Short Christmas Dramas For Church

Some of you might be looking for short Christmas dramas for church as opposed to other play scripts. Here I have put together a list of free Christmas play scripts for church that can be used for your dearest and closest friends who are not able to attend the activities at church. Christmas plays are a great way to get the whole congregation involved in celebrating Christmas while also giving them an opportunity to showcase their creativity and talents. You can use these short Christmas drama scripts for church to get your congregation involved with the Christmas spirit.

Christmas is a wonderful time of year to enjoy with family and friends. Unfortunately, not everyone has enough time to put on a full-feature production like The Nutcracker or even a short, simple one-act production like The Christmas Story. If you don’t have time to create your own storybook play this holiday season (or if you’re just looking for something new), check out these free scripts for church-based traditional plays that can be performed in a matter of hours!

5 Free Christmas Play Scripts for Church

1. “The Nativity Play”

Cast: 10-15 actors

This traditional Christmas play script retells the story of the birth of Jesus through the eyes of Mary and Joseph. It includes all the classic characters such as the angels, shepherds, and wise men. The script emphasizes the true meaning of Christmas and the importance of faith and love.

2. “A Christmas Carol: The Musical”

Cast: 20-25 actors

This musical adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic story follows the journey of Ebenezer Scrooge as he learns the true spirit of Christmas. The script features beloved songs and dance numbers that will entertain and inspire your church congregation.

3. “The Christmas Miracle”

Cast: 8-12 actors

This heartwarming play script tells the story of a family who experiences a Christmas miracle that changes their lives forever. Through the themes of faith and redemption, the script reminds audiences of the magic of the holiday season.

4. “The Gift of Love”

Cast: 12-18 actors

This modern Christmas play script focuses on the importance of giving and receiving love during the holidays. The story follows a group of friends who come together to help a struggling family and learn the true meaning of Christmas along the way.

5. “The Star of Bethlehem”

Cast: 6-10 actors

This unique Christmas play script explores the story of the star that guided the wise men to Jesus’ birthplace. Through a series of vignettes, the script highlights the journey of faith and discovery that led to the first Christmas celebration.

Short Christmas Plays

This week, we released six new Christmas skits that you can download and perform. All these scripts are short Christmas skits, ten minutes or less. We thought it would be handy to list them all right here for you. You can also browse our entire list of Christmas plays and skits to find the exact script for your needs. These Christmas skits are perfect for performing during your church service to add a little drama!

THE BELLS OF CHRISTMAS

As the bells of Christmas usher in the season of hurry up and get there, the true meaning starts to fade in the background as we forget why we celebrate Christmas in the first place.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

A game show deals with hard-to-believe facts and leads us to think about the reality of the birth of Jesus.

THE ROAD TO BETHLEHEM

Mary and Joseph are on the long road to Bethlehem and have plenty of time to process exactly what God has chosen them for.

WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES JESUS MAKE?

An out-of-work husband and father begins to question the reasons of why we celebrate Christmas, when his wife reminds him that there is a greater purpose at work.

A delivery person explains to a new employee the reason some people do not receive their Christmas gifts and packages.

Jim reminds Bill that at Christmas, there is always hope.

Short Christmas Drama Scripts

You can get some excellent Christmas programs under $10 on Amazon.com, but we know many churches want to create something original. For children’s Christmas songs for church, we recommend this CD from Amazon: “Christmas Carols by Cedarmont Kids. It has 15 of the classics and a split track too.

Printable Christmas Programs for Children
“The Birth of Jesus” Script for Children’s Christmas Pageant Play
The Birth of Jesus (simple traditional pageant)
This is a traditional Christmas play script that’s easy to use and simple for small churches to perform. It’s a mix of classic Christmas carols and some light narration. This pageant has been used with a cast of preschoolers ages 1–5 as well as a children’s church ages 2–5th grade. A narrator, who may be a single person or multiple older children or youth, does the speaking. It’s a simple way to celebrate the story of Christmas.

Christmas plays for small casts
Christmas Hope (play script for small churches)
This is another great Christmas option for your children. It has a traditional manger scene mixed with a modern-day family life set. There are only a handful of actors needed in the cast, but they each have substantial speaking parts. Adding additional scripture readings is one simple way to accommodate more participants. You could pair this simple play script with a children, youth, or adult choir to have a full-length Christmas pageant.

modern christmas play for church
A Super Christmas (modern & funny Christmas play for youth)

This Christmas play script is perfect to cast with the youth ministry or older children’s group. This story is about a group of famous super heroes who discover that while Baby Jesus did come to save the world, he won’t be stealing their jobs! It was performed by a cast of teenagers and adults at our 5 p.m. Family Christmas Eve Worship in lieu of a sermon. It’s something creative if you want to try something more than the traditional Christmas pageants listed above.

Popular Plays for Christmas
12 Symbols of Christmas Play
“The 12 Symbols of Christmas” Program
This play script is based off our free “12 Symbols of Christmas” book. The scene is set as follows: A mom is decorating her home with her children for Christmas. As they add different items to their home, they discuss the meaning behind each item and how they all lead to Jesus. This of it as a Christmas object lesson turned into a full performance for the church. It’s a traditional set and your church will enjoy the Christmas story in a new creative way.

stories of a savior Christmas pageant plays
Stories of a Savior (Free Christmas Play)
This is a play about 2 scientists giving a presentation about the birth of Jesus. These scientists don’t just tell the story starting with Mary. They go all the way back to Creation and tie it all together through the story of Simeon and Anna. It’s more than a play, it’s a whole Bible history in a Christmas play setting. You can expand the cast to include more parts in this play.

In just a few weeks, we’ll be starting our Christmas Children’s choir to prepare for the annual Christmas pageant. The holiday season is coming soon and having the kids perform is one of our church’s favorite Christmas activities. But first, we need to find the right Christmas program for our smaller church. The first several we list below are traditional Christmas nativity scripts; after that, we have several creative options.

More Free Printable Christmas Play Scripts
Christmas in Genesis? – free program for Christmas
Faith Baptist Church shared their Christmas plays online (Doc version or PDF)
“Who’s This All About” Christmas Play Script & Family Experience
Easy Christmas Plays for churches with very few kids
The Christmas Window from a reader’s blog
Need more help? Use these Bible verses about Christmas to make your own play.

I started my research on Google and soon discovered there were very few free Christmas plays for kids choirs. It looks like many churches simply mix together Christmas poems, Bible verses and Christmas songs and music to create a short 30-minute Kids Christmas program. This is what we’ve done in past years, but this year we’re going for something a little larger than a Children’s Christmas skit. I’m looking for music and drama that feature Christmas stories. Some biblical costumes would be fun too, and it must come with a complete play script.

Don’t miss our pdf Christmas coloring pages to print.

Professionally Published Christmas Programs & Plays
I searched Christmas play on Amazon.com I love these because all the customer reviews available for each program for Christmas. You can also listen to some of the Christmas songs online. LifeWay sells hundreds of musical programs, you can browse or search to find a Christmas pageant for children. They specialize in religious Christmas programs that would work well for a kids musical at church.
Independent Plays & Christmas Pageants For Kids
Cathy’s Music offers several Christmas musicals for children. This site has over 15 plays for Christmas. You should be able to find the right program for small children’s choirs here.
Taylor Made Productions has Christmas plays. One major benefit of using an independently published church musical is you can contact the people who wrote the program. This website has pictures from their pageant for Christmas, and hints from the original director.
Guiding Light Video sells complete kits to host a kids Christmas play
Pioneer Drama Services also sells a large selection of Children’s Christmas programs. This site sells a large selection of kids musicals for Christmas.

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