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I think I first joined the committee in 1984, when my older
children were aged three and four. I was already involved in the local Playgroup,
and so when the request came for volunteers to help with the children's Christmas
Party, I must have put my hand up, thinking it couldn't be too difficult. It
wasn't - but it did involve roughly the same degree of forward planning and
as many contingency plans as a major military campaign. When everyone else was
still drooling over their summer holiday photographs, the party organisers were
wandering around a local cash and carry store, stocking(!) up on presents for
Santa's sack and other party essentials, e.g. paper plates and balloons. And
because most of us involved in the organisation had small but inquisitive children,
we had to call upon other committee members to store these items from September
until December. The Party invitation was placed in the late summer newsletter
and I think we catered for about 100 children between the ages of3 and 12. The
return slip asked parents to recall the gift that their child had received at
the previous party, so that we could ensure no repeat gifts. Partygoers of this
age group are very astute and unforgiving!
In November the battle plan really swung into action. The
presents were wrapped and labelled and a few extras prepared in case of any
last minute changes to the guest list. The food list was prepared and the shopping
list made. We recruited helpers for the day - always including a qualified first-Aider
in case of accidents (but never, to my recollection, called upon to use his
or her skills). The services of Santa were booked, and his suit rooted out from
its storage place, wherever that might have been. The timing of each element
of the party was carefully planned and the booking of the entertainer (which
would have been made the previous January) was confirmed.
A couple of days before the party, the members of the committee gathered at
the hall to put up the decorations. In the course of one evening, we would decorate
the hall and a side room, and blow up at least 100 balloons. It is a testament
to the resourceful and forward thinking nature of our members that one January,
a committee member visited a local store to ask if we could have some of their
decorations from the festive season, and these were then kept and used for many
years afterwards.
On the day, there were tables to be laid, food to be prepared
and set out and endless jugs of squash to be made. On arrival the children were
labelled (only with their name of course), entertained, fed and visited by Santa
Claus who gave a gift to each child. For the organisers, the afternoon was tense
from start to finish. Had we prepared enough games with enough prizes? Would
the little ones be upset when the entertainer sawed one of the mums in half?
(They were not, but the expressions on the faces of her own children will haunt
me for ever!). Would anyone recognise Santa? Would he have a present for everyone,
despite the fact that we had checked the sacks at least three times on the day?
Would we have enough food? Is there, after all this time, a plausible explanation
for the occasion when Santa's red trousers went missing and were found later
in the middle of Sandy Lane?
And, after all the guests had left and the hall had been cleaned,
we all went home exhausted, vowing that would be the last time we would help,
but already planning the next party and the changes and improvements that could
be made. In January we would retrieve the decorations and store them and the
whole cycle began again.
As the years went by, there were a few alterations although the basic format
was, I think, perfect for the occasion. The catering was changed from sandwiches
and jelly to hot-dogs and choc-ices, which was acceptable to the children and
reduced the amount of food preparation on the day. The event also finished with
a disco rather than with a singsong, a reflection of the increasing sophistication
of the age group.
I wonder now, as I look back on those heady days, whether
the Christmas parties of the 1980s would appeal to the children of the millennium
- I like to think so. After all there is nothing like a good party, and believe
me, as parties go, they were the best!
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