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Original poster

Christmas school/nursery plays

50 replies

Jaybee · 05/12/2002 13:23

Just wondering what your darlings are doing for their Christmas performances? What costumes have you had to make? I feel I have got off lightly this year as the school is doing a production of Swan Lake - dd is a swan and she is doing ballet, ds is Scottish dancing - so all I have to provide is a white scrunchie for dd and a white shirt for ds. My friend's son is in Reception class and they are singing The Ugly Duckling - both my dd and ds are constantly singing it and they and driving me mad!!

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pamina · 06/12/2002 08:48

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

RushingAround · 06/12/2002 11:01

We live on the continent and my ds's school doesn't do the traditional Nativity play that's part of our own childhoods. Must say, makes me sad, I'd have loved to see him as Joseph, a shepherd, a star etc. Ah well... am too starry eyed when I remember my own moment as Mary at 5 yrs (but I dropped baby Jesus and got told off...).
Do most schools in UK still do the traditional Xmas story, or is it more secular these days?

But we have other things to compensate here. Today, 6 Dec, is the feast of St Nicholas. St Nick is Fr Xmas in a different guise - he has a tall hat like a bishop and he arrives on a white horse, (or a tractor if the horse won't cooperate). His sidekick "Black Peter" has a face blackened with soot, he wears a black costume and carries birch twigs to whip the naughty children into shape. (Ow!)
The kids here get their presents today - too long to wait until Christmas! Not my ds and dd tho' - they have to wait for Fr Xmas to come on 24 Dec!

Azzie · 06/12/2002 12:48

Ds, bless his little heart, volunteered to be a toy soldier in his Reception class play this year because he knew he still had the costume from when he was a toy soldier last year at nursery (and it still fits, thank goodness). He said that he thought it would be easier for me if I didn't have to make another costume. Dd is going to be a reindeer, which isn't too bad to do.

sml2 · 06/12/2002 13:13

RushingAround - where are you? we are in north east France. I was disappointed about the nativity play as well!

ScummyMummy · 07/12/2002 20:47

My two are singing carols while we parents drink mulled wine, I see from my nursery newsletter. Ha! Shouting carols more like. Disappointed that they will not be following in my thespian footsteps- I had a rather fine (though unscripted) stand up fight with the chief shepherd when I starred as Mary in my nursery play at about their age. We were both sent from the stage in disgrace.

Caroline5 · 07/12/2002 21:35

Dd is going to be the angel Gabriel apparently, should be interesting as last year she cried loudly throughout!

Playgroup have also said we're not allowed to video in case the film gets into the wrong hands and also for copyright reasons with the music. The mums are unimpressed and I think there will be a rebellion!

XAusted · 08/12/2002 16:39

Dd and ds will be an angel and a king respectively at church next Sun. Costumes provided. Phew. Dd will be a dancer at school play (a musical based on Christmas story). And ds will be a silver crayon at his playgroup production. Yes, a silver crayon. Any tips on turning a 3 3/4 year old into a silver crayon would be much appreciated as I have to provide suitable costume!!!!!

janh · 08/12/2002 19:54

One of mine was a cow in church once. Grandma knitted something divine, with tail, in brown and white blotches. Do you have a knitty grandma?

Otherwise, for a pencil I should think you want a large piece of thin cardboard to enclose the child (arms and all!!!) and another piece, cone-shaped, to go on his head, and spray the lot silver. (Keep the camcorder ready for when he falls over backwards - armless - and send it to You've Been Framed!)

However finding a large enough piece of cardboard might be a problem! (Failing that you could just do white T-shirt/tights sprayed silver + cone-shaped head piece?)

Mine are far too old for all this. What a relief!

janh · 08/12/2002 20:01

RushingAround, my DD2 (aged 4, in Reception) not onlydropped baby Jesus on her way up the stairs to the stage but then, having salvaged him, sat down, black plimsolls swinging, plonked him on her knee upside down and thumped him on the back - quite hard - for the next 5 minutes. Joseph was mortified by the hysterics that followed from the audience- she didn't even notice - and when the show was over and the head got shakily to his feet and said "well I think baby jesus has got his wind up now" the entire place collapsed again and she was still oblivious.
I do have photos but they are all out of focus and shaken!

Azzie, if your DS was a bit older I would be bagsying him for one of my DDs. What a kind and thoughtful boy he is!

WideWebWitch · 08/12/2002 20:14

jac34 and janh, what great stories ds' school isn't doing a play as far as I know. Or maybe I've missed a crucial bit of paper somewhere and will end up having a produce a costume from nowhere at the last minute? Hmmm, better ask tomorrow I think!

WideWebWitch · 08/12/2002 20:16

xausted, could you cover your ds in silver foil to make him look like a silver crayon? Janh's suggestion of cardboard and pointy bit sounds better though maybe you could do cardboard covered in foil?

suedonim · 08/12/2002 23:19

Brilliant stories. And Janh, the knitted cow suit - what a fantastic Gran to have!!

