One of the biggest things about Christmas in the church is putting on a Christmas play for the congregation. The play is usually put on by the children of the Sunday School class. The problem churches have, especially with a stable congregation that doesn't change much, is that with putting on these plays year after year, they can become rather stale if you're putting on the same play all the time. To help with this problem, what you'll find in this article are several ideas for Christmas plays that your church can do that just might keep things interesting, at least for a while anyway.

An easy play to put on if you have about ten or so children is a reenactment of the birth of Jesus. The best way to do this is to have a narrator tell the story of the birth and while he does this, have the children go through the motions. This way they don't have to learn any lines. All they need to be shown is where they have to walk and where their spots are. The play can be broken up at certain parts with Christmas hymns. For example, during the part where the three kings bring their gifts to Jesus, the congregation can sing "We Three Kings". There are about five or six hymns that will fit in nicely during this play. The whole production should take about 30 minutes and is very easy to pull off.

Another idea, if you don't have a large Sunday School, is to have some adults put on a play. A very good one is to teach the children the real meaning of Christmas. One such scenario might include a family rushing to and fro, doing their Christmas shopping. While this is going on, the ghosts of Mary and Joseph appear and notice how commercialized Christmas has become. They're saddened by this fact and think back to a better time, a time when the real meaning of Christmas wasn't lost. We then switch to a scene of a family going to church and participating in a traditional Christmas service. Afterwards, they come home and have a dinner where they give thanks to God and read from the bible. When we return back to the present we miraculously see all the families who were lost in the commercialism of Christmas suddenly realizing the real meaning of the holiday.

Another idea would be to have musicians come into the church, have a narrator tell the story of Christmas and after each reading of a particular part, have the musicians play various Christmas hymns. While they are playing, you can have some children act out certain parts relating to the music being played.

These are just a few of the many things that you can do at your church when it comes time to put on a Christmas service. With a little imagination and a few volunteers, which always helps, there is no reason that you can't put on a Christmas play that your congregation will remember for a long time to come.