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EDITOR Cara Mott
a cartoon Bible story, a competition, puzzles, jokes, comic strips and topical activities and articles for you to enjoy. Ask your parents or carers to go to sps-shop.com/kids-alive, call 01933 445445 (option 1, option 1) or email subscriptions@satcol.org to set up a subscription.
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Jacob Adams
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Philippa Martin
PROOFREADER Chris Horne
CONTACT US Phone Office – 020 7367 4910
Email kidsalive@salvationarmy.org.uk Post 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ
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INTERNATIONAL LEADERS General Lyndon Buckingham and Commissioner Bronwyn Buckingham
TERRITORIAL LEADERS Commissioners Jenine and Paul Main
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Major Julian Watchorn Published weekly by The Salvation Army United Kingdom and Ireland Territory. The Salvation Army is a Christian church and registered charity. The charity number in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 214779, in Scotland SC009359 and in the Republic of Ireland CHY6399. ISSN 1363-5662.
WHappy Christmas!
hen the Kids Alive! team saw the cover of this week’s issue, we all said the same word – ‘wow!’ That’s because this week’s cover shows the winning design of our Christmas Card Competition, and we think it’s simply magnificent! This brilliant card was designed by Lydia, who’s 11 years old. Well done, Lydia!
What we particularly loved about Lydia’s card is that it shows lots of different people celebrating the joy of Christmas together, from super-smart wise men to sheep-herding shepherds. In Lydia’s design, there’s a smile on everyone’s faces, and the shepherds look like they’re having the best time ever. They all seem so happy that they to get to be together to meet baby Jesus!
Just like Lydia’s card celebrates coming together to celebrate Christmas, this week’s issue of Kids Alive! is all about that too! This issue brings together amazing artwork and wonderful writing from lots of different readers. As well as having Lydia’s marvellous card on the cover and more card competition winners on pages 14 and 15, one of our spectacular readers has written the KA! JAM comment on page 4.
This issue reveals two competition winners, because it also features the winning story of our Short Story Competition (which began all the way back in our 21 June issue). Turn to pages 12 and 13 to read Micah’s winning story!
Celebrate
light, love and joy this festive season
This week’s issue of Kids Alive! is absolutely bursting with awesome creative contributions from our incredible readers. It’s fantastic! Flicking through the pages of this issue has put the biggest smile on my face!
I know that God smiles when we use our creative skills too. God is the ultimate creator – he created the world and us – so of course he loves the idea of his people doing anything creative. In fact, did you know that some of the most beautiful creations in the world were made to praise God? Paintings, poems, songs, sculptures … there are too many amazing ones to name them all here! God gave us our creative skills, and he’s thrilled when we use them to praise him. So here’s a challenge for you this week – what can you create that will make God smile and make the world he created for us even more beautiful?
Love Came Down
Check out your Bible – Luke 1:57-66; 2:1-7; Matthew 1:18-25
In the summer holidays, my mummy and daddy lwoke me up in the night-time, when it was very dark. Then we got in the car. Next, we drove to get a ferry – my sister, Phoebe, and I didn’t know where we were going. We got on the ferry and had some food. Soon we were in France! We drove some more and then my mummy and daddy said, ‘We’re here!’ and gave us some Minnie Mouse ears – we were in Disneyland Paris! I felt so excited. It was the best surprise ever!
I think that’s how Mary felt when the angel Gabriel told her she was having a baby –surprised and excited! Mary must have been really special to be chosen by God to love and look after Jesus, because Jesus was a very special gift for everyone in the world.
Read the comment on the right about how much God loves us
My mummy and daddy took us to Disneyland, because they love us so much and they wanted to give us a special present. That’s why God sent Jesus too. He loves us all so much and he wanted his love to come down to Earth. He wanted to give us the best surprise gift ever. He also wanted Jesus to tell everyone about God. Everyone should celebrate Jesus being born, and remember the special surprise gift that God gave us, when we’re opening our presents on Christmas morning.
by Maisie, aged 7
There are 15 surprise presents hidden in the Nativity images below. Can you find them all?
Christmas is the perfect opportunity to get excited about the birth of Jesus – no matter where you live. Did you know that people from different countries celebrate the Christmas story in lots of unique ways? Join us as we discover unique Christmas traditions from around the world!
Can you imagine what it would be like to celebrate Christmas in a country where not many Christians live? In Pakistan, less than two per cent of the population are Christians. However, that doesn’t stop Christians there from getting excited about Jesus!
