I do not like nativity plays

[ZippyPeer]

Went to my first one to watch my daughter, huge discovery that I do not like them. My view:
The play wasn't funny or an interesting story.
An irritating number of sexist stereotypes in the reimagined story - innkeepers wife fgs.
A few kids clearly actively hated being involved - not enjoyable to see them suffering.
Lots of the kids looking exceedingly bored or like they didn't really want to be there.
Reminded me of when I had to perform in them as a child and the literal hours of waiting around doing nothing during rehearsals and on the day and being told to shush and sit still - so boring.
Nice to see my daughter doing her bit and some of the other kids I know, and see the differences in the way the kids were on stage, but like, no where near enough to offset the other stuff...

Probably I won't go again and will leave it to the enthusiasts, but are there other people who feel this way?

Am absolutely bemused by the number of people who seem to love them.

Yabu - do you have no soul, the nativity is delightful
Yabu - it's a pain in the arse we all have to endure

I don't think many people like them, we just suck it up and go to see our kids do their part 🤣

The kids always talk so quietly, and babies screaming in the audience, you can't hear anything anyway.

Wow, you are a bit of an old misery, OP 😅

Come on, it's definitely something that most people find slightly more boring than the average National Theatre production, but obviously it's hardly Shakespeare so what do you expect? 😜

My youngest is in her first nativity play tomorrow, and has been joyfully singing out of tune loudly for the past few weeks. It's delightful, a special time i will always cherish, and I will look back on my children with fond memories of their happy time at their primary school.

I know it isn't a slick production but it's a sweet, special way to be there for my family. Enjoy your children, OP. They are only little once 😟💕

They’re shit tbh. I’d much rather they were learning in a classroom rather than having weeks of rehearsals.

it was very uncomfortable watching my ds on stage who was looking very very out of place and was struggling standing on stage and being expected to perform.

he used to get anxiety about school plays so now he opts out of them completely

This.

Just this.

Thank you for your beautiful reply. I cried at your special words. It's definitely described the epitome of nativity plays.

You sound a wonderful chaperone for the amateur production. They are lucky to have you.💕

Oh I absolutely loved the nativities and I’m usual a big cynic.
It’s just all the innocence you see knowing that eventually they’ll grow up and never want to sing as loud and proud or wave and look so excited to see you. I used to love how it wasn’t polished, remember one shepherd shouting he was starving and if he could have a mince pie to his mum at the back.
Sure enough mine are now teenagers and it went in the blink of an eye.

Eh? How can you say loads of people have said to you how they enjoy them and then say parents aren’t enjoying it.

The HOURS of dance shows I’ve sat through for my niece is ridiculous. It means something to her though and she means everything to me.

You have such a selfish perspective on things. This took a couple of hours out of your night, get over it.

I must be super sentimental because they make me cry. It's been a very long time since I saw an actual nativity because they don't do them here in the US, where were live at least, but plays put on by infant school aged kids?! LOVE them.

It’s sad that your ds was so uncomfortable, but that hardly makes nativity plays “shit” as a concept.

Do you have a partner? He or she can go next year. I found school productions hard for different reasons and taking turns helped.

I don’t find my kids shows that interesting whether it’s a choir concert or nativity unless my kids are on stage. I find that I am still forever at them many many years down the line.

However I am always proud of all the kids for having a go and all the work that must go into this before the show by the kids and the teachers. When some kids wave at their parents or bellow their line too loud and when they all take their bow, 9/10 even if a child hasn’t had a line to know their parents have seen them and are proud of them means so much.

Also the older my kids get the less cute they get I find myself longing for the days of them prancing about like cute angels or Shepard's! And the photos I can look back on over Xmas shows from the last 15 or so more years are so worth the hour or so of being sat in a hot hall feeling uncomfortable and not quite being able to hear.

my advice is take photos but especially videos as they have become so important as my kids have gotten older, especially hearing their little cute voices if they have lines.

I think the inn keepers wife was just another chance to get a role for another child. My cousin was a twig . He wasn’t even a tree . He was a twig on a tree. He had to dress all in brown and loved every second and my aunt cried when he came on stage.

Genuine enthusiast here. Absolutely love them. I usually struggle to hold back a tear. The innocent little faces singing in harmony. But I am a total sap in general.

Your kid will be looking for you in the audience that’s why you go. Not the acting capabilities of 4 year olds 🤔

I do agree with this - of course in 0BCE, the women would likely have got stuck with the cleaning. Sure. But I don’t see why this needs to be - presumably jokingly??- included in a school nativity play? Couldn’t the innkeeper couple both stand there and say “no room”, remember about the stable, whatever? It does annoy me when school plays or tv shows or adverts or whatever just bring in the tropes of henpecked idiot husbands, cleaning / handbag obsessed wives etc, for no reason whatsoever.

I do love the nativity plays though. They’re all concentrating so hard. And the post above on what it takes to get to that stage is spot on. Also, I really like that this is a very very old tradition - it’s nice. I’m completely atheist, but I like this bit of heritage remaining in the guise of school nativity plays.

I had to attend the same nativity every year for 11 years when my dc were at school!
Every year I'd quietly mian to friends about having to go, every year I'd start crying as soon as the P1s started singing (and every year I forgot to bring tissues!)
By the time mine were on stage I was wearing an idiotic grin (still crying) and clapping like a mad woman. And by the time they all sang "Christmas isn't Christmas till you feel it in your heart," in their sweet little earnest voices, I was a blubbering wreck, and felt like the world was actually a good place for about an hour afterwards, and couldn't remember why I was so reluctant to go.

I think youre a bit humbug, OP!

My husband asked about taking time off for our older child's nativity this year.

I had to explain to him that there wasn't one. There's an age limit for how long you can stick kids in a sheep costume, and at 8 they'd reached the ceiling on it.

I think he'd thought that this was something they'd do all through primary school and we'd still be rocking up to support our son as Shepherd 3 the year before he leaves for secondary.

Sadly not.

You need to know about it so when you hear comedians talking about how wise women would have shown up with nappies and cream, and stopped the little drummer boy making a racket, you can laugh at the jokes more.

I loved them! It used to make me tear up seeing all those innocent little faces beaming at their parents. My DD’s school must have had someone very funny writing them, there were always plenty of jokes added in that got laughs from the audience.

Was the Innkeeper’s wife running a knocking shop upstairs?

That would be a bit of a departure from the script.

It takes time and effort for schools to put on a nativity. Teachers probably don’t enjoy it and would rather do an activity where they are not under the spotlight. But it’s a cute tradition and a memory for you and your child. If you really don’t want to go send someone else to be there for your child and go to work instead. If not fake a smile and tell your child you were so proud of them and thank the teachers for their time and effort.

As a pp said, you sound like a barrel of laughs. Lighten up & try to enjoy your little girls childhood! There's plenty of time for the fight against the patriarchy and gender stereotypes when she's older. Why do some people have to turn everything into a fight 🙄

I bet you're fun at parties

Not all learning takes place in the classroom.

Ah, you have a daughter....

*actual footage of OP when her kid is picked to play Mary next year.

Enjoyed your 15 minutes of mn fame? Its Christmas, it's tradition, kids do remember it fondly generally(I was a star one year. I had such stage fright i refused to go on and wee'ed myself (I was 4) but I look back and laugh now), it's not going to be RSC written by Tom Stoppard standard. If you don't like it, don't go. But dont expect everyone else to agree with your weird ideas.