To feel just a little bit sad that DD isn't Mary in her Nativity Play

[Bearwantsmore]

... I know, I know! But if you can't admit it on Mumsnet, where can you?!

DD and DS always wanted to be the donkey - they had visions of doing it panto style and vied with each other to be the back end This was especially funny when they were talking about parts for the church nativity play.
One year I bought DS a donkey costume (Shrek style) and he galloped round the church aisles to "Little Donkey" It was absolutely classic

Also have happy memories of DD being Mary and rocking the baby Jesus upside down ....

But remember there's potential in every role

Happy Christmas to all - oohhh pretend this is a Christmasy smiley with festive red hat [bsmile]

ThePoppyAndTheIvy at least they gave him a 'chance' last year the mainstream school my DS who has SN attended refused to let him take part as he 'just wasn't capable' - strangely he was a very good shepherd at the Sunday School play. I did say to the teacher 'Sorry I thought it was a Nativity play and not a Broadway production' nasty cow that she was. So while the other kids practised and had fun he had to sit in a classroom with a TA. He is a very quiet child and really took it to heart and didn't want to go to school grrrr.

Fast forward to his year and his amazing new school and he is the Angel Gabriel (he wanted to be a donkey but hey ho) not sure about Sunday School but will find out in a few weeks (hopefully he will get to live his dream and be a donkey?).

I was always an angel because it was the only costume that fitted me lol. I was tiny and never grew enough to fit into the Mary costume.

I was an adult before I realised Gabriel is a boy's name, because of seeing blonde girls playing that part year after year.

I was the narrator.

I am sad we don't have nativity plays in schools here! :(

I WAS Mary in church when I was about 14 though. I had one line "This manger is beautiful" after Joseph said "Oh I wish I could make a cradle for him." I despised the boy who played Joseph as he had a girlfriend but was messing about a friend of mine. I believe I was giving him the total stinkeye throughout the whole thing. Professional I ain't, but I'm sure loyal. :o

Ahh, I have such lovely memories of being an angel and a carol singer dancing round the Christmas tree when I was little - my school did it so brilliantly.
When I was a bit older I did get the chance to be Mary in Brownies, but it just made me nervous as I was meant to sing a solo. Fortunately for me once Brown Owl heard my singing in the end everyone joined in with the song together !

Oh dear bobbybear, that doesn't sound very fair - so much for inclusion .

To be fair to them, DS1's primary school were pretty good with letting him try to do what he wanted to & he wasn't banned from being on stage in subsequent years - he just got so twitchy & upset when the nativity play was mentioned that he was asked if he would rather do the "very important job" of helping the teacher with scenery & props behind the scenes . He loved it & felt very important.

As always with SN children, a teacher with a lovely positive "what can we do" not "what can't we do" attitude makes a world of difference. DS1 is 15 now so, believe me, I have encountered plenty of both along the way!

I do Sunday School and the kids decide who they want to be. Last year we had two Maries and six Kings. No donkey, we used a toy hobby horse instead.

I refuse to buy tea towels to put on their head. I just go down the charity shop and buy a couple of long skirts, brown, blue, whatever, and cut them to size. Much more dignifying. Especially as it's often a dad who ends up being the inn keeper.

That sounds good cuppa - our church has done that in recent years too - that's how DS got to fulfil his dream of being the donkey.

You should encourage someone to be the donkey though - it's such a laugh - and "Little Donkey" will bring a tear to many eyes

Ooh yes, they should have a Herod - that could be a great part !

(And they could have a Salome (I think that's right) bringing in a head on a platter .... or perhaps that's a bit later in the story !!)

dd1 is a village idiot er. The whole class are villagers so at least no squabbling. Combined nursery, reception, year 1 and 2 thing. Nursery girls are stars.

DS is a villager wearing PJs - as you do

DD is "Nobody" - she's in Yr2 so it was her one chance at being Mary, and she's not, and she's not an angel, she's nobody I haven't been able to find out what costume she's wearing, because if I bring up the subject she just growls "I'm nobody " at me

Oddly we still have a picture of my daughter as second camel aged 6 years or so. She is now at Oxford university. Mary dropped out in sixth form.

My DS has gone downhill from a star (nursery) to a sheep (pre-school) to Third Inn Keeper. The quiet, well behaved children got the important roles this year - definitely not my DS. sigh

All I remember about my school nativities was that the same smug well behaved goody two shoes played Mary two years in a row. Tuh.

Yeah, I wanted dd to be an Angel, but she is Star Number 2 instead.

Had to stiff upper lip it though as dd was most unimpressed about the whole thing, and thinks its her fault anyway as she cut all her own hair off to her chin in the holidays, even though it has grown back long now. She was also suggesting that she may slap the girl playing an angel (who she doesn't like anyway and the feeling is mutual), so had to tell her she was being silly.

She is now happier as the stars sing a song and do a dance.

From a personal point of view, being an angel or Mary (although a Year 2 gets that part) would have been easier costume wise- it took me an hour in my crap shopping center to find a black t-shirt the other day, but as I was a tree in a school nativity one year, she's done pretty well!

I was NEVER effing Mary. I was the vicar's daughter and so it was seen apparently as favouritism if I got it. Positive effing discrimination.

snort at funnyperson

DD year 6 is Mary - she has 1 line. BUT .... she has SEN (the complicated, complex no one really understands type)and she has carried the 'naughty' girl label for many years and is often shunned by yr 6 girls because she doesn't understand all of the trendy things etc. So I am basking unashamedly smugly in the glory that she is going to be Mary as I feel she has blooming well earned it!! However am well aware she might well cock it up but hey so does that person has had the starring role every year since reception

I refused to be an angel when I was in primary school because it would have required wearing a skirt. My teacher was bemused, but in the end decided it would be best if I was the back end of the donkey. I thought that was brilliant, and made sure that the donkey did plenty of stomping around on the echoey stage in my new boots :)

I was a tree and a villager. Carrying on this acting tradition, so far our talented tribe has included DS1 as a narrator: very upset with this casting, as he wanted to be a Sheep. So he wore the sheep costume, and narrated. We watched it the other day, on the obligatory DVD - he's now ten, and was in stitches. Since then DS2 has been a camel and a star (with non-stop itchy tights).

My ds is a Mouse!

I was picked to be Mary a few times.
God knows why. I'm not the typical candidate. They must've been desperate.

Ds2 has a made up spare part this year but he's all excited about it so i'm not too annoyed. Mind you ds2 just likes to join in whatever. He would probably be excited about being a rock.

ds1 is Herod

typecasting...

I was Mary at Primay school, on several occasions, because I had the Mary look. Olive skin, dark hair. I think my Mum loved it and was probably very smug , but I HATED feeling like everyone was looking at me. I longed to be an angel or whatever and not have the big night nerves of being in the spotlight.

Of course NOW I realise that really only MY parents were looking at me and that all the other parents had their eyes glued to the second-donkey-from-the left (or whoever)