Christmas Sign Dilemma

Well here it is late Tuesday afternoon. I’ve got an article to write for The Link, and I’ve just read an e-mail from Carol Love asking, “Can you change the church sign by December 1 to reflect the opportunity to bring in children in the area?”

Which shall I do? The newsletter article or the church sign? The latter seems the quickest and easiest. So I’ll do that first.

What shall I put on the sign? “Children Welcome at Christmas” No! That seems too generic and implies that we don’t want them any other time of the year.

It’s got to be catchy! And thought provoking! And short!

I know! I’ll do a search on the Internet for a catchy quotation. So I go to Google and so a search for “Christmas is for children”. I know. That’s too bland and obvious, but maybe it will lead to something else.

Ah! Here’s a good one by Thundercloud & Eightball whoever they are.

Christmas is for children,
Innocent and true,
And wouldn't it be wonderful
If just for one brief moment
We could be like children too?

That’s nice! But it’s way too long. It won’t fit on the sign. I need a shorter one. Oh, here’s one by Kin Hubbard.

Nothing's as mean as giving a little child something useful for Christmas.

That’s short, and it’s true. The children will appreciate my getting the message out, but it’s not very uplifting. Gotta find something else! Here’s one:

The earth has grown old with its burden of care,
But at Christmas it always is young.

That’s short, and it’s really nice too! And it’s a quotation from Phillilps Brooks who wrote “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. Nah! It’s got to have the word “child” or “children” in it somewhere. Oh, here’s one by Erma Bombeck.

There's nothing sadder in this world than to awake Christmas morning and not be a child.

I like that! It kind of reminds me of the Thundercloud & Eightball quote. It has the word “child” in it, and it gets you thinking!

Uh, oh! It’s still too long for the sign. Let’s see if I can cut it down and get it to fit...

HOW SAD TO
AWAKE ON XMAS
& NOT BE A CHILD

Bingo! It’s short enough! It’s still thought provoking! And what do you know? I’ve got my article for the newsletter done too

2006 C. David Hess