The First Christmas
Characters-Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, Dan the donkey, Inn keeper .
These could be puppets ,or use mops or brooms as puppets with cardboard faces attached. You need a large blanket to be held up at each end by two taller people. Choose 5 children or adults to hold the puppets up behind the blanket facing the audience. As the storyteller reads or tells the story the puppets have to try and act out the story, move the puppets and repeat lines when prompted by the storyteller.
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Storyteller : In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world (invite audience to count with you pointing at different people as you go ) “everybody count with me ‘93,94,95,96,97,98,99,...lots ! “ Everyone went to his own town to register. Mary and Joseph started off from Nazareth to travel to Bethlehem. Mary who was pregnant rode on Dan the donkey. As she rode along she thought about the angel that had brought her the amazing news that she was going to have God’s Son the Saviour. Joseph who was engaged to Mary walked at her side watching out for robbers. The road to Bethlehem was rough and went up and down... and down and up and then up and up. When they finally arrived at Bethlehem, Joseph, Mary and Dan the donkey rode around and around trying to find a place to stay. But at each inn they got the same response from everyone ( use arms to get all to call out) “We’re full up !”, “No room !” , “Sorry no vacancy !”. Finally , one innkeeper said to them. “Alright you can stay here, but you’ll have to sleep in the stable.” And so they went around the back of the inn and settled down for the night. The donkey found some hay to eat and started singing loudly ..” some hay in a manger no pigs in this shed .Settle down ! said Joseph. “Mary ‘s going to have her baby !” Mary and Joseph and Dan the donkey lay down...Not that close ! As the night went on, the time came for Mary to have her child. “Hurrah !“ everyone shouted. “Settle down” said Joseph. “Next you’ll have a whole flock of shepherds in here”. After the child was born Mary wrapped him in cloths and laid him in a manger. Dan the donkey started singing once again .. “Away in a manger no kid for a ...but then stopped quickly and got out of the limelight, because they all moved closer now to fix their eyes on the Christ child. Mary said to Joseph “I will name him Jesus, just as the angel has said.” Saviour ! Messiah ! King ! “Hubabubba” said Dan as he danced for joy. And all creation clapped their hands as they looked on that first Christmas night. The End ! ...of the new beginning.
©Don Stott , Eliab.com