Adult Christmas

24 pages

Large, flexible cast, approx. 11 m, 9 w, and any number of children.

This is one Christmas Eve you'll want to spend out of town - with the friendly folks of Nazareth, Texas. Modern day scenes with the flavor and poignancy of "Steel Magnolias" bring the Christmas story to life. From the Chic 'N Sassy beauty shop where Rhonda Gae learns she is pregnant, to the Starlight Motel where Leona helps a poor young couple find refuge, to a lonely farmhouse where the lost Jubilee Trio singers deliver gifts to an infant, you'll see the Christmas story unfold in a very special way. Warm, neighborly characters, a Christmas Spirit who serves ...

18 pages

flexible cast

Tis' the season to be...busy! Here's a collection of five skits, ranging in length from five to seven minutes, that challenge Christians to take time throughout the Christmas holiday season to celebrate Jesus. These skits highlight the truth that even when circumstances are less than ideal, Christians always have something to celebrate. The skits can be performed independently or as a weekly series leading up to Christmas. With contemporary settings, they're easy to stage and produce.

29 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 teen girl, 1 boy, 1 girl, and pageant cast of 14

Michael is too busy and unconcerned to have any time for God. His twins, Chris and Camille, realize his need for God and are trying to persuade their father to go to the church Christmas program with them, but Michael has flatly refused to go. However, God is at work in Michael's life although he does not realize it. With the help of Uncle Matt, a faulty furnace, and his wife, Kathryn, the program is brought to him. Finally, Michael understands his own need for God. Performance time: About 50 minutes.

33 pages

4 m, 3 w, 1 flexible, 3 kids

Set in a crowded, snowed-in airport waiting area on Christmas Eve, different types of stranded passengers present their views on Christmas. There's the Cynic (who serves as our Everyman), the efficient Travel Agent, and a bumbling paramedic and a super-efficient Nurse. There is also the Davis family, whose new baby makes its appearance, and two ambassadors, one Arab and one Israeli. The miracle that occurs that night changes them all. Members of your choir can serve as additional travelers while also performing carols.

56 pages

11 m, 10 w, extras

This dramatic comedy tells the story of a Christmas in 1938 in the small town of Comfort Falls--population 603. The cream of society is getting ready for their out-of-doors holiday extravaganza at the town bandstand. Then they find out that the local church is planning a "competing" program, their annual Christmas Eve pageant, also at the bandstand on the same night! The society set, lead by the Widow Jeffries, and the church drama troupe, defended by her long-suffering son-in-law Mayor Hoshpepper, are joined by a hilarious group of eccentric townspeople (and...

30 pages

3 m, 3 w, extras.

Donnie, an ingenious young boy, is determined his father is going to develop faith even if he has to impersonate Gabriel. He might have a dirty robe and a crooked halo, but somehow he gets his point across. Very skillfully blended into this play is a short, sacred pageant. Performance time: 60 minutes.

48 pages

3 m, 2 w, 4 boys, 2 girls, 4 boys or girls, extras possible.

Lifelong friends Will and Glenn have a long history of producing the Christmas pageant together at their church. Following the hiring of a young pastor with new ideas (including a Santa-themed Christmas pageant), Will and Glenn found themselves on opposite sides of the debate, and the rift has cut off all communication between them for two years running. Now Will no longer attends church and calls his friend a backstabber. Glenn’s daughter Roberta is determined to bring the two lost friends back to each other. She takes on directing the children's Christmas p...

12 pages

2 speaking parts.

A minister, alone in the sanctuary, wants something different for Christmas Eve service, something with a real emotional kick, perhaps a famous person. Then the Voice from above speaks. For every glitzy idea the minister has, the Voice counters it. Finally by recounting Jesus' birth, the Voice seems to get through to the minister. The simple nativity story is best. The minister pulls out a tape recorder proclaiming, "But I do have a celebrity!" The tape, however, has only one voice - his own. The minister realizes the old, old story of Love's greatest gift gi...

19 pages

8 m, 8 w.

Here is a play which shows that the Christmas story is really a story of people on a journey. Mary and Joseph and the wise men travelled long, difficult distances physically, but more important are their personal journeys. They, along with the shepherds of the field and even a messenger in King Herod's court, face danger, consuming doubt, and sometimes frightening emptiness. For some of them it's a journey into the unknown. Yet each one finds - and follows - a path to the King of Eternity. Their journeys beckon us to follow. Performance time: About 25 minutes...

32 pages

Large flexible cast. Minimum with doubling: 8 m, 4 w, 8 children, 8 angels, extras.

Three storylines intertwine beautifully to tell the Christmas story. It’s 1917 in the small town of Bridger Falls where a widower and his five children get ready to celebrate Christmas in their comfortable home. Watching them from outside a window is a lonely little boy, Jacob, who’s trying to help support his mother while his father, Will, fights the war. The second setting is a bunker overseas where Will witnesses to two other soldiers fighting in World War I. As if sending us back in time, a third setting takes us back to Bethlehem where we relive the Chri...

33 pages

5 m, 6 w, 1 child.

The Shepherds are a family in name only. Tyler, a minister who's lost sight of his calling, and Dylan, a cynical news reporter who rejects all religion, are brothers who cannot get along even when their parents and wives try to get them to work out their differences. Needless to say, fireworks are set when Dylan is assigned to cover the Christmas cantata at Tyler's church where a well-known (but self-centered) gospel singer is going to appear. When every detail has to be perfect, everything that can go wrong does. But thanks to the help of a stranger named Ma...

25 pages

4 m, 3 w.

It's Christmas Eve and successful businessman Thomas Benson is having the worst day of his life. His wife announces she is leaving with their pregnant teenage daughter to live with relatives where they will be away from his condemnation, and his accountant has news from the IRS that may make Thomas' business go belly-up. How could life get any worse? Utterly depressed and defeated, he passes out that night at the office. Then two born-again ex-con janitors in Santa hats appear on the scene. Can the lovable duo change Thomas's Christmas? With their help, he ex...

16 pages

2 m, 8 w (doubling possible) 1 b, 1 g, and carolers

This turn-of-the-century Christmas is going to be a white one for bachelor Robert Kelley: white because his white lie has caught up with him! His boss, who only hires family men, wants to meet Robert's wife and kids. Robert decides to rent a family but has to disqualify several zany applicants. He is desperate until he spies sweet Mary O'Riley selling fruit. This one-act play is lighthearted, easy-to-stage and includes suggestions for favorite carols as well as one new song. 

24 pages

5 m, 5 w, carolers.

Everyone who loved James Rhodes' original play, "One Christmas Eve," will delight in this sequel. This time we find the wealthy Collins', Bob, June, and their teenage son and daughter, Ken and Markie, now a secure, Christian family, waiting for their Aunt Rachel to arrive for a Christmas visit. A somewhat flighty lady, and certainly not the best driver in the world, she is long overdue. Worried that something has happened to her, the family prays for her safe arrival. The scene then switches to Rachel, stranded and alone, but soon helped by an unusually kind ...

56 pages

5 m, 5 w, extra children

Ray awakens from a coma to learn that the country is celebrating Christmas every month, (Hanukkah every quarter), in order to stimulate the economy. “A Christmas Carol” is constantly playing at the local community theatre, Christmas lights blaze all night, and there’s enough fruitcake to choke a camel. Ray himself is different and his bitter attitude is affecting his fiancée, Mary. When she expresses her frustration with not being able to stop the multiple Christmases, and more importantly, with Ray’s behavior, he pulls a stunt that lands him in jail. There h...