[sleigh bells] (girl #1) Hello, Mr. Chuck!

Hello, friends!

Happy Holidays!

I always have so much fun during the holidays.

I think this is my favorite time of the year.

There's so much to do and see and celebrate.

Let me show you what I've been doing.

I've been decorating a tree here in my yard.

But of course, this is not just any old tree, no, no, not at all.

This is a tree for the birds.

You know this time of year, birds, well they have a hard time finding food.

So I like to help them out a little.

I put some things on the tree that's fun for people to look at, but this, well, this is what makes fun for the birds.

Sunflower seeds.

I've used little plastic net bags from the supermarket to hold them and the birds can pull the food out through the holes.

I've got slices of stale bread and bagels strung on a ribbon.

And apple slices.

So if you have a tree in your yard, you can do this, too.

But, you don't have to have a tree like this to put out food for the birds.

If you think about it, I'm sure you can come up with a lot of different ways to feed the birds.

The holidays are a good time to think about others and do things for others.

Do you like the holidays, too?

Well, the month of December is full of them.

There's Christmas, and Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa.

Do you celebrate one of more of these holidays in your home?

What's your favorite part?

You get a lot of presents.

You open presents and have a big feast.

You get presents.

Yeah, and you get presents like a toy like Buzz Lightyear or something.

Or like a puppy.

That's what I got at home - two puppies.

I like all parts.

My favorite part is when all of my family members come to my house because I don't see my cousins and relatives are all over the place and I don't see them regularly.

So, I just think it's kind of nice to see them in Christmas.

I know my favorite part.

It's when we sing, "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

I like singing holiday music, too.

Sure.

♪Jingle bells, jingle bells♪ ♪Jingle all the way.♪ ♪Jingle bells, jingle bells♪ ♪Jingle all the way.♪ ♪Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.♪ ♪Hey!

Jingle bells, jingle bells♪ ♪Jingle all the way.♪ ♪Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh.♪ Hey!

I've got some friends who sing "Jingle Bells" but of course they sing it a little differently.

Let's listen.

♪♪♪ ♪Santa had off all last spring.♪ ♪ho, ho, ho, ho, ho♪ ♪He had twelve dogs he taught to sing.♪ ♪ho, ho, ho, ho, ho♪ ♪Every ruff ruff field and forest♪ ♪would come each night to him♪ ♪His yuletide canine chorus singing songs♪ ♪of Christmas cheer.♪ ♪His yuletide canine chorus singing songs♪ ♪of Christmas cheer.♪ ♪Each day the dogs rehearsed their song.♪ ♪bow wow wow wow wow♪ ♪They asked Bernice to moo along.♪ ♪She's a singing cow.♪ ♪So the poodles and Dalmatians, a bulldog on a leash♪ ♪became a great sensation with their mooing cow, Bernice.♪ ♪became a great sensation with their mooing cow, Bernice.♪ ♪As they gathered round the Christmas tree♪ ♪to sing of Yuletide bliss♪ ♪The twelve dogs and the heifer sounded quite a bit like this.♪ (to the tune of "Jingle Bells") ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff.♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff,♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff,♪ ♪Ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff,♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪We hope you liked the puppy song.♪ ♪ho, ho, ho, ho, ho♪ ♪Perhaps you'd liked to sing along.♪ ♪ho, ho, ho, ho, ho.♪ ♪If you're sitting on the right side, just moo like♪ ♪you're a cow.♪ ♪Those on the left sing like a dog, we'd like to show you how.♪ ♪Those on the left sing like a dog, we'd like to show you how.♪ ♪Now since you're the dogs sing "Jingle Bells"♪ ♪while barking, "ruff, ruff, ruff.

"♪ ♪And you're the cow, so moo with us.♪ ♪Okay, let's hear your stuff.♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff.♪ ♪Moo.♪ ♪On behalf of Santa's puppies, we wish you Yuletide cheer♪ ♪Have doggone Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff, ruff♪ ♪Moo!♪ ♪Woof, woof, woof♪ ♪Woof, woof, woof♪ ♪Woof, woof, woof, woof, woof♪ ♪Moo♪ What fun!

You know, this time of the year, many people celebrate Christmas.

[sleigh bells] Did you hear something?

I thought I heard bells.

Oh well, I suppose it's not unusual to hear bells this time of year.

Anyway, as I was saying, many people celebrate Christmas.

[sleigh bells] There are those bells again!

Did you hear it?

I wonder what it could be?

I wonder...oh, I guess we'll find out sooner or later.

Anyway, what do you think about at Christmastime?

Well, there's this big man who wears a red suit.

His name's Santa Claus.

And he gives you presents each night before Christmas Day.

And he has eight tiny reindeer.

Well, you do put up a Christmas tree, and you do get all these presents, and you can wait until next Christmas to get some more.

