SANTA GIVES
BACK CHRISTMAS
by John V. Bartocci
Copyright Notice
CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this Work is subject to a royalty.
This Work is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America and all
countries with which the United States has reciprocal copyright relations, whether through
bilateral or multilateral treaties or otherwise, and including, but not limited to, all countries
covered by the Pan-American Copyright Convention, the Universal Copyright Convention and
the Berne Convention.
RIGHTS RESERVED: All rights to this Work are strictly reserved, including professional and
amateur stage performance rights. Also reserved are: motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public
reading, radio broadcasting, television, video or sound recording, all forms of mechanical or
electronic reproduction, such as CD-ROM, CD-I, DVD, information and storage retrieval systems
and photocopying, and the rights of translation into non-English languages.
PERFORMANCE RIGHTS AND ROYALTY