Christmas Scripts
I do love a good nativity: and in my opinion a good nativity is one in which we hear the gospel and have some fun. That’s what these Nativity Scripts do. You are very welcome to download and use these scripts, you can edit them to fit your cast - location or even to do them in a video conference!
If you want some tips on choosing, performing or adapting a script to work for your group - here are some tips I put together with pre-schoolers in mind. But the advice is good for any age group.
“Gabriel: (Singing) Hark! Hark! Haaaaark!
Michael: Sorry, but what are you doing?
Gabriel: I’m singing, I thought it would be a great way to introduce ourselves; these people will instantly be able to tell who we are…
Michael: But you’re just singing the same word over and over – it doesn’t make any sense.
Gabriel: But I’m singing the word ‘hark’, because that’s how people will know we’re angels as in...
Both: Hark! The herald angels sing.”
Angel Tours
In Angel Tours the angels Michael and, the less experienced, Gabriel take the audience on a tour round the first Christmas. It was written for an outside performance so the majority of the two
This script is designed as an entire carol service including songs so don’t forget to download the Angel Tours songsheet too!
“Enter Narrator 1 with a sheet of paper to read the story from.
N1: (Reading) 2000 years ago or three kings set off on an incredible journey…
Enter 3 Kings who make their way across the stage
Narrator 2: (Offstage) Oh, no they didn’t!
The Kings stop and look awkward
N1: What? That’s what it says here
N2: Well it’s wrong. (Enter) They weren’t kings! The Bible actually says Magi or Wise Men. They were probably astronomers.
”
An Unspecified Number of Wise Astronomers From Somewhere East of Israel
How much of what we know about Christmas comes from songs or Nativity plays? This play was written as a response to ‘We three kings of Orient are’ for my youth group with parts for the shy and those who love to perform.
“Josh: (Opens door) What do you want?
Joe: Josh! It’s Joseph, we’ve travelled a long way for the census and wondered if we could stay…
Josh: You and the rest of David’s line, mate. We’re stuffed, we’ve got grandma, Uncle Abe, Cousin Moses, Aunt Sarah and they’ve all brought the kids. You’ll have to find somewhere else mate, we’ve not got a bed to spare.”
Don’t Miss Christmas!
This script is broken up into acts that cover different events in the nativity and there’s no need to perform all of them (except the last one you should definitely perform the last one!) You can either have a relevant song between each act; have them all together or just use the section that is most applicable to the sermon. The last act (which I’m keen for you to include) is a gentle reminder that in the hustle and bustle of life we too can miss out on the point of Christmas…
This one would also adapt well to video, each household could perform a different sketch.
“A long, long time ago in a far, far away land God promised his people Israel that they would have a king.
Three cheers for the king, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray.”
No Ordinary King
This script works well with actions, has lots of repetition which is great for audience involvement and it films well. You can see the video I made of it here.
If you are after something a bit more straightforward and traditional, I have scripted up the Bible passages (from the NIV) with a narrator and lines for each cast member. This is a great way to read either text with a bit more flair and interest. While the lines would be too complicated for younger children it is also a good starting point for simplifying the language but remaining accurate to the text.