It's Jesus' birthday.

You give presents around.

Christmas is a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus.

And many of our Christmas customs and traditions have been carried on for hundreds of years.

Traditions like singing Christmas carols, putting up a Christmas tree, and giving presents.

[sleigh bells] Ho, ho, ho!

Did you hear what I just heard?

Ho, ho, ho!

Merry Christmas!

Do you suppose that's who I think it is?

Whoa there!

Steady, Rudolph!

Yes, I think it is.

It's Santa Claus.

Well, what do you know?

Hello, Santa!

Hello, Mr. Chuck!

Hello, friends!

I was just out warming up the reindeer and I saw you decorating your tree.

It looks great!

Thank you, Santa.

My friends and I were just talking about Christmas, and you know, you're a big part of the holiday for many boys and girls throughout the world.

It's my favorite time of year!

What do you like best about it?

I like being with my family.

Ms. Santa, the elves, the reindeer, and I have lots of fun decorating the tree, singing songs, and of course, eating.

Ho, ho, ho!

But the thing I think I like the best is giving presents.

Not getting presents?

Oh, don't get me wrong.

Getting gifts is great.

But I have more fun giving gifts and seeing children enjoy them.

In fact, I have a gift for you.

Oh, well thank you, Santa.

Go ahead, open it.

Well, what do you know?

It's a string of peanuts for my tree.

Thank you, Santa.

You're welcome.

I like feeding the birds, too, but we don't have so many birds up in the North Pole where I live.

But the reindeer and I get to see a lot of birds as we travel around the world each year.

You do get around, don't you?

That I do.

I'll be you do see a lot of different Christmas customs, don't you?

I sure do.

In Latin American countries, like Mexico, children celebrate Christmas with something called a piñata.

A piñata?

What's that?

I'll show you.

This is a piñata.

It's filled with candy and small gifts.

Then it's hung from the ceiling and children try to break it with a stick.

That sounds easy.

Ah, but the tricky part is you have to do it blindfolded.

Well, it still sounds like fun.

Oh, it is.

And did you know that in countries like Spain, Norway, and Denmark, children leave their shoes under their beds or by the fireplace for me to put gifts in.

Kind of like we hang stockings here.

Right.

There are just about as many different ways of doing things as there are there are people.

Everyone has their own way of celebrating and enjoying the holidays.

And that's just fine with me.

I like learning about new ways to do things.

Oh well, the reindeer are getting restless.

I think I'd better go.

Well, thank you so much for stopping by, Santa.

Good-bye.

Merry Christmas!

Good-bye, Mr. Chuck!

Merry Christmas boys and girls!

Merry Christmas!

Good-bye, Santa!

[sleigh bells] Ho, ho, ho!

Merry Christmas!

I celebrate Hanukkah and Christmas because my dad's Jewish and my mom is Christian and it's...so I kind of, I don't really know what.

Hanukkah is another holiday this time of year.

During Hanukkah, Jewish people celebrate the rededication of the temple by lighting the menorah.

What is a menorah?

It's a special thing that you can hold candles with.

(male #1) How many candles?

Nine.

(male #1) Can you draw a menorah for me?

Yeah.

[squeaking] The shammash is the helper.

It lights all the other candles, and there's eight lights.

(boy #1) The candle that's being lit is called the shammash.

We use it to light all the other ca ndles.

Borukh Ato Adoynoy Eloyheynu Melekh Ho-oylom Asher Kiddeshonu Be-mitsvoysov Ve-tsivonu Lehadlik Neyr Shel khanuko.

[squeaking] It's eight days because of something.

Because there was not enough oil to light the menorah, and God made it last for eight days.

So that's why Hanukkah is eight days.

There was a miracle that God made it light, be lit, for eight days.

[squeaking] There!

Finished!

Do you celebrate Hanukkah?

Are there any songs you can sing?

How about... ♪I made a little dreidel.♪ ♪I made it out of clay.♪ ♪And when it's dry and ready♪ ♪Dreidel I shall play.♪ ♪Dreidel, dreidel, dreidel♪ ♪I made it out of clay.♪ ♪And when it's dry and ready♪ ♪Dreidel I can play.♪ I shall play.

Dreidel?

What's a dreidel?

Something you spin and it has letters.

Four Hebrew letters.

Which means, "A great miracle happened there."

In Israel.

This is Hey, and this is Gimel, an d this is Nun, and this is Shin.

(male #1) Do you guys know what a dreidel is ?

Yeah - to spin.

Whoever gets the most-if you get Nin you get none, if you get Gimel you get all, if you get Hey you only get half.

( male #1) I see.

What do you get all of?

The candy.

It's called a piece of gelt.

It's chocolate.

Kwanzaa is another holiday many African American people celebrate this time of year.

