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Home/Christmas/On-the-Spot Christmas Pageant

On-the-Spot Christmas Pageant

“Whether you only have a few children or you’ve got a small group to present a Christmas play, it is not difficult to hold an impromptu Christmas pageant.”

 

 

 

The Good
Christmas Pageants have been occurring in churches for years. They are a great way to teach the Christmas story to children as they take on the roles of Mary, Joseph, the angels and the shepherds each year. Church productions can be massive, with a cast of “thousands” as well as live animals and elaborate scenery and staging. They can be simple also, as simple as what we have from scripture.

The Bad
Often, the Christmas Pageant is the bane of an Christian educator’s existence . . . scheduling rehearsals, parents vying for their little girl to play Mary . . . out-of-control preschoolers baa-ing and moo-ing as they get into the part.

How many educators are reminded of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever (titled “The Worst Kids in the World” in Australia, New Zealand and the UK)?  Written by Barbara Robinson in 1972, it tells the story of six delinquent children surnamed Herdman. They go to church for the first time after being told that the church offers snacks. Despite protests from other church members, the Herdmans are given roles in the Sunday school’s Christmas play, in which they tell the Christmas story in a nonconventional fashion.

The Manageable
But the lunacy doesn’t have to happen. However, flexibility and a good sense of humor helps! Whether you only have a few children or you’ve got a small group to present a Christmas play, it is not difficult to hold an impromptu Christmas pageant.

Invite participants (why not the adults, too?) to act out with silent movements the Christmas story, as it is read. Call for volunteers; have some simple costumes of bathrobes, cloth headpieces with rope, old choir robes on hand; and assign parts. Each role listens for their name to be read during the readings in which they enter the Sanctuary, eventually all gathered up front.

A wooden crate can be used for a manger, and a baby doll can be available for ‘Mary’ to hold. The congregation can be the chorus. Find a narrator or two (youth or older children work great) for all the readings.  And you’re set to go!

Basic Outline for a Pageant

Reading:   Luke 2:1-4

Carol:    “O Little Town of Bethlehem”

Reading:    Luke 2:5-7

Carol:   “Silent Night”

Reading:   Luke 2:8-14

Carol:   “Go, Tell It On the Mountain”

Reading:    Luke 2:15-20

Carol:    “O Come, All Ye Faithful”

 

God With Us
Remember, it’s the story that’s important and allowing participants to create a memory so that the story becomes their own. Emmanuel – God is with us. And at a Pageant, God is within each and every one of us.

 


Sharon Ely Pearson is an editor and the Christian Formation Specialist for Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI). She is the author/editor of several books, most recently The Episcopal Christian Educator’s Handbook and Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Theologies of Confirmation for the 21st Century. When not traveling for work or pleasure, she enjoys tossing tennis balls to her year old black lab, Chobe.

Photo credit: Shepherd Blaise via FLICKR (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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About the Author

  • Sharon Ely Pearson

    Sharon Ely Pearson recently retired as Editor & Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) with 35+ years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of the variety of published curricula across the Church, she has also had her hand in the birthing of numerous books, including the best-seller, Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People and the 6-book series of Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (2003) and a lifelong Episcopalian, she lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband John, a 17.5 lb. cat named Shadow, and Chobe, a 7-year-old, tennis-ball-fetching, rescue black lab. They have two adult children (both teachers) and a 5-year-old granddaughter who is a budding environmental activist. Follow her at www.rowsofsharon.com.

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December 15, 2010 By Sharon Ely Pearson

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Advent, children's ministry, Christmas, family ministry, worship

About Sharon Ely Pearson

Sharon Ely Pearson recently retired as Editor & Christian Formation Specialist with Church Publishing Incorporated (CPI) with 35+ years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of the variety of published curricula across the Church, she has also had her hand in the birthing of numerous books, including the best-seller, Call on Me: A Prayer Book for Young People and the 6-book series of Faithful Celebrations: Making Time for God. A graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary (2003) and a lifelong Episcopalian, she lives in Norwalk, Connecticut with her husband John, a 17.5 lb. cat named Shadow, and Chobe, a 7-year-old, tennis-ball-fetching, rescue black lab. They have two adult children (both teachers) and a 5-year-old granddaughter who is a budding environmental activist. Follow her at www.rowsofsharon.com.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gaye Pappas

    November 4, 2015 at 9:34 am

    I agree with your comments completely, and given the absolute nonstop life so many of our families have these days, our parents agree that our two rehearsal, no lines pageant is the way to go. Everything is read by two older youth. We assess/refurbish our costumes during November; try on costumes and assign parts during the first two weeks of December; practice once the 2nd and 3rd weeks on Wednesdays during Children’s choir practices and have a dress rehearsal on the 23rd. Easy, but precious projects that everyone looks forward to without pulling out your hair. It leads to a merry Christmas for all.

  2. Kyle Buns

    November 20, 2020 at 1:30 pm

    We’re going to attempt this at home this year due to COVID… thank you for the outline!

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