Okay… Pop some popcorn, warm up the hot chocolate, and gather around the computer: Here’s a fun selection of family favorite videos for your holiday viewing! We hope you enjoy them. Be sure to tell your friends to stop by and enjoy the show!

Note: These are all youtube videos. They are only viewable online… they are NOT downloadable. If you have any technical problems viewing these, please visit youtube’s help page for assistance.
______________________________

Ten Quirky Science Tricks to do at Christmas Parties
Way cool tricks science experiments for the season! Parental supervision of some of these experiments is suggested!

CBS Christmas Message, Circa 1966
Classic “seasons greetings” commercial designed by R.O. Blechman and animated by Willis Pyle. Network TV really used to do some gentle & classy spots like this.

Susie Snowflake!
Sweet 1950s TV song & animation with a catchy tune. We love Susie!

Hardrock, Coco and Joe
Another animated musical 1950s TV treat, from the same folks who made Susie Snowflake.

Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Christmas Song
The original 1960s version of this classic holiday ditty!

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen performed by Simeon Wood
With video by Ian Britton… beautiful!

Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
The original cartoon version by Max Fleischer, from 1948. Great fun!

The Little Drummer Boy
The final five minutes of this classic stop motion animation Christmas TV program. When the little drummer boy’s lamb is run over by a cart, he seeks help from the three visiting kings and finds much more…

A Christmas Carol
Okay… finally, here is one of the spookiest, most faithful adaptations of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” ever. Here in four parts is animator Richard Williams’ 1970s version of “A Christmas Carol”. This is an amazing adaptation of Dickens’ story, an animation tour-de-force based on the original book illustrations from early editions of Dickens’ book. It is beautifully done, and captures aspects of the original that other dramatizations of this classic story have missed.

Parents, be warned this is genuinely spooky in some spots (as is the original story), so some of this might be frightening to very young children. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Part One:

Part Two:

Part Three:

Part Four:

______________________________

And with that, we now take a break for the holidays and some quality family time — so no more resource postings will be made here until January 1st.

If you haven’t done so already, why don’t you take a moment to join our email list right now? We’ll be sending out a couple of fun “subscriber exclusive” goodies to our email subscribers over the holidays, and you WILL MISS OUT on them if you aren’t on our mailing list! Click here to join our email list!

We hope you and yours have a wonderful, peace-filled, blessed Christmas and a happy new year! See you in 2010!

Your Friends,
The Erskine Family

“All is Bright: The True Story of Silent Night” (MP3 audio) – In this great audio program originally broadcast on the CBS Radio Workshop, we start on a cruise ship in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, where the orchestra is playing for a Christmas eve dance. But when they start playing an uptempo rendition of “Silent Night”, one gentleman in the crowd objects… and proceeds to tell the assembled partygoers the REAL story behind the much beloved hymn, and the fascinating story of how it was almost lost but then re-discovered years after it was first written. Excellent family listening for this holiday season!

Plus:

“Why the Chimes Rang” by Raymond MacDonald Alden (MP3 Audio + PDF ebook) This is the simple, moving story of a little boy who wanted to honor the Lord’s birthday, and how an unexpected diversion caused his to be the greatest gift of all.

Accompanying this delightful book is a great episode of “The Great Gildersleeve” radio program, in which Gildersleeve reads this book to a crowd of children spending their holidays in the hospital. It is a moving reading and a great story that your whole family will love.
Enjoy them both!

Click here for today’s resources!

Family Holiday Memories (PDF ebook) – A fun & idea-packed guide to making memories with your kids during the holiday season, whether you are celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanzaa. Includes unique get-together & meal ideas, giving to others, family traditions, budget tips, and more. Glean!

Plus:

An extra bonus… The Classic Christmas Candy & Fudge Recipes ebook! Yummmm!!!!!!!!!

Click here for today’s resources!

The Cinnamon Bear- The Final Episodes! (MP3 audios) – Well, the wait is over! We are back this week with the final batch of Cinnamon Bear episodes for you!