Kwanzaa means "first fruits" and is a time of giving thanks for the harvest of the food.

It's also a celebration of family, since children are the first fruits of the family.

Some of the decorations you might see for Kwanzaa include corn and kinara, which is a candle holder with seven candles.

One candle is lit for each of the seven days of Kwanzaa and each candle has a different me aning.

Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa all have some things in common - being together with our families, eating good food, and giving gifts to one another.

What are some of your favorite things about the holidays?

Spinning dreidels, and eating.

(male #1) You get toys?

Yeah, yeah, yeah!

And you get books and clothes.

I don't like the books and clothes.

You get presents.

You get presents.

(male #1) Does everybody get presents?

No.

(male #1) Who doesn't get presents?

My mother.

(male #1) How come she doesn't get any presents?

She doesn't want any.

Well, there's no question.

It's nice to receive presents, but the holidays are an especially good time to remember that many people may not have as much as we do.

It's a good time to remember to help others.

Here's a story about one family who made another family's Christmas a lot happier.

♪♪♪ (female #1) "Well, well" said Mother Bear, "What can we do this Christmas to make it very special for our family?"

"I know," said Brother Bear, "Let's take a trip to Disney World where it's nice an d sunny!"

"Oh dear," said Mother Bear.

"How about making Brother Bear clean up his room?"

said Sister Bear.

"Now, now you two," said Papa Bear.

"Let's say we adopt a family for Christmas who doesn't have as much as we do."

"Where'd you get that idea," said Brother Bear.

"Well, today a group of people came to my job to talk about the tree of hope."

"What's that?"

said Sister Bear.

"Well, you see it works like this.

It's like "a Christmas tree, but instead of having presents under it, "there are a list of families with their names on it "and a wish list of all the things that they need and want for Christmas."

"That's a great idea," said Mother Bear.

"Does this mean that we get to go shopping?"

said Sister Bear.

"It sure does," said Mother and Papa Bear.

"Yes, yes, yes!

We're going shopping," said Sister Bear.

So off they went to go shopping to buy Christmas gifts for their family.

And they shopped, and they shopped, and they shopped until their Christmas sacks were filled with gifts.

Well, it was Christmas Eve and it was time for the family to meet the family that they were supposed to give the gifts to.

They were all so excited and nervous at the same time.

"Well, well," said Mother Bear.

"I am so excited about meeting our family for Christmas."

"There they are," said Sister Bear.

"Merry Christmas," said Brother Bear.

"Oh thank you," Mother Rabbit said to the Bear family.

"You don't know how much this means to me and my family for Christmas."

Oh what joy it was that Christmas as one family gave gifts to another family.

"This was the best Christmas ever," said Brother Bear.

"Can we do it again next year?"

sa id Sister Bear.

"We sure can," said Mother and Papa Bear.

"Afterall, bringing hope during Ch ristmas, that's what it's all about."

♪♪♪ (Mr. Chuck) Well, let's see what we've got here.

It's always nice to receive mail, especially this time of the year.

And here's something from Keir McLemore.

Keir is in kindergarten and let's see... Oh, look what he has sent to us!

Keir has done a drawing and it says, "Mr. Chuck is walking his dog and puppies."

Lookie there!

That's nice.

Thank you, Kier.

What a wonderful job.

And now, we've got another one here.

This is from Keithan Hunt.

Keithan is a fifth grader, he's ten years old, and let's see... Oh, well look what Keithan did.

It's a drawing.

Very colorful, too, of a building there, a house, and well, two other, it looks like plants there I can see.

And it says, "Hello, Friends!

I lo ve you, Mr.

Chuck."

It has a heart and has arrows there.

I think that means we love each ot her, my friend.

Thank you very much.

Well, let's see what else we've got here.

Here's one.

What a surprise!

From the parents of Thomas Gibson and Thomas sends us a picture.

Thomas is two years old.

You know, I visited with Thomas during the time he was having surgery in the hospital.

And he came through that surgery so well, he looks so nice and healthy.

I guess the surgery must have been very successful because he's growing wings there!

Take a look!

How nice, Thomas.

Thomas, was so nice to send us picture of his cousin, who I met at the hospital also.

His name is Michael Gifford.

And here's Michael.

Michael is just about the same age there as Thomas and I understand that Thomas is getting along quite well.

That is really nice to hear.

Thanks to our friends Keir, Keithan, and Thomas.

You know, I like getting drawings and photos from my friends.

If you'd like to send me a drawing or a photo, send it to... Then I'll share them with all of ou r friends right here.

Sometime soon.

Just remember, I can't return them, so only send me the things you don't want to get back, okay?

You know, the holidays are a special time of the year when we remember the things that are important to us, like friends, family, and faith.

We hope you enjoy the holidays and that you will remember to keep the spirit of the celebration throughout the year.

We all have much in common.

♪♪♪