Cinnamon Lakeside gets children into the spirit of the season

There are few things as exciting to children as Christmas – a holiday that brings with it surprises, gifts, goodies, carols and best of all Santa Clause.  Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo embraces the essence of the season in all its glory at its festive edition of Kiddies’ Camp this month.  

Kiddies’ Camp was a programme initiated by Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo over a year ago to provide children with a productive way to spend their time.  

They are encouraged to question, discover and challenge while they play.  The recipe has proven successful with many little Campers coming out of their shells to discover new talents and others cultivating existing ones.  

At the Kiddies’ Christmas Camp, the crew has an especially exciting line-up of activities for the children.  After they get their faces painted and shift into Christmas mode, they will be treated to a Christmas card-making session conducted by Panther Stationery.  

They will each be encouraged to make a creative card to present to whomever they choose.  The kids who turn out the best decorated cards will be rewarded with a prize.  

As an extra special treat, “Aunty Sulochana” will return to Kiddies’ Camp with another show stopping puppet show.  The interactive nature of Sulochana’s shows keep children enthralled from the opening line to the closing act.  Sulochana studied theatre and economics at Bates College where she was first introduced to puppets as an art form.  

She draws inspiration, not just from her subsequent travels to South Africa and Indonesia, where she studied under Puppet Maestro Dalang Asep Sunandar Sunarya, but also very much from Sri Lankan folk tales.  She never fails to amuse her audience with these tales related through custom crafted puppets of Mahadanamutta and his friends, some of whom are characters of her own invention!  

The puppets keep children enraptured and prove an ideal medium to convey many a valuable lesson.  The story segment at the Kiddies’ Camp involves a close interaction between Sulochana, the puppets and the children, and appeals to the children’s creative spirit.

No Kiddies’ Christmas Camp would be complete unless Santa drops by on his way from the North Pole to drop off goodies for the little Campers at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo, and this one will be no exception.  

This year, for the first time at Kiddies’ Camp, the children will be entertained by children their own age.  The Kinder Singers trained by Ruvini Gunasekera will sing Christmas classics such as “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, “Jingle Bell Rock” and “I Saw Mummy Kissing Santa Claus.”  The Kinder Singers are trained at Kindermusik, a programme for early childhood music learning.  For three consecutive years they have been the all island winners in the Musical Choir category (six years and under) of the Sri Lanka Festival of Music, Dance and Speech, which is affiliated to the London Federation of Festivals.  

In the true spirit of Christmas, the Kiddies’ Camp crew will give away numerous gifts as prizes from the many games that are scheduled to take place.  Amongst the prizes will be several “Three in One Joy” treats – a surprise, a toy and a sweet all rolled into one deliciously exciting egg – the Kinder Joy.  Snack time at the Kiddies’ Christmas Camp will feature some of Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo’s famous Christmas goodies loved by children and parents alike.  For a lucky Camper, a Tomahawk bicycle is up for grabs.  Kiddies’ Camp partner Tomahawk Bicycles gives the raffle winner a choice of bicycles varying in style and size to choose from.

Kiddies’ Christmas Camp will take place at the Waterside on December 11th from 3p.m. to 6p.m.  Tickets are priced at Rs. 950++++ for children below 12 and at Rs. 1,100++++ for adults.  For inquiries and reservations contact Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo on 2491998 or 2491884.