Without a doubt, this is THE all-time classic children’s holiday radio program, broadcast continually on some radio stations ever since it first appeared in 1938. The Cinnamon Bear is the classic story of Judy and Jimmy Barton who search for the family’s Silver Star which goes on top of their Christmas tree. They discover the star has disappeared from the attic. Then they meet The Cinnamon Bear, and fly to Maybeland in his Soda Pop Airplane in pursuit of the Crazy Quilt Dragon, whom they believe took the ornament. Over the course of the series, they meet a host of delightful characters, including the Inkaboos, the Candy Pirates (who are my personal favorites), The Wintergreen Witch, Fe Fo the Giant, and even Santa Claus himself.

This is a delightful fantasy adventure for listeners of all ages, with great music, fun characters, and an engrossing (you-can’t-listen-to-just-one) storyline, which comes to you courtesy of our sister site, Homeschool Radio Shows. Find out why thousands of homeschooling families now make listening to the adventures of the Cinnamon Bear an annual family holiday tradition! You’re gonna love it!

Click here for today’s resource!

Surviving the Holiday Season: TIPS FOR MANAGING STRESS SUCCESSFULLY DURING THE HOLIDAYS (PDF ebook) – Are you feeling a bit “stressed out” over the upcoming holiday season? Everybody experiences events and times in their lives that cause different types of stress. No one is immune to this intense feeling. But, when the holiday season pops up, so does the level of stress that many experience.

In this special report, we’ve got 16 helpful tips to help you cope with holiday season-related stress, plus a neat bonus specifically for homeschoolers which some of you may have missed earlier. Check it out and see!

Click here for today’s resource!

We have two excellent vintage Christmas children’s books for you today!

Tales of the Nativity (PDF ebook) -Over two dozen classic stories, poems and readings based on Christ’s birth, plus several tales of Christmas with a Christian outlook.

The Children’s Book of Christmas Stories (PDF ebook) – 20 classic holiday stories, legends and fables from the 1800s and early 1900s especially chosen for reading aloud that the whole family will enjoy!

Click here for today’s resources!

Gifts in a Jar by Jill Cooper & Tawra Kellam (PDF ebook) – Looking for some inexpensive ideas for some home-made gifts this holiday season? Check out this great idea book from LivingOnADime on making your own “in a jar” gift mixes and baskets. Tons of easy, inexpensive gift ideas!

Click here for today’s resource!

Origins of Christmas Traditions (PDF ebooks) – Today, from CelebratingHolidays.com, we have three exclusive ebook samplers featuring
three excellent stories on the origins of three familiar Christmas items:

Christmas Trees;

the hymn “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”:

and the classic story “The Legend of the Poinsettia”.
Fascinating seasonal history!

Click here to download today’s resources!

The Cinnamon Bear- The Next 9 Episodes! (MP3 audios) – Well, we are back this week with the second batch of Cinnamon Bear episodes for you!

Without a doubt, this is THE all-time classic children’s holiday radio program, broadcast continually on some radio stations ever since it first appeared in 1938. The Cinnamon Bear is the classic story of Judy and Jimmy Barton who search for the family’s Silver Star which goes on top of their Christmas tree. They discover the star has disappeared from the attic. Then they meet The Cinnamon Bear, and fly to Maybeland in his Soda Pop Airplane in pursuit of the Crazy Quilt Dragon, whom they believe took the ornament. Over the course of the series, they meet a host of delightful characters, including the Inkaboos, the Candy Pirates (who are my personal favorites), The Wintergreen Witch, Fe Fo the Giant, and even Santa Claus himself.

This is a delightful fantasy adventure for listeners of all ages, with great music, fun characters, and an engrossing (you-can’t-listen-to-just-one) storyline, which comes to you courtesy of our sister site, Homeschool Radio Shows. We’ve got the second batch of NINE episodes for you this week – PLUS a bonus coloring book! – with the final batch coming next week, in plenty of time for Christmas.

Find out why thousands of homeschooling families now make listening to the adventures of the Cinnamon Bear an annual family holiday tradition! You’re gonna love it!

Click here for today’s resource!