Our annual Christmas party for the kids was last night (only families with little kids get invited and by the time the youngest is around 10 they are off the list! Sad for them...but big kids have a tendency to not believe...)and it was by far the best one yet - in my humble opinion. We went BIG this year and rented costumes...YES! But not the entire costume - just the HEADS! (We went big, not huge!) And this year we had THREE scenery changes!!! I know, I know - it boggles the mind! The boy reprised his role as Prop Master and did an excellent job - stopping the play to walk in and remove the thumb tacks holding the beautifully painted scenery sheets - as in bed sheets...we spared no expense. For you in Seattle we rented our costumes from The Emperor's New Clothes - they have a huge assortment and were delightful to work with; they are located in Woodinville.
Since I am a very small part of the production...I just read the story while the "actors" bring it to life...I am preoccupied so I never get to take pictures! Above are the before shots...the first scenery sheet with the magical oven that the Gingerbread Man pops out of...the "brown and white cow" head and the "old muddy sow's" head...we also had a fox head, of sorts, that the mister was cajoled into wearing. At first he wanted no part of this - he was just going to be the lighting guy as usual - holding one, or possibly two flashlights - it's very demanding! But when he learned that the sly old fox eats the Gingerbread Man he was all for it! Also above is a pic of the sweet/candy laden table - which the kids loved (to the horror of their parents!) and I always get such a kick out of seeing their eyes pop when they see everything!
The above pic will give you some idea of the fun we had...everyone crammed into our family room sardine style...The Gingerbread Man taunting the Brown and White Cow and then taunting the Muddy Old Sow..."Run! Run! As fast as you can! You can't catch me - I'm the Gingerbread Man!" After our play Santa stopped by and passed out Gingerbread cookies to all the kids - he also serenaded them with a special song he wrote just for them! It was such fun for the kids and one kid, in particular, had the most fun ever...and that would be me!
