The Christmas angel
To provide a framework for a simple yet meaningful assembly at this special time of year.
by Jan Edmunds
Suitable for Key Stage 1
Aims
To provide a framework for a simple yet meaningful assembly at this special time of year.
Preparation and materials
- This assembly was used successfully as a Christmas class presentation for parents. The writer used several suitable carols and pieces of music in relevant places to give a longer performance.
- Read through the poem and decide which 11 children will make the best readers. The main characters need to be encouraged to continually mime the actions as the story unfolds. Younger children can be used for Mary, Joseph, angels, shepherds and kings. Rehearsals will be necessary to give a more polished performance. You may be able to involve parents in making simple props and costumes.
- You will need a small decorated Christmas tree at one side of the stage with some wrapped parcels underneath.
- Sleeping bags or light inflatable mattresses could be used for the children’s beds (but think carefully here about how to ensure that the actors can be seen and heard).
- For the Nativity scene: a light representing the star, a simple crib and doll, a small stool or chair for Mary, gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh plus crowns for the kings/wise men, if possible a toy lamb for one of the shepherds.
- One child in the story could have a teddy bear, the other could have a toy of some kind.
- Teachers may have their own ideas and are welcome to use and adapt the poem any way they like.
- You can find out more about drama in assemblies at our resources pages.
Assembly
Some Christmas music can be playing as the narrators take their places on either side of the stage. Two children need to be positioned as if in bed.
SCENE 1
Narrator 1:
Welcome, everyone. Please listen to our special story.
(pause)
A little Christmas angel landed softly on the ground.
He tiptoed to the window without a single sound.
(mime)
Narrator 2:
He saw a lovely Christmas tree with sparkling lights aglow
And pretty ribboned parcels, all neatly stacked below.
(mime)
Narrator 3:
He knew it was a special time for little girls and boys
When they just think of presents and stockings full of toys.
(points to Christmas tree)
Narrator 4:
‘I wish that they would realize,’ the little angel said,
‘That a baby boy was born this day, and think of him instead.’
Narrator 5:
He crept into the bedroom where the little children lay
(mime)
Dreaming about Santa, arriving on his sleigh.
Narrator 6:
He gently touched their foreheads and whispered in their ears:
(mime)
‘Come, fly with me to Bethlehem, way back two thousand years.’
(The angel beckons them to follow him/her. The children get out of bed, carrying their bedtime toys, and exit as music is played or a carol is sung.)
SCENE 2
(Position the crib centre stage as music plays, e.g. ‘The Virgin Mary had a baby boy’, verses 1 and 2 - Come and Praise, 121.)
(Enter angels, followed by Mary and Joseph. The procession could come from the back of the room. They position themselves around the crib. Placing is important here.)
Narrator 7:
They came upon a stable where a little baby lay,
Tightly wrapped in swaddling clothes and sleeping on the hay.
(Enter the Christmas angel followed by the children.)
Narrator 8:
His mother Mary watching him and Joseph standing by.
With angels singing lullabies, as the star shone in the sky.
(A lullaby carol could be put in here and the angels could do a little dance.)
Narrator 9:
Some shepherds came
(pause)
and wise men too, this wonder to behold.
God’s promised son was born this day, his story we have told.
(Allow time, with musical accompaniment or a suitable carol, for the shepherds to bow in front of the crib and present their lamb, and then for the wise men/kings to present their gifts. The children then bow before the crib and leave their bedtime toys for baby Jesus. A carol such as the last verse of ‘In the bleak midwinter’ – ‘What can I give him, poor as I am’ – could be inserted here while the Christmas angel leads the children back home to their beds. The Nativity scene remains on stage.)
SCENE 3
Narrator 10:
The children, back in bed, just thought they’d had a dream,
But felt a little different from how they once had been.
Narrator 11:
Now they knew the reason why we all keep Christmas Day.
The little angel smiled and quietly flew away.
(Angel goes and joins nativity.)
Time for reflection
(Spoken by everyone on stage)
Reflection
We think of the Christmas message and the birth of Christ born on this special day.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!
Or:
Prayer
We thank you, Lord, for Christmas and the birth of Christ your son
who came to earth this special day, a gift for everyone.
Amen.
Song/music
‘The Virgin Mary had a baby boy’ (Come and Praise, 121)
