Baby Jesus in English, Santa in Czech: a bilingual Christmas.
At home you call him Ježíšek, but Grandma reads to the children in English. Or Santa comes to your house and you’d like his letters in Czech. Choose the character and language separately, then add your family’s own words.
Three phrases to agree on together
Decide who’s coming, what you’ll call the letters and how you’ll say goodnight. Share those three phrases with Grandma or the other parent. They can then pick up naturally from the words the children have already heard.
For a letter with both Czech and English, try a short greeting or goodbye in each language. Keep the main message in the language your child understands easily. Translate your own text yourself; changing the app’s menu language won’t translate it.
- Choose the language your child is comfortable listening to for a longer story.
- Agree the character’s name and important place names with the other adult.
- If you translate a message, keep it brief and natural. It does not have to become a lesson.
A small family phrasebook
| Idea | How to try it at home |
|---|---|
| The character | Ježíšek, Baby Jesus or Santa, as your family prefers. |
| A message | Letter, message or another familiar word. |
| The ending | One shared way to say goodnight. |
“Goodnight, Alex. Dobrou noc, Alexi. I’ll travel quietly for the last part of the journey so I don’t wake anyone.”
Adapt them to the way your family talks.
Before the Magic has a dedicated Czech website called Ježíšek už jede!. There’s no confirmed date for more languages.