When it comes to discussing the best Christmas concerts ever performed one simply must include the above.
For those yet to see the movie Love Actually (my blogging pal Donna for one) this scene takes place at the end of the local school’s Christmas concert and the curtain has just opened to reveal the Prime Minister passionately embracing his new girlfriend.
If you are in need of a refresher or perhaps in need of a boost in your busy day this Love Actually Christmas concert clip is the perfect tonic. Trust me.
So worthy, no?
Hands down in terms of entertainment value both on and off stage, the best Christmas concerts ever performed are those performed by young school children. How qualified am I in saying that? Well, based on the eight years worth of my own children’s Christmas concerts and the handful or so of my nieces’ and nephews’, I’m comfortable in saying quite qualified.
Let’s first look at the entertainment value off stage. As most schools do not provide reserved seating, the seats are on a first come, first served basis.This was the case at my children’s elementary school. In order to get a good seat (ie: you could see all of the actors) it was imperative to arrive at least an hour and a half before the performance. To line up outside. Without doubt those at the head of the line got their pick of the seats inside.
I learned early on that there was an art to the lineup. Those in the know hired teenagers to be their line-waiters. Minutes before the doors opened those well fed, happy and warm-to-the-toes parents magically appeared. Suddenly instead of five people in front of you there were now twenty. But that wasn’t all. Once inside, these folks would spread their coats over multiple seats to reserve additional seats for friends and relatives yet to come. Beauty.
As a stab at some sort of equality our school started a raffle. The prize was four front row seats to the Christmas concert. The year we won was the one instance I actually saw the entire evening’s entertainment. The rest of the time I was at least five rows back and my sightlines were dubious at best. God help the poor folks who arrived “late” and found themselves relegated to the very back. I suspect they only saw their little performers when the night was done.
Another off stage entertainment perk was the location. This picture was taken on the night of one of the best Christmas concerts ever performed at my children’s school. While I loved the festive stage backdrop with its suggestion of houses, snow and overall good cheer, the best part to me was that they couldn’t disguise the fact that we were in the gym. Note the basketball hoop directly above and the standard issue clock to the left. Perfect.
Now let’s turn our attention to the on stage entertainment. All the best Christmas concerts ever performed at my kids’ school usually only had one or two run nights. This was good. Each performance was fresh. This limited run was beneficial not only to those who liked to act in front of strangers, friends and family but also to those who didn’t. For the latter it meant just one or two visits to the stage and that was it. Pressure was off. Bring on those Christmas holidays.
In terms of entertainment on stage, I loved the unscripted bits. One of the best Christmas concerts ever performed at my children’s school was the year my son was in grade three and my daughter in grade four. Their babysitter, a grade seven student named Sophie, had a lead role as Mrs. Santa Claus. She spent most of her time on stage “knitting.” Clutching the knitting needles as one would hold drumsticks she held me spellbound. At one point the huge ball of yarn got away from her and shot across the stage. To her credit she stayed in character and continuously cautioned Santa to sidestep the wayward yarn.
Later that same evening I became aware of a familiar, unmistakable odor. Vomit? Surely not. No one on stage looked remotely ill. Then my ever alert sister directed my attention to the side curtain. Someone was using it to vigorously wipe their mouth. Of course. You couldn’t script that.
By far though, the most memorable part of all the best Christmas concerts ever performed has to be the beaming smiles of your own children as they acknowledge your presence at their performances. I will never forget that. Ever.
How about you? What do you consider to be the best Christmas concerts ever performed? If you’d care to share, I’d love to hear.
18 Responses
Kelly…what memories you have brought back! Some great and some not so great (like the time my daughter almost threw up on stage!). You are correct thought, these are by far the best Christmas concerts EVER! Thanks for sharing your memories! xoxo
Your poor daughter. What is it about this time of year? Hopefully I brought back more “great” than the “not so great” memories Sandy!
Totally adorable! 🙂 I do enjoy a good holiday concert, especially from kids! There is something so sweet and innocent about it! And I absolutely LOVE that scene from Love Actually! :)-Ashley
Yes Love Actually should be a must for all to see, don’t you think?
Kelly, I love this! With my kids too little to be involved with Christmas concerts, I’m expecting to experience many future years of similar concerts. (I will certainly be one of the parents relegated to the back of the auditorium, as I am not known for arriving anywhere early, especially not an hour and a half early!) I’m so happy that you included pics of your own happy kids, too. Thanks for including the clip of Love, Actually. Now I’m even more inspired to see the movie (and it did add a nice boost to my day)! 🙂
I”m so glad you looked at the clip, Donna. I put it in there especially for you! So great you picked up on that. Hopefully when it’s your turn, your school will have instigated some sort of organised ticketing system and you won’t have to line up.
Kelly, I already tried to post this comment once, so I’m sorry if this is a duplicate. What a great post! And I love that you included pics of your kids to highlight the happiness they are feeling at having you there! With my little ones too small to be performing in Christmas concerts, I haven’t experienced this yet, but I expect to have many years of Christmas concerts ahead. And as someone who is never early (absolutely never an hour and a half early), I will probably be one of the parents relegated to the back of the auditorium. Thanks for including the clip of Love, Actually! Now I’m even more inspired to see it, and it did add a nice boost to my morning!
Yes – both times is twice as nice. Lovely to hear from you Donna!
Another great post from the heart Kelly ! The line about our children acknowledging you there brought tears to my eyes. That is so true, those concerts are the best and their memories last forever !
That’s perhaps the best thing about them Jane. ” … their memories last forever.” So very true.
The school holiday concert scene in Love Actually is one of my favorite movie scenes ever. From Sam drumming his heart out to the “not so behind the scenes kiss” it is just magical! I wonder if Mrs. Claus went on to perform in other shows – it sure seems that she had get acting instincts to play off the rolling yarn ball. I love the pictures of your beaming Henry and Meredith – so happy and so proud! Beautiful post, partner!!
You capture it so well! Yes Sam drumming his heart out! Don’t you love it when Liam points his finger and Sam nods back? Love it. And the scene where “Mr Bean” “can’t find his ticket” and says he must have left it where he was having coffee and … don’t get me started, I won’t stop. Love it all, actually.
Great post! It brought back memories of ALL the school concerts I’ve been to over the years.
My boys went to our local parochial school. All the events were held in the church, which slopes toward the front to provide good sight lines. Unless you were unfortunate enough to sit behind someone really tall, you could see everything going on.
You were so very blessed Kathy to be able to see everything going on! It’s quite something to look back on our experience and to note that I only had that privilege when we won the seat lottery!
We are so not there yet with scripted lines, and plays but I was right there with you, for this!I can’t wait until we are doing this witrh my son! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
You’ve got a lot of fun times ahead Kristi! The holiday concert season will soon visit you! Make sure you bring your phone and camera but leave the coat in the car. It gets very hot in those crowded venues!
We were just at my daughter’s Christmas Nutcracker performance and without a doubt you hit the nail on the head with your article! My only addition was the need for a quick exit for our 15 month old son who had no intention of staying still or quiet through the whole performance! Best unscripted part was when they unwrapped the Nutcracker doll and the fancy hat fell off…thy didn’t know what to do….so they whispered, but forgot that they were wearing microphones!
Loving this – the fancy hat fell off and they were miked? OH I can imagine the fun with that. Yes the best bits are the unscripted ones. Years ago I was watching two friends of mine – they were brother and sister – in a play at university. He dropped his lit cigarette into the chair he was sitting in and completely lost it – lost his southern accent, stood up patting his pants in panic while his sister went off script, stayed in character and calmly retrieved the cigarette and ground it out with her foot. Classic moment.
Love your addition of the quick exit for the 15 month old. Yes, that is a required element of the Best Christmas Concerts Ever Performed. Duly noted!