Notes: This assembly was done every day for a week and had 2 people leading it. You could adapt it for one person to deliver it. The ‘Guess The Santa’ game requires some preparation (see description of the game later on in the assembly). We also gave away the onesies we used as a competition throughout the week.

Equipment: Laptop, Projector, Speakers, Retooning the Nativity Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-4y5mK_o9E), Christmas clothing (as ridiculous as possible) and 2 Christmas onesies.

At the start of the assembly 2 people, both wearing Christmas onesies walk on.

Person 1: Good morning everyone, We’re here this morning to bring you an assembly that is a little bit different as we approach Christmas and I don’t know about you but as I walk around the shops at Christmas and see all the different Christmas things I wonder if it’s all got a bit ridiculous.

(Both look at onesies at this point)

Person 2: And so this morning we’re going to see if Christmas has got a bit ridiculous or if it’s always been like that.

So let’s start off by playing a game…guess the santa!

Guess The Santa Game

In advance you will have needed to get some photos of teachers from the school dressed in a santa hat and beard. If you can’t manage that perhaps use some well known celebrities…lots of websites have done ‘celebrities dressed as santa’ games.

Show the photos and ask the young people to guess who they think the Santa is.

Person 1: Ok so there’s lots of santa’s around at Christmas but that doesn’t make Christmas ridiculous…it’s just a bit of fun.

Person 2: True but have you seen the amount of Christmas stuff there is…there’s not just Christmas onesies…there’s all sorts of Christmas stuff around…allow me to show you. Here’s a bag of Christmas things…

Ask for a volunteer to come up and be dressed in all sorts of Christmas things (we fixed a Christmas tree to a bike helmet!)

Person 1: Look at all the Christmas things you can get…there’s a Christmas jumper, we have Christmas socks, we have some baubles you can wear on your ears, we have some tinsel, we can add some lights…we even have a tree.

Looks at the person dressed up.

Ok, maybe Christmas is getting a little bit silly

(Invite the person dressed up to take a seat near the front)

Person 2: See, I was right. Christmas has gotten ridiculous.

Person 1: Maybe…but wasn’t it always verging on the ridiculous. In the Christmas story you have Mary being visited by an Angel, getting pregnant, travelling on a donkey for miles and giving birth in a stable…and that’s before there’s a load of shepherds, sheep and wise men with really odd gifts

Person 2: It wasn’t quite like that…we have changed the story a bit. This video explains it.

Video: Retooning The Nativity

Person 2: Whilst it may feel like Christmas can be a little bit silly sometimes behind all the Christmas onesies, Christmas jumpers & busy nativity scenes there’s actually something really exciting and something we really should be celebrating.

Person 1: Thanks for listening…if you would like to win one of the Christmas onesies from this assembly there’s a competition on the Christian Union page of the VLE (school intranet). We’ll announce the winners and get the prizes out Friday lunchtime.

Full details are on the screen.

We hope you all have a fantastic Christmas