“What If December Looked Different This Year?”

VeggieTales: Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving releases Saturday, October 3

By Deborah Evans Price

Leave it to Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber to share the spirit of Christmas with humor and heart as they discover the power of giving in VeggieTales®: Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving. The popular VeggieTales characters anchor the third Christmas DVD in the best-selling children’s franchise; the first new VeggieTales Christmas project from Big Idea Inc. in seven years.
 
In a perfect relationship that underscores the message of giving in the new DVD, Big Idea has partnered with Operation Christmas Child to collect gifts for needy children around the world. More than 65,000 churches across the country will hold shoe box collection activities, and many churches plan to hold screenings of Saint Nicholas to encourage kids in the spirit of giving.

“Right after watching Saint Nicholas, in the wake of being so inspired to give, that’s the perfect time to put a shoe box together,” says GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist Amy Grant, who has teamed with singer/songwriter Matthew West for the Saint Nicholas theme song “Give This Christmas Away.”  “It’s love in action. It’s active learning with a great example of the joy of giving through the life of the real Saint Nicholas. And what better way to say, ‘Hey kids, we could change a life, too. We could do something just that special.’”
                                        
In true VeggieTales style, Saint Nicholas illustrates an important message: We don’t give to others to make ourselves happy, we give because we are happy, thanks to the gifts God has given to us first.

“When I was asked to consider writing a song for the end credits of Saint Nicholas, I was given an inside look at one of the earlier drafts of the script. And honestly, the script impacted my approach to the lyrics almost 100%,” says Matthew West, who co-wrote “Give This Christmas Away” with Sam Mizell. “What it means to me to ‘give this Christmas away’ is to be mindful of the world around us that may be in need – the people you may ordinarily overlook and the causes that have greater needs this year. It’s about stopping and pausing long enough to look at the world from a perspective of ‘How can I help? How can I give? How can God use me to help meet the needs of somebody else this Christmas instead of me just checking off the list of everything I want?’”

Amy Grant adds, “We’ve gotten Christmas a little backwards haven’t we? Of course, you’re going to give your sibling or best friend a gift. But what about when you reach beyond that circle of family and friends – and say, ‘I want to give to somebody who’s not even expecting it?’ Now that is the Gospel and a perfect example of God’s love. This song is such a great reminder that the reason we celebrate gifts is because we are just mimicking what God did for us. He loved us so much that He gave.”

Operation Christmas Child is a project of the international Christian relief organization Samaritan’s Purse and is the world’s largest Christmas project. Since 1993, Operation Christmas Child has delivered more than 70 million gift-filled shoe boxes to underprivileged children in more than 140 countries. This year the goal is to deliver more than eight million shoe boxes worldwide.
 
In partnering with Operation Christmas Child, Big Idea is making a special giveaway offer available to anyone who purchases a VeggieTales: Saint Nicholas – A Story of Joyful Giving DVD. Through this unique offer inside the DVD, Veggie fans can log onto a designated website and select a second VeggieTales DVD for free to give to a friend or someone in need with only $2.99 for shipping and handling.

In addition to the 45-minute Saint Nicholas DVD, there will also be a Saint Nicholas Little Golden Book from Random House, plush toys from Pint Size, a Christmas Ornament from DaySpring and shoes and shoe charms from Jibbitz, a subsidiary of Crocs. There will also be a Saint Nicholas album available exclusively at iTunes, which will include “Give This Christmas Away.” The song will further be serviced by Sparrow Records/EMI CMG as a single to radio in November.

For more information visit bigidea.com or samaritanspurse.org.