11 Holiday DIY Small Talks: for Activity Directors and Groups

From the writer of the popular Mildred Budge series comes a collection of 11 easy-to-give Holiday Small Talks for Activity Directors or groups. Written by a long-time member of a speakers’ bureau, these informative and entertaining Small Talks are tied to classic Christmas and New Year’s themes. Here’s an excerpt from the Introduction:When classic movie director Frank Capra envisioned making movies, he said this was his goal: “My films must let every man, woman, and child know that God loves them, and that I love them, and that peace and salvation will become a reality only when they all learn to love each other.”Out of that vision, Capra made the Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s the movie that Capra played each year for his own family during the Christmas holidays because he loved it. Capra said that after he died, he wanted people to say about him: “He’s the man who made that movie ‘It’s a Wonderful Life.’”This year as we are living through a pandemic and faced with a pretty cold winter, I wanted to tell people that message for Frank Capra. And to share with people some of what I know about Capra and the creation of that heartwarming movie and its important message: “God loves you and I love you and peace and salvation will only become a reality when we all learn to love each other.” That’s a hard message to deliver when we are all in a lockdown, keeping safe and, well, watching TV.So, I figured I would write the Talk out and put some other Small Talks with it, and send it out in the world this winter for people who are trying to find a way to give Talks to groups but can’t invite a speaker, like me. I would love to be with you, but I am in lockdown too. Even though I can’t go, I hoped my Small Talks could. These Small Talks are written with the hope that they will be useful. The main ideas in each Talk are in bold type, to be read—and then to be paraphrased if you like. Or, you can just read the Small Talk as it is written. They are written to be read.So, what follows are 11 Small Talks for the holidays—Christmas to New Year’s.The first six Talks are specifically about Christmas with a slight veering to a Small Talk about Irving Berlin because he wrote “White Christmas.” That song changed the Christmas musical landscape!The next five Small Talks that follow the #6 Talk, Miracle on 34th Street, are more general.Each Small Talk has a Synopsis page to help you decide whether this is one that your group will like. There are some tips on how to prepare for the Talk and to give it. The Small Talk itself follows. Next, when appropriate, biographical sketches are included after the Small Talk in case your members want to know more about the people involved. That list of biographies is not comprehensive—just enough to flesh out the Small Talk.Here are the 11 Small Talks:1.Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol2.It’s a Wonderful Life (Really!)3.What’ll I do? A Story about Irving Berlin4.Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn5.Irving Berlin’s White Christmas6.Miracle on 34th Street7.I Love to Whistle8.The Andy Griffith Christmas Show9.The Bethlehem Bible Story10.Tell Your Pandemic Story in the New Year11.Auld Acquaintances A New Year’s TalkIf you are an Activity Director or Group Leader, this collection of Small Talks about popular culture topics should be of help to you this year. To find out more, check out the Facebook page for Quotidian Books.About Daphne Simpkins: The author of 14 books, this Small Talks collection represents some of the programs that Ms. Simpkins has given to assisted living homes, women’s clubs, and other groups. She is the author of the church lady series featuring Mildred Budge, but she has also written about caregiving and cooking. To learn more about her, follow her on Amazon, BookBub, Twitter, Linkedin.com or connect with her on Facebook.