A Scoutmaster's Blog

Those of you that follow Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, on Twitter (@buttonst68) have noticed that he has been posting a Scouting themed Twelve Days of Christmas. The twelve days follow the twelve points of the Scout Law, beginning with trustworthy and ending with reverent on the twelfth day. Here are the twelve verses, in case you missed them.

One the twelfth day of Christmas my Scout Leader gave to me…
Twelve reverent chaplain aides,
Eleven clean mess kits,
Ten brave teddy bears,
Nine thrifty gift cards,
Eight cheerful campfires,
Seven obedient Cub Scouts,
Six kindly Eagles,
FIVE COURTEOUS SCOUTS,
Four friendly camp staff,
Three helpful maps,
Two loyal dogs,
and a trustworthy GPS.

Now that you have that song stuck in your head, have a great day!

For those of you who like the poem Twas The Night Before Christmas check out this post from a few years ago:

Twas The Scout’s Christmas Party

It is that time of year again. Hallmark is now selling the new Snoopy, the Beagle Scout, 2012 ornament. It is available only at Hallmark stores and is not available for purchase online, although their site does have a page for it at http://www.hallmark.com/Product/ProductDetails/1795QXI2941_DK .

This year’s collectable features Beagle Scout (or is it scoutmaster?) Snoopy with Woodstock and a couple friends as they raise the flag of the United States of America one morning on a camping trip. As the Hallmark page states: “Recall wholesome camp mornings with a trio of scouts ready to salute the start of their day. Snoopy’s got the flag on hand, so it’s time to get going on your own winter adventure together.”

I guess I will be making a trip to St. Cloud to purchase a few of these. A couple will be added to my collection (one for the Christmas tree and one to put away) and a couple may find themselves under someone’s tree Christmas morning.

How many do you plan to purchase? How many previous ones do you already own?

Yes, I realize that it is still July, but it is time to go toward your nearest Hallmark store and buy this year’s Snoopy, the Beagle Scout, Christmas ornament. It features Beagle Scout Snoopy along with a couple of his bird Scouts as they try to sell Christmas trees. Hallmark has named it “Holiday En-tree-preneurs”.  How long will they be in the stores? Keep in mind that these ornaments are available only in the stores, not through online sales.

I have been collecting these ornaments for several years now and always buy two of them, one for the tree and one to store away. Too bad the BSA does not list these in the Scout Stuff store during the holiday shopping season.

Scoutmaster Steve and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, have put together a special Christmas show for your enjoyment. The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 sing Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red Nose Reindeer. Stories include the Christmas Scout, the legend of Santa Claus Camp, and Matthew’s Christmas story.

Steve and Buttons wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. They also thank you for being a fan and listening to the podcast.

Send us your emails. You can contact Buttons at buttonst68@yahoo.com. You may contact Scoutmaster Steve at stevejb68@yahoo.com. Please rate the show and/or leave a comment at the iTunes store.

You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at twitter.com/stevejb68 or twitter.com/buttonst68 .

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, introduces the Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 as they sing Christmas songs during a couple of December courts of honor (from 2003 and 2007). Join the Scouts as they sing a couple of Christmas favorites: Jingle Bells and Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. (And stick around until the very end for an outtake of Buttons’ intro.)

Everyone at the Melrose Scout Productions Podcast and Melrose Boy Scout Troop 68 wish you and yours a safe and very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! See you in 2011!

Fa la la la la, la la la la!

.

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Here is a little Christmas Poem I wrote a few years ago.

Twas the day of the party
for the Scouts of the troop.
Time for films, pop, and goodies,
and pizza (but not soup.)

One by one they arrived at
the scoutmaster’s door.
They took off both their shoes
then sat on the floor.

The decision of which movie
to watch must be made.
It’s a film about pirates for
which the scoutmaster paid.

The lights where turned off and
the Scouts settled down,
and the movie began in
full digital sound.

Ninety minutes later
the movie was paused
for the pizza had arrived
to the shouts of “huzzah!”
(The Scouts did not really shout that
but I needed something that rhymed.)

Then the Scouts formed a circle
on the living room floor.
Time for the gift exchange!
This was not time to snore.

The die were passed and rolled for
fifteen long minutes.
Each Scout wanted that one gift,
but could he roll right to win it?

There was candies and cookies,
a skateboard, and games.
There was not a bad gift so
there was no one to blame.

Soon the gifts were exchanged,
all the presents unwrapped,
and the movie was finished.
It was time for a nap.

The Scouts picked up their gifts and
zipped their jackets up tight
wishing “Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.”