Christians in Pakistan call Christmas Bara Din, which means ‘Big Day’ – and they really do treat the day like a special one. They’ll go door to door to sing carols and also attend church services in their most colourful clothes.
One particularly unique tradition is that a Christian will often put a star on the roof of their home, just like you might put a star on the top of your Christmas tree. This is to remind people of the star in the Christmas story, which the wise men followed to find Jesus. Under each roof that’s decorated with a star, you can be pretty sure that someone is celebrating the birth of Jesus!
Pakistan Join... Joy to the World
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KA! JAM is the coolest Bible activity club around. As a member you’ll go on amazing adventures through the Bible learning about Jesus. Each activity sheet is filled with lots of great stuff about being a Christian. You’ll also receive our mini-mag, Chatterbox which is filled with jokes, games and much more. And to top it off, there are loads of awesome prizes to be won!
To join KA! JAM and complete the Bible activity courses online, go to salvationist.org.uk/kajam.
Or if you would like to receive the postal version, simply fill in the coupon below.
To join KA! JAM just fill in the application form and send it – along with two first-class stamps – to: KA! JAM, 1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ. Applicants must be between 7 and 17 years old to join.
Date of birth:
Postcode:
Boy or girl: Do you attend a church, and if so, which one?
I, (signature)
apply for membership of Kids Alive! Jesus And Me. I understand that joining KA! JAM doesn’t mean I have joined The Salvation Army and that it is not a free subscription to Kids Alive!
PLEASE USE BLOCK CAPITALS.
When I Grow Up
What do you want to be when you grow up? To help you learn about a job that you might be interested in, we’ve asked a grown-up to tell us all about what they do for work. It’s time to meet a…
Patch’s
Problem...?
CPO!
? ? ? ?
? ?
HELLO, READERS, I’VE LOST A VERY IMPORTANT OBJECT SOMEWHERE IN THE ISSUE. WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HELP ME FIND IT? I HAVE A CLUE OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE HERE.
I’m Mary Claus, I’m a CPO (which means Chief Presents Officer) and I’ve had the most ridiculous day. Don’t believe me? Well, Prancer dropped a carrot into the WonderPainter 3,000 machine and accidentally turned the whole North Pole Toy Factory orange!
Then my husband, Nick (who you might know by his job title, Santa), lost his map of the world that helps him to guide his sleigh. I asked Rudolph to draw him a new one, but instead of drawing a map, Rudolph painted a lovely picture of a pink donkey!
Right, that’s enough about my day, sweeties. Let me explain to you what my job is, and then I can have a nap while Nick watches Call the Midwife. As Chief Presents Officer, I have a very simple job. It’s to make sure that all of the elves are making the best presents you can possibly imagine!
While Nick plans the best route for his Christmas Eve flight, I also make sure that everything else is running smoothly around the North Pole. That might look like checking that the reindeer are keeping up with their sleigh training, or that there aren’t any holes in the present sacks! It’s a … fantastic… sorry, I’m falling… asleep – I think it’s time for my nap!
What do Santa’s helpers learn at school?
The elf-abet!
What type of pictures do elves take?
Wordfit Wordfit
What do snowmen eat for breakfast?
Frosted flakes!
Who hides in the bakery at Christmas? A mince spy!
What kind of ball doesn’t bounce? A snowball!
by Neil Locker
To celebrate Advent, have a go at drawing this Christmas tree. Copy the design on the right into the empty grid. Ho ho, ha ha, he he! He he, he he!
Fit the five given words into the grid correctly to reveal a new word in the darker orange column. Some letters have been inserted to help you. Clue: One of Santa’s reindeer.
Crossword Clues
Crossword Clues across:
1 Baby’s bed. 3 Speed contest. 6 ‘The Twelve Days Of Christmas’ gift, ten _ _ _ _ _ a-leaping. 7 Pod vegetable. 8 Christmas carol, ‘The First _ _ _ _’. 10 Check and make changes to written work. 12 Mix of gases that we breathe. 13 Neckwear for cold weather. 15 Small jumping insect. 16 Snake-like fish.
down:
1 Advent _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, used to count down the days to Christmas. 2 Roadsurface material. 3 Seasonal song, ‘God _ _ _ _ Ye Merry, Gentlemen’. 4 One of Santa’s reindeer. 5 Christmas carol, ‘O Come, All Ye _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _’. 9 Officially register as a member. 11 Largest continent. 14 Top playing card.
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Snow!
Snow who?
Snow business like show business!
by Neil Locker
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Holly!
Holly who?
Holly-days are coming!
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Hannah!
