12 Days of Christmas-Jigsaw!!

On the 12th Day of Christmas, 
My True Love gave to me...
12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords A-Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids A-Milking
7 Swans A-Swimming
6 Geese A-laying
5 Gold Rings
4 Calling Birds
3 French Hens
2 Turtle-Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree! 
But can you complete the jigsaw below and find them all?!!
Enjoy! k xx

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas
My true Love gave to me
Eleven Pipers Piping...
So what were they piping? Christmas tunes of course!
Here are my top eleven all-time favourite Christmas songs - have I missed any?
It Feels Like Christmas - my all-time favourite from the incredible Muppet Christmas Carol - a Christmas Eve tradition!

Walking in The Air - Another classic. You know it's Christmas when you hear this song. 

White Christmas - It just wouldn't be Christmas without Bing!

All I Want For Christmas is You - Modern Classic Mariah

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! - Especially Bambi-style!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - has to be sung by Judy, from the wonderful Meet Me In St Louis

One More Sleep Till Christmas - Another Muppet Favourite!

Silver Bells - Beautiful

The Christmas Song - A definite Christmas Classic

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas - To get you in the mood!

It Was On A Starry Night - Nativity-style. Perfect.

On the Tenth Day of Christmas 
My True Love gave to me
Ten Lords A-Leaping!


Can you help turn these "leaping lords" (or frog princes!) back into princes by clicking on them with your mouse? Watch out for those nasty piranhas though!

On the Ninth day of Christmas 
my True Love sent to me
Nine Ladies Dancing...
Congratulations to Harry Judd - winner of this year's Strictly Come Dancing!
But which Christmassy tracks do you love dancing to most?
Here are my top 9 faves - enjoy!:

All I want for Christmas - nothing beats Mariah!

Rockin' around the Christmas Tree - perfect when decorating the tree!

Run Run Rudolph - from the FABULOUS Very Ally Christmas album

Step into Christmas - a bit of classic Elton :)

Fairytale of New York - great to practise your Irish jigging to!

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day

Jingle Bell Rock - Mean Girls style!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town - There's nothing like the Jackson 5!

Frosty the Snowman - except maybe the Beach Boys!

Keep dancing!

White Christmas?

Advent Calendar Day 18
Well, after our flurry of snow I'm getting all excited with hopes for a White Christmas, so here's two versions of that Christmas classic - Bing's traditional version still the best-selling single of all time! And one that's a little bit different!
Which do you prefer?!
Enjoy!
kxx

Christmas Tree Game!

Snowflakes!

Oh the weather outside is delightful...!
It's here! The first snowfall this winter! I woke to the delighted cry of a child "It's snowing!", leapt out of bed, and sure enough - big white flakes were floating from the sky. Hurray!
So, on a theme, I decided to explore Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method for writing a novel...(like the link? ;))
Here's the simplest explanation I found online, courtesy of Bubble Cow. 
Or if you prefer, watch Dan's video!

1. Write a one-sentence summary of your novel (Fifteen words max).
2. Expand the sentence to a (4-sentence) paragraph describing the story narrative, any major events and the ending.

3. Now consider the main character and write a one page summary for each, considering the following points:

• A one-sentence summary of the character’s storyline.
• The character’s motivation (what does he/she want abstractly?).
• The character’s goal (what does he/she want concretely?).
• The character’s conflict (what prevents him/her from reaching this goal?).
• The character’s epiphany (what will he/she learn, how will he/she change?.
• A one-paragraph summary of the character’s storyline.

4. Go back to the summary you wrote in 2 and expand each sentence into a paragraph. Randy’s advice here is:

Take several hours and expand each sentence of your summary paragraph into a full paragraph. All but the last paragraph should end in a disaster. The final paragraph should tell how the book ends. Source

5. Write a one page description for each major character, which tells the story from their point of view.

6. Expand your one page plot synopsis into a four page plot synopsis.

7. Expand your character descriptions from 3 into full ‘character charts’.

8. Using the expanded synopsis, make a list of every scene you will need to write to complete the novel.

9. Using the scene list, write a multi-paragraph narrative description of each scene.

10. Write your first draft!

To read the full article by Randy Ingermanson click here!