GillW · 09/12/2002 10:17

If you go for silver foil rather than paint, try looking for for silver wrapping paper (the metallic foil type) - it rips a lot less easily than tin foil.

janh · 09/12/2002 13:56

Oh, Suedonim, she used to knit the most amazing sweaters for them when they were little, it was quite sad when they got too old for that kind of thing. She also knitted lots of little dolls with different outfits - a Brownie, a Guide, Batman, a Blackburn Rovers player that I can remember...

In fact she was such a renowned knitter that when DS2 wanted Buzz and Woody for his 4th birthday, and we said that we would give him one and Grandma would give him the other, he went a bit quiet and when we asked what the matter was he burst out "I don't want a knitted one!"

suedonim · 09/12/2002 14:51

Bless, Janh!!

suedonim · 10/12/2002 11:08

That's the Xmas play over with! 230 children took part - I don't know how the teachers organise it, I really don't, esp. as they only had a couple of weeks in which to rehearse becuase of the terrorist closure but it was beautifully performed.

I didn't fancy the refeshments of mulled wine and mince pies at 9.30am and with the outside temp at 106 degrees!!! Phew!

janh · 10/12/2002 12:23

Good grief, suedonim - you have to admire them for going with mulled wine in 106 degrees! (In case you were wondering, it will be a just little cooler than that when you get home...)
The play sounds great, does this mean that the restrictions have been lifted somewhat and things are more normal now? Hope so!

suedonim · 10/12/2002 15:01

Janh, the children have been back at school since 28th Nov, with armed patrols. The threats remain as before but the school has changed its status from being a 'soft' target i.e. easy to hit, to being a 'hard' target to which anyone with mischief on their mind would find difficult to gain entry and even more difficult to exit again. That's the theory, anyway...... The army will be at school for the foreseeable future as there is no means for anyone to say the threat no longer exists.

DH tells me snow is forecast for home this week, brrrr!! I think I'll be layering on the clothes like there's no tomorrow!

janh · 10/12/2002 16:48

It is very very cold at the moment - wind straight from Siberia. Supposed to ease off a bit by the weekend though but you will be wanting your thermals. (And this is tonight's weather forecast brought to you by...)

Ailsa · 10/12/2002 20:58

School plays are driving me MAD!!!! Both dd and ds are angels, HA!

DD's christmas play is more like a panto, this year they're doing Sheik Rattle & Roll. I've now donned ear defenders as dd is going round the house with a pretend microphone singing 'A little less conversation' at the TOP of her voice, aaaaaaaaargh.

DS teacher asked for us to send white clothes to school, examples given were, shorts, t-shirts, tights etc. Apparently his teacher wasn't very happy because I refused to send anything in, since he already has white shorts & t-shirt at school for PE. I told ds to tell his teacher that I said he should wear his PE kit.

willow2 · 10/12/2002 22:29

Went to ds' first christmas concert at his nursery. Spent entire time trying not to giggle as ds, who had been full of how he was going to sing and I mustn't, looked completely bamboozled throughout and steadfastly refused to open his mouth once while all around him tra-la-la'd to their hearts' content. Poor mite appeared traumatised - don't think he realised that there would be any other mummy and daddy's there other than his own. Filmed his bemused face - obviously to use at some point during his 21st birthday celebrations. By the way Bettys - your son was sitting next to mine and sang brilliantly throughout - not sure if you're going to the other concert, but if you can't make it I can lend you some very poorly filmed coverage!

RushingAround · 11/12/2002 15:06

No Nativity play for us - but just heard it's to be (variations on) the Nutcracker Suite! DS is to be a sweetie in the Land of the Sweets, and has been instructed to wear all red/yellow/green/blue. He decided on yellow, so I went to the supermarket (was soooo pleased with my foresight and organisation) and got him some yellow tights to go with his yellow t-shirt. He had a wonderful evening prancing about the house in said attire reciting "We are proud to present". My heart was glowing fit to burst...

Until the next morning, when his teacher said in a kindly way that perhaps tights would make him look a little young, and didn't he have some trousers instead? 'Bad Mother' written on my forehead.

And what do I do now with a pair of bright yellow tights, age 5??? - my own legs would not do them justice I fear.

sml2 - Luxembourg! Where are you? Metz?
SueDonim - where are you? somewhere in SE Asia i think?

bettys · 11/12/2002 15:20

Willow 2 - I'm going to the concert on Thursday, can't wait. Last time at the summer concert I was chortling so much the camera wobbled all over the place. Will your ds be there as he doesn't go on Thursdays? I would have loved to have seen them both sat there wearing their cakes (I'm assuming ds means capes)

willow2 · 11/12/2002 19:13

bettys - no he's not there tomorrow - which is probably a good thing as I don't think he could take another afternoon of singing. This morning he wasn't at all keen on going until I assured him there would be no singing - whereupon he started singing "no singing, just playing". Happy to sing till the cows come home unless everybody else is it seems!

Original poster

Jaybee · 17/12/2002 16:11

RushingAround - sounds as though your school is like ours - they are doing Swan Lake this year - and don't you just love the teachers when they say can you just bring in some yellow trousers!! Who has yellow trousers in their wardrobe??
I am going to wat my two tonight - can't wait!!!

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