Hannah who?
Hannah partridge in a pear tree!
Knock, knock! Who’s there?
Doughnut!
Doughnut who?
Doughnut open ’til Christmas!
Christmas
Find the Christmas-related words in the grid
presents stocking God
angel carols family candy cane tree star
SuperKitties Competition
If you have a pet, do you think it would be a supervillain or a superhero? That might sound like a silly question –unless you have a naughty dog that loves to cause mischief, or a tiny kitten that gives the best cuddles!
In a Disney Junior programme called SuperKitties, plenty of mischievous pets live in the city of Kittydale. However, there are four ridiculously cute cats who have no trouble with saving the day – the SuperKitties! Now, with the SuperKitties Hero Squad Figure Set, you can have your very own figures of all four members of the SuperKitties team (that’s Ginny, Buddy, Bitsy and Sparks, in case you’re wondering). The four kittens even come with an enemy to defeat – Mr Puppypaws!
For the opportunity to win your own SuperKitties Hero Squad Figure Set, answer the question below and email your full name, age, address and answer to Remember to put ‘SuperKitties Competition’ in the subject box. Your entry needs to reach us by Friday 9 January when the winners will be chosen. You can also enter by filling in the details on the coupon below and posting it to: SuperKitties Competition, Kids Alive!
1 Champion Park, London SE5 8FJ.
Name:
Address:
Which of the following is one of the SuperKitties?
Kira Ginny Fisher
MAKE FATHER CHRISTMAS CHOCOLATE BARK
Do you know what chocolate bark is? It’s a thin slab of chocolate, mixed in with lots of other ingredients – and it looks a bit like bark from a tree! To celebrate Christmas, we’ve put together a bark recipe that reminds us of Father Christmas.
WHAT YOU NEED
Two heatproof bowls. Two saucepans. Baking tray. Baking paper. Two wooden spoons. Tablespoon. Cocktail stick. 200g milk chocolate. 100g white chocolate. 2tbsp raspberries.
METHOD
1. With the help of a grown-up, fill both saucepans with water so that they’re around a quarter full. Heat them on a hob until the water is boiling and then reduce the heat until the water is gently bubbling.
1tbsp strawberry laces (broken up into smaller pieces).
1tbsp mini marshmallows. 1 cookie. A grown-up to help.
3
6 MIX, MIX!
2. Place the heatproof bowls on top of the saucepans, while making sure that the bowls aren’t touching the water.
3. Break the milk chocolate and white chocolate into small chunks and then put them into separate heatproof bowls. Stir both mixtures until all the chocolate is melted.
4. Turn off the heat and let the chocolate mixture cool for up to 10 minutes.*
5. Put the baking paper onto the baking tray and then pour the milk chocolate onto the tray. Spread it out across the whole tray, so that it’s in the shape of a rectangle.
6. Drizzle the white chocolate over the milk chocolate and then use the cocktail stick to create cool swirls and patterns.
*If you’d prefer, you could melt the chocolate in the microwave. 8 TAA, DAA!
7. Scatter the raspberries and strawberry laces over the chocolate mixture (these remind us of Santa’s coat). Then add the mini marshmallows (which remind us of his bushy beard). Finally, break the cookie (Santa’s favourite snack) into pieces and crumble it over the mixture.
8. Put the baking tray into the fridge and leave it there until the chocolate has set. Then ask a grown-up to break apart your chocolate bark! Now your bark is ready to eat.
Christmas Card Competition
Runners-up
Cenyue, Aged 9
Yiyi, Aged 9
Overall Winner
Lydia, Aged 11
Lorraine
Age? 7.
Favourite colour? Gold.
Favourite food? Mango.
Favourite sport? Ballet.
Favourite bit of Kids Alive!? Colouring Corner.
Favourite Bible story and why? When God made the world, because I like my world.
Favourite TV programme? Bluey.
What do you want to be when you’re older? A nurse, because my mum is one.
Pets? None.
Hobbies? Going to churches.
Tell us a joke. What do you call a huge pile of cats? A meow-ntain!
What special skill or talent do you have? I can play the piano.
Tell us something interesting about yourself. I can ride my bike without sitting down.
Is there anything else you would like to tell us? I like Kids Alive! –thank you for printing them!
what do you want for christmas, eric?
the same as i got last christmas, patch...
...an empty christmas stocking.
That’s really sad. everyone should GET at least one present in their stocking. not when the stocking is the present!
A brand new christmas stocking will be the perfect present!
They’re great for keeping me warm, but this one is very worn.
