Some Belated Holiday Cheer

I am sitting in Starbucks (typical, don't judge me) staring out into the Paris winter and I realized I completely forgot to share one of the highlights of December--Alexis' holiday performance.

Alexis (age 4) attends an English school twice a week. I recently learned that it is an English English school, not American English, which adds an interesting twist to his American English education. The school is held in a small church in Versailles (a bit away from Chateau de Versailles). Eloise invited me to the school's holiday performance right before I left for break. Twenty little English/French children singing Christmas songs? I was there in a second.

The little school had been working on this spectacle for months and had developed a surprisingly complex production. The story revolved around a little boy's wish for a teddy bear. He wrote a letter to Father Christmas ("Santa" in England) and of course, Father Christmas made it happen. However, the little bear fell out of the sleigh and landed somewhere in the woods. The story then follows the little bear's adventures and acquaintences with some foxes, bunnies, chipmunks, an owl, some snowflakes, and finally, a snow man.

Alexis was one of Father Christmas' elves and also participated in quite a few sing/dance numbers throughout the play.

All the parents, grandparents, and myself, were squeezed into the tiny chapel of the church to watch our little ones try to remember their lines, dance moves and song lyrics, all the while trying speaking loudly enough for the front row to hear. Needless to say it was quite the performance:

 Alexis next to Father Christmas

 Father Christmas off to deliver presents

Alexis took this performance very seriously and was tres timide when he realized I was taking pictures of him. Here are some of the looks I captured:

After the performance the great actors/actresses were treated to some homemade snacks and a visit from father Christmas (who I believe was the church caretaker). A little girl--one of the siblings of the kids--started running around in circles, clutching her cheeks and screaming at the top of her lungs, "FATHER CHRISTMAS!" Her poor parents had to explain that he did not have any gifts for her today, just for the performers. 

 The faux father Christmas

It was a great franglish event and I ate way too many homebaked, traditional English goods. Unfortunately I didn't ask what a few contained and had to spit them out in a napkin in a corner--trial and error-- but all in all, it was a great afternoon.