Christmas Party

General

The Christmas Party is an all-Section event where we all gather in a common location for our yearly Christmas Party, typically in early December.

It is a potluck, so everyone brings something to share. We could have a sign-up sheet to figure out who is bringing what, but that always seems more work than it is worth.

This is often the final week of our Christmas Giving campaign, so everyone should bring an unwrapped toy, food, and/or cash to donate.

Like every camp, Sections, or groups within Sections, do songs, skits and cheers. Someone needs to organize the flow of this… like a campfire chief at a camp. Often a Venturer takes care of this. This should be organized ahead of time.

Santa will arrive to hand out candy canes on the stage.

Outdoor party:

If we have the party at an outdoor location like the picnic shelter at Queen's Park, this is the flow of activities:

• Have some Scouters arrive a bit early to set up banner and lights.
• Set up an area for gifts/food bank donations (if we did the collections this year and advertised it). Have someone to collect cash donations.
• Set up an area for awards/presentation/investitures/etc.
• Set up some tables/area for food. Depending on the amount of people, two lines is better to move people along more quickly.
• People start arriving at 6:00 or 6:30.
• Let the kids fool around for a while.
• Do Section openings (optional).
• Group Commissioner or Troop Scouter to welcome everyone and explain how the evening will progress.
• Present commendations if any (Thanks! button).
• Do song, skit and cheer.
• Have Santa arrive and hand out candy canes.
• Invite everyone to have some treats – in order of Beavers/Cubs/Scouts/Venturers/Rover
• Thank everyone for coming and see you next year!

Before the party, remember to do the following:

• Book the location.
• All Sections should prepare song, skit and cheer.
• Agree on who will MC the evening.
• Assign someone to coordinate the song/skit/cheer portion of the evening.
• Find a volunteer to be Santa (BTW, Scouter Rob fits the suit nicely).
• Buy 150x paper cups for drinks
• Buy 110x paper cups for drinks
• Buy 150x paper plates to serve food.
• Buy 110x candy canes and bring a basket or bowl for Santa to hand them out.
• Buy a large package of napkins.
• Bring a chair for Santa.
• Bring a basket for candy canes.
• Bring several black garbage bags.
• Bring packing tape.

From the locker, get the following:

• Propane lanterns and propane trees from the locker and fuel from the trailer.
• Santa suit from the locker (or possibly Knox Church).
• Section flags and the wood round that holds all the flags nicely.
• Banner.
• Rope to hang the banner.

After the party, remember to do the following:

• Clean up around the shelter and take/dispose of all garbage.
• Take the toys/food/cash somewhere to donate. In 2019, we took them to Fraserside Community Services Society on 7th St. In 2018, we took them to the Lower Mainland Purpose Society on Begbie St. In the past, we have taken them to the New West Christmas Bureau at the Salvation Army Church on 6th Street at Blackford St.

Historical:

We have held the party indoor at Knox Presbyterian Church or Queens Avenue United Church. The only place we now have access to is Knox and it is not large enough any more.

When Scouts has a successful national popcorn campain, we used the Christmas Party as time to recongize everyone's efforts. The top popcorn sellers of each Section get to throw a whipped cream pie in a leader’s face so we needed groundsheet, towels, whipped cream, and pie plates. Leaders who think they are in for it, might consider bringing a spare t-shirt. During the pie toss, we need to ensure that all the kids stay back. If not, they push forward and it becomes unmanageable.

When it was in a Chruch or hall, this was the flow of activities:

• Have some Scouters arrive a bit early to set up chairs for the adults (QAUC has about 110 chairs) and an area for the youth to sit on the floor in front of the chairs.
• Set up a table for presents (if we did the collections this year and advertised it).
• Set up a table at the front for awards/presentation/investitures/etc.
• Set up some tables/area for food. Depending on the amount of people, two lines is better to move people along more quickly.
• People start arriving at 6:00 or 6:30.
• Have a table set up for gifts/food bank donations. Have someone to collect cash donations. Only if we decide to do this.
• Let the kids fool around for a while.
• Do Section openings (optional).
• Group Commissioner or Troop Scouter to welcome everyone and explain how the evening will progress.
• Gather everyone seated and facing the stage.
• Present commendations if any (Thanks! button).
• Do song, skit and cheer. Consider doing one song and one skit per Section or the evening goes too long.
• Hand out the Bradford Lawless Amazing Sales Trophy (B.L.A.S.T.) and various popcorn sales prizes. If patches and national prizes are not available, say they will come after Christmas. Explain that the B.L.A.S.T. popcorn trophy is awarded to the high seller every year. The Bradford Lawless Awesome Sales Trophy is named after a Cub who had cancer and was determined to sell lots of popcorn to raise money for Cubs.
• Announce the top sellers from each Section and have them select their victim. This is the point where the kids go bananas! Normally we have one Beaver, one Cub, and one Scout. In 2019, we had the top seller from each Colony and from each Pack, but got confused between pies and prizes. Need to resolve this plan before the day of the event.
• Have Santa arrive and hand out candy canes.
• Invite everyone to have some treats – in order of Beavers/Cubs/Scouts/Venturers/Rover
• Thank everyone for coming and see you next year!

During the evening, we need to hand out the B.L.A.S.T. popcorn trophy and various popcorn sales prizes (if they are available). To do this, we need:

• A list of all youth who sold popcorn.
• A list of all who receive a sales prize and gift cards.
• A list of top sellers so we know who can throw a pie.
• Do song, skit and cheer. Consider doing one song and one skit per Section or the evening goes too long when there were Popcorn awards to hand out.

Other things we need when we do the party inside:

• Get the B.L.A.S.T. popcorn trophy from last year’s winner and engrave it.
• Get popcorn patches and awards if they are available.
• Bring a couple of towels from home.
• Buy 2 spray cans of whipping cream.
• Get a groundsheet or tarp from the locker.
• Suggest getting some extra prizes for random draws.
• Suggest having a random draw for an extra cream pie. This would be open to anyone who sold popcorn.
• Oh, and bring some Tylenol!