Adult Christmas

37 pages

4 m, 3 w, 4 flexible parts.

Dylan and Tyler Shepherd, brothers whose arguing finally stopped when they were brought together one Christmas (see "The Shepherds Who Gather"), are back in this sequel. It's five years later and now they are working together on a Christian TV show. Unfortunately, the station has a new owner, Tabitha Rafferty, to whom ratings are more important than people or their priorities. She has little sympathy for Dylan whose wife has recently died, leaving him to raise their young son alone. But Christmas is a time of giving. Some unusual "gifts" given by some unlikel...

37 pages

4 m, 4 w, 1 girl.

Have you ever received a gift you didn't really want? A young married couple, Stephen and Pamela, find themselves on the receiving end of a grandfather's will, and the inheritance, should they choose to accept it, is his retarded adult son. Although they are Christians, Stephen and Pamela undergo a critical test of faith and marriage, as they share the Christmas season with this unexpected "presence," Uncle Duncan, plus some friends and family members who complicate their custodial decision and their holiday. Humor and pathos color their unfolding dilemma. Ch...

27 pages

4 m, 10 w, extras.

Angel Charles Persindon has a month on earth to find out what is the "Christmas Spirit." He visits many places, but seemingly hasn't come up with the right answer. With only twenty-four hours to go, he happens onto the Cavindish Orphanage. The antics of two girls, Tiger and Lizzie, coupled with the visit of Mrs. Cavindish, almost ends up in a veritable explosion. Through Charley, the haughty Mrs. Cavindish and the girls are taught a lesson. Performance time: 30 minutes.

20 pages

2 m, 1 w, 1 girl.

Raymond MacDonald Alden's short story, “Why the Chimes Rang,” tells the legend of long ago when, on Christmas Eve, it was the custom for all the people to bring to the church their offerings to the Christ Child. And there had been a time when an unusual offering brought magnificent music from the chimes which were rung, everyone believed, by the angels. But lately, no offering had been great enough ... that is until young, poor boy makes his first pilgrimage through the snow to give his simple gift. Now this classic tale of faith, family, and sacrifice is wov...

36 pages

7 m, 5 w, 9 flexible.

A group of young people from church have won the honor of decorating the grounds in front of city hall for Christmas, but when they put up the manger scene, an atheist businessman objects. Meanwhile, a younger sister of one of the group wages a persistent attack on the walls of anger that a grumpy neighbor has erected. The kids fight a losing battle for the right to keep the religious decorations and finally decide they themselves will be a living nativity scene on Christmas Eve. Forced to stop by city officials, they are invited to create the manger scene on...

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. 

56 pages

6 m, 5 w, 1 extra, 1 boy, 1 girl

Grandpa, along with Luke, Ellen, and their two teens, fly to Texas to celebrate Christmas with the rest of the family. Grandpa's other son is a real down-home cowboy, and, unbeknownst to everyone else, has recently gotten married. His new wife, a former New Yorker and Jewish, is a recent convert to Christianity. She very likeable, but the family can't understand half the words she's saying! Even more puzzling is her teenage son, who misses the big city, resists speaking to anyone, and is on a "religious break." Family confusion rises to new heights when Grand...

27 pages

4 m, 4 w, 1 child.

This is not a happy Christmas Eve in the Stewart home. While young Cory prepares, unwillingly, to be an angel in the church pageant, the oldest son, J. J., who has just returned from several months in juvenile hall for burglary, struggles to regain the trust of his mother, Maureen, and very angry father, Joe. But when he is accused of shoplifting at the mall, Joe is so angry, he won't even attend church with them to see Cory's performance. A juvenile hall chaplain tells him that sometimes you have to work on faith - that maybe an angel in a dream will convinc...

62 pages

4 m, 3 w, 2 girls, extras.

It's almost Christmas in a poor coal mining town in the early 1900s. When a foundling baby girl appears on the doorstep of the company store, Annie, the possessive wife of the proprietor, takes a shine to her. But Arly, who works at the store and makes Christmas presents for all the kids in town, learns that the real mother is Francine. She has kept her pregnancy secret from everyone, even her mean-spirited husband. She loves the baby, but is too poor to raise her and an older daughter. A cave-in at the mine sows tragedy and complicates matters further. Franc...

36 pages

7 m, 6 w, 2 girls.

Chuck Overton is finally home for Christmas, but his welcome is far from reminiscent of the prodigal son. Because of Chuck's involvement in a robbery years earlier, his father, Aubrey, has shut him out and refuses even to talk to him. Seemingly nothing can pierce Aubrey's hardened heart until Chuck's young daughter, delivering letters from the past, intervenes. Her middle name is Rose, after her late-grandmother. When Aubrey thinks how his late wife Rose would have handled Chuck, he finally realizes the importance of forgiveness and its relationship to Christ...

19 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 teen g, 3 b, 2 g, extras.

How do you explain to three kids that from now on, every Christmas might be a Christmas apart? Ever since Lee Ann and the children started going to church, husband Jake has felt alone and unhappy, so he's moved out. It's arranged that he'll visit with the children early on Christmas Eve, then drop them at the church for the pageant they're in. Maybe he'll even stay for it. God once sent an angel to Joseph to explain the importance of creating a family. This time another "angel" brings that message to Jake. A sensitive, deeply religious play which deals with t...

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.

28 pages

3 m, 3 w, 1 teen g, 1 boy, extras

Ordinary people pull us into their lives as they endure the hectic days before Christmas. A mother is expecting, but the baby's father has left her. Little Jacob is being bullied, while Sara is trying to get through her teen years. Sara's parents are stressed over her attitudes and the holidays. Kathy thinks Christmas is about the gifts, while a homeless man has lost everything. These characters may have closed minds and hearts, but finally, and reassuringly, all find Christmas joy. While keeping Baby Jesus as the true reason for the season, we see that figur...

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 ...