Adult Christmas

18 pages

Flexible cast

Here is an impressive, 45-minute, candle-lighting service for the congregation. The program can be presented with minimum time for rehearsals for there is little memory work needed. Most portions may be read. It's a new and different presentation to interest those who have become bored with the same message heard in the same way.

15 pages

1 w, 7 flex.

A federal court has ordered that a traditional Christmas cross on top of the fire station not be lighted this year. At a town meeting numerous people voice their opinions, including an ACLU attorney, a born-again Christian, and the free-thinker who brought the suit against the city in the first place. Into this melee walks a pregnant, illegal refugee who needs help. A fascinating play which shows that being a Christian takes more than putting up a Christmas cross.  Performance time: 25 minutes.

20 pages

2-3 adults, 7 children

It’s Christmas Eve in the 1770s, and a father is depressed he cannot afford to buy his eight motherless children any gifts. Suddenly he thinks of a present that won’t break or wear out, one they can all enjoy together. He sings a beautiful round about the Savior’s birth and the children quickly join in. An old sea captain living upstairs offers them money for peace and quiet. But without singing, the family’s mood becomes somber once again. Father tells the oldest child to return the moneythe family is going to sing! Ultimately, the old captain still gives th...

20 pages

6 m, 8 w, 1 flexible part. (Also 3 boys, one line each.)

Gina and Steven Hart are ready to take their newborn son home from the hospital Christmas Eve when a man they think is an orderly takes the infant from their arms. Soon they, and the doctors, nurses, minister, and others realize the baby has been kidnapped. As a search swings into force, the distraught, exhausted couple envision the Holy Spirit. In two dramatic inset scenes, the Holy Spirit shows that when parents ask, "Why my child?" as Mary must have questioned the future of baby Jesus, God always has answers. A beautiful ending reaffirms the blessings of t...

40 pages

4 m, 5 to 7 w, 1 girl, 1 boy non speaking.

It's Christmas Eve, (1960s) and Jake Johnson can muster only an uninspired, "Yeah, whatever," due to the stress of keeping his small, private hospital financially sound. In fact, he's just issued a new policy refusing to help anyone without health insurance, forcing patients to travel to the county hospital miles away. And there's no relief at home either as an elaborate family dinner has been planned which includes the Johnsons' estranged son Reese, and their daughter and her fiancé, whom Jake believes will be just another smart-alecky seminarian. Ill-will s...

21 pages

6 m (with doubling), 3 w, 1 adult flexible, 1 boy, 2 girls.

See the Nativity through the eyes of a family in the second century, "new" Christian believers in awe of the recent miraculous events. Jacob, a middle-aged shepherd, visits the home of Gaspar and Vashem and their children. The children demand Jacob tell the story of his grandfather, one of the shepherds who was visited by the angels announcing the birth of Baby Jesus. Vashem then tells the next story, that of the innkeeper. Finally Gaspar relates the story of his grandfather Melchoir, one of the wise men, and how he asked for a small strip of Jesus' blanket. ...

11 pages

2 m, 2 w, 1 flexible and chorus

Using historical and contemporary voices, "Supplicants: An Advent Drama" broaches thought-provoking Advent themes that are often overlooked during the holiday season. The play's characters, including a Hebrew man circa 10 BCE, a present-day businessman, a physician, a soldier, and a homeless woman, anticipate deliverance from distress even as they despair of present circumstances. The play features non-denominational Christian spiritual issues and is appropriate for family audiences. About 20 minutes.

22 pages

3 m, 6 w

The children of the Bucklesbury Bible Church have done a production of a Christmas nativity play for the last 80 years. It is the hottest ticket in town and a huge outreach for the church. When the “Mistletoe Flu,” a contagious virus, locks down the entire county, the Christmas program is in jeopardy. The committee of all church committees holds an online meeting to decide whether to cancel the program. The pastor states the church must still fulfill its mission of spreading the gospel. The decision is made to live feed the program so everyone can...