't the best but it will give you the idea) 

Noel: 
A modern take on an old classic. Would be great to have playing in the background as the children enter your space, or during a craft time. 
Click here to listen to it: Youtube
 

Check out the Kidsfriendly website for a whole lot more: www.kidsfriendly.org.nz/christmas-music-resources/

If you have a great Christmas song suggestion we would love to hear from you! 

 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

12. Jesus has his first visitors.

By Annette Osborne -
Image
When a new baby is born, everyone wants to visit. People bring gifts and they take photographs. When Jesus was a baby some of the first visitors to meet him were these young guys who looked after sheep for a living. Some of them stayed in the fields to make sure the sheep we re okay, and a group of them travellled into Bethlehem to find this baby that the angels told them about.  This is a photograph of a painting of the shepherds. In this photograph the shepherd is an older man. Can you see how he carries the little lamb safe on his shoulders? They would have been a bit smelly. They lived out in the fields, with sheep for company. No showers, no soap and probably no change of clothes. But that doesn’t matter to God. You see, the Christmas story is full of people who weren’t famous or grea t leaders or seen as important. That’s what make it so amazing. God sent angels to tell the shepherds about the saviour of the world. Not Herod, not Augustus. Shepherds.  Do you think t
Read more

The Three Kings by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

By Annette Osborne -
Image
What a beautiful poem to read this Christmas, (despite the fact we don't know that there were three wise kings, nor do we know their names). This would make a great addition to an All-Age service, or as part of a church service during Advent. Find someone in your congregation with a great reading voice. You might even like to have them sit in a comfy arm chair with a lamp for light.  For extra drama, soak a little frankincense or myrrh oil onto cotton-wool balls and pass these out before you read the poem. Let people smell the spice of the wise kings gifts, as they listen to the poem, and take home the cotton-wool ball as a reminder.  The Three Kings  By Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  Three Kings came riding from far away, Melchior and Gaspar and Baltasar; Three Wise Men out of the East were they, And they travelled by night and they slept by day, For their guide was a beautiful, wonderful star. And when they came to Jerusalem, Herod the Great, who had heard this thing, Se
Read more

Waitangi Day

By Annette Osborne -
Image
Te Kawenata o Waitangi (the Covenant of Waitangi) The Treaty of Waitangi  signed 6 Feb 1840 “Te Kawenata o Waitangi is the name Māori gave to the Treaty of Waitangi. It means, the ‘Covenant of Waitangi’, and reflects the influence of the gospel on New Zealand history. The signing of the Treaty was not simply a contract but a covenant, in the Biblical sense of the word.” (Mark Grace, The Gospel and the Treaty of Waitangi, 2014) Waitangi Day is a great opportunity to reflect on our history as a nation, but also the part that Christians played in this historic event. Here are some ideas you might like to use in your Sunday School or children’s programme or together with all ages in your church services. Click on the links below to view and download free resources. We are keen to add to this col lection, so if you have an idea or activity we would love you to share it w ith us. Email: annette.o@sunz.o rg.nz A few main points:  Click here for a brief overview of the Tre
Read more