Use this page to pick a free Christmas program for your Sunday school or children’s church. It sorts three printable scripts by how much rehearsal time your small church has, and each one is a free download from The Sunday School Store.
Free printable: No Rehearsal Christmas Pageant Script (PDF, with 2 music videos)
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 music to create a short 30-minute Kids Christmas program.
Tony Kummer, writing at Kids Bible Lessons in 2008
That was Tony’s search in 2008. The three scripts below are free, and each one is a printable PDF.
Which free Christmas program fits your church?
| Script | Rehearsal | Who speaks | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Rehearsal Christmas Pageant (“Christmas Light Show”) | None. Performers can be chosen the day of the program. | Narrators and volunteers read from the script | A few simple props, copies of the PDF script, a way to play 2 music videos |
| Christmas Skit for Kids: The Birth of Jesus | Little to memorize. A narrator carries the story. | A narrator and a parent narrator | 12 named parts plus shepherds, sheep and stage hands, easy to double up |
| Stories of the Savior Christmas play | No line practice. Scientists read from clipboards and Readers from an open Bible. | Two scientists and the Bible Readers | Two lab coats, two clipboards, Bibles, signs and one chart on a screen |
The Christmas program with no rehearsals
This is the one to pick when time is short. It retells the Christmas story as a “Christmas Light Show.” Adults and children take part at their own comfort level, on stage or from their seats. You read through it ahead of time and gather a few props. Then copy the script for your narrators and queue the two included music videos, “Light It Up” and “Shine Your Light.”
Download the No Rehearsal Christmas Pageant Script. It is free.
A simple Christmas skit for kids
This skit tells the birth of Jesus straight from the Bible, and about 99 percent of the words come from Scripture in the New International Reader’s Version. A narrator carries the story, so the children have very little to memorize. It was written for the children of a small church. The cast is a narrator and a parent narrator, Mary, Joseph and three angels, Caesar Augustus, three innkeepers and a stablekeeper, shepherds, and sheep for your preschoolers. Double up parts or add shepherds and sheep to fit the children you have.
Download the free Christmas skit (printable PDF, in English).
An easy Christmas play for a small church
Stories of the Savior starts at Creation and follows the promise of a Savior to the nativity. Two scientists give a presentation, and Bible characters walk on, are seen, and walk off. Only the scientists and the Bible Readers speak, so no one has to memorize lines. The 14-page PDF has 26 Scripture readings, a cast list, a props list and six songs in order. With one child for each part and each sign it uses about 26 children, and a smaller group can double up.
Download the free Stories of the Savior Christmas play (printable PDF, in English).
Plan the program in four Sundays
- Four Sundays out: pick the script from the table and print one copy for yourself.
- Three Sundays out: read it through and list the props. Ask two or three volunteers to help.
- Two Sundays out: copy the pages your narrators need and gather the props.
- Program Sunday: hand out the parts, run the program and send the families home with a thank-you.
If you choose the No Rehearsal pageant, there is no rehearsal to schedule, so you can spend those Sundays on lessons. Its download page calls it the perfect addition to the Christmas Lights Show 4-Week Children’s Ministry Curriculum, a four-week set of lessons.
Quick answers for Christmas program planners
What is a simple Christmas program for Sunday school? Pick a script where a narrator or reader carries the story. The skit and Stories of the Savior both work that way, and the No Rehearsal pageant needs no practice at all.
Are these Christmas plays really free? Yes. Each one is a free download from The Sunday School Store. Add it to your cart and check out with no payment.
What if we have only a few children? The skit and Stories of the Savior both let you double up parts. The No Rehearsal pageant lets adults take parts too.
Add a Christmas lesson to your program Sunday
- The Birth of Jesus Christ (Luke 2:1-20), a free printable Christmas Bible lesson.
- Secret Messages of Jesus’ Birth (Isaiah 9), a free Christmas Sunday school lesson.
- 73 Christmas coloring pages, free to print for the waiting children.
For more Christmas lessons, see the Christmas Sunday school lessons and activities. Sunday School Works is a free ministry of The Sunday School Store.
Which Christmas program has worked best for your church? Share what you tried in the comments.
