This is a DVD the entire family should watch together. It is filled with wonderful ideas about how to celebrate Christmas. It includes the origins of many Christmas traditions including the Christmas tree and Christmas caroling. It also features Karolyn Grimes, who played Zu Zu Bailey in “It’s a Wonderful Life” and her interview is interesting and insightful.
The DVD features a few elderly people, one age eighty nine and another one hundred and six, as well as others, who reminisce and remember how Christmas was celebrated when they were children. It becomes apparent upon listening to these ladies that many good traditions have been lost and that commercialization is a real problem in today’s celebrations. Yet they love Christmas and encourage people to remember the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
This program is well directed and the hosts, Greg Robbins and Erika Pealstrom, are pleasant people with friendly personalities and good voices. In fact, everyone who contributed to the program really added to its overall appeal.
In addition to the nice scenes of families enjoying the holidays together and decorating for various festivities, the video includes suggestions for 12 days of Christmas activities including beginning an advent calendar, making a Christmas DVD, and other nice ideas such as decorating the tree and house together as a family. The DVD also promotes and encourages family discussions about funny things which have happened, favorite Christmas movies, and so forth.
In one nice scene, Santa Claus talks to a mother and encourages her to remember to emphasize the Savior to her children when celebrating Christmas. The meaning of the star on the tree, symbolic of the star which led the wise men to baby Jesus, is discussed as well as the meaning of holly and other Christmas symbols.
The other side of Christmas is featured briefly too, the department store frenzy and the fact that Christmas is commercialized well ahead of other events such as Halloween and Thanksgiving. It should be noted that very young children might be a bit frightened with Mary crying out in labor pains at the beginning of the program, but it should not be a problem with parental guidance to explain what is occurring. This DVD is a positive, upbeat DVD which encourages families to enjoy and celebrate Christmas with each other, while remembering the true meaning of Christmas. The fifty four minutes I spent viewing this DVD was time well spent and the minutes flew by quickly. We encourage you to get your copy of this DVD and to consider giving it as a Christmas gift to others and It can be “Christmas Unwrapped” for them in the form of a special gift, a terrific DVD. We award this DVD five Doves, our highest rating, and gladly recommend it for all ages. It easily receives our Dove “Family-Approved” Seal. This DVD will enhance your enjoyment of the Christmas season.
