Why don't they do classic nativities any more?

[SnuggleBuggleBoo]

Why do they feel the need to be 'clever', having it told from the point of view of aliens or whatever, with 'original' songs? What's wrong with just the plain old traditional story and well known carols? I just think it's a shame.

Agree it is annoying with the aliens etc, no idea what’s going on, I would much prefer a traditional play and I especially wish they’d do traditional Christmas music.

Dc school does a traditional nativity, with lovely little songs that are easy for the tiny ones to sing.

I remember a colleague in the early 2000s lamenting the octopus in the nativity. So in excess of 20 years ago.

We're doing Alice in Wonderland 🙄

I like the ‘new’ nativities, although I agree they are not very new. They’re better because they give more children the chance to have a bigger role and stop the competition for Mary or Joseph while still having the nice little baby Jesus scene at the end.

The children enjoy the songs much more than they do carols, they are easier for them to learn and schools can always stick a carol into their production if they want to. We have Reception and Y1 in our nativity so parents who have more than one child see the nativity a minimum of four times. It would get boring if the same script was used every year.

There’s about 10 parts in a traditional nativity, unless you want to have everyone else be a sheep, an extra inkeeper or a random ‘villager’*

My daughter is in a school nursery and they seem to be doing a fairly typical nativity though, although the songs are all nursery rhymes with the words changed as far as I can gather. I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

*I played one of said villagers in the early 80s. One of my classmates laughed at me and told me that villagers were men, and I cried. It was a step up from being a tree the year before though.

My reception aged DD is doing a traditional nativity tomorrow (tiny village school). She’s an angel and they’re singing away in a manger, little donkey and we wish you a merry Christmas. I have my tissues ready 🥹

I have my first school nativity tomorrow - seems traditional, no octopuses at least. They've added extra sheep and shepherds my ds4 tells me. But along with away in a manger, he's also practising his dance moves to 'I like to move it move it'... Ds is excited, that's what matters!

It's so there are more parts so more can be included

I imagine because it's incredibly dull to do the same thing, year in year out. I also imagine it can also include more children with more speaking parts.

Our school does a traditional one in Key Stage 1. They’ve had the odd jazzed up script/framing device but it’s always around the Christmas story, and the past couple of years it’s been a standard, no frills nativity.

Today was my day off and I helped my vicar friend with the church toddler group nativity rehearsal today. Honestly the best laugh I have had in ages. We nearly lost a shepherd (he was hiding behind the font), Mary hurled the baby Jesus into the manger from 3 metres away, and the donkey bolted).

Needless to say my friend and I are now drinking wine at her house and howling with laughter.

I was a shepherd in 1969 and Mary in 1979 😇

I think nativities have always had a bit of a ‘twist’ with original songs etc. I went to Catholic primary school in the 90’s and the nativity we did was very similar to my DD’s nativity - the basic story but with original songs and maybe something quirky like talking animals etc, still angels with white sheets and tinsel round their head..that has survived for 30 years!

I'm quite surprised by this thread. My DC are 4 and 8 and their pre school and primary have traditional nativities as do all of my friend's kids schools in the same town. I didn't realise this was so unusual.

Genuine question, the but in Love Actually where the kid is lobster in the nativity.... I always thought this was so outlandish and that was a joke? Was that not a joke?!

OH I remember the wriggle Nativity that was fun.

Years 1 and 2 Nativity had us laughing so hard today we were crying. There were some star performers who went off script dance wise. Joseph threw Jesus at Mary because they'd mislaid him, Joseph found him under a chair and lobbed him over. One angel was doing the macarena dance during a song. 🤣🤣

They haven’t for years. I was lucky enough to be Mary in ours in 1993. Everyone else in my class was a Roman soldier and my cousin’s class were all octopuses.

I drove past my local primary school earlier, just as parents and kids were leaving after what must have been a Christmas performance. Loads of kids dressed in traditional nativity costumes. So that school doesn't fit your generalised 'they'.

"It would get boring if the same script was used every year"

Seems to have worked okay for around two thousand years so far...

I think people are confusing plays. All of the ‘modern’ (but actually not that modern at all) plays still tell the story of the nativity. They still have Mary and Joseph etc. They are just told from varying viewpoints. The aliens one is basically just them watching a school nativity. The songs are all fun with actions.

I remember when I was in year 2 (early 90s) I played the Spanish princess (I'm not Spanish) at Jesus birth. I had one line 😂

I think it's just a way of giving children different roles and lines and keep the interest going. If they did the same nativity with the same songs for 7 years I imagine they would just not be interested anymore.

My neighbour's 5 year old granddaughter has told him she is playing 'a door' in the school nativity. He was a bit surprised but didn't want to press her.

I was tempted to ask if this was a squeaking part.

Number of parts - in a 3 form entry infant school, a traditional nativity doesn't come close to being able to include 90 reception children - and ease of learning songs for the children. We have 'taught' the songs a couple of times and then played the CD in the background of other activities, children picked them up really well (because they're catchy and we usually had actions too).

Plus, although they were from the likes of Out of the Ark/Grumpy Sheep, they usually told the story of the nativity from a different view point - we did 'Busy, Busy, Bethlehem', 'Whoops-a-Daisy Angel', 'Born in a Barn', 'Wiggle the Hump'...all telling the nativity story.

Loving the thought of the Queen version of We Will Rock You in the school nativity play I'm old, and my finest moment was being cast as Mary herself in my nativity play circa 1970 there was no baby Jesus in the crib, just a torch which I was supposed to switch on when we started singing "see him lying on a bed of straw" to produce a halo effect over the crib, only I messed it up due to nerves and couldn't switch it on! Hearing that particular carol brings it all back!

It's 'Bethlehem Bake Off' for the youngest this year. "It's the story that you know/ just with extra dough" from what he's been singing around the house

I watched the same nativity play for 6 years on the trot but luckily I love it. My grandchildren did more quirky plays but I missed the traditional carols. Away In A Manger sung by young children is just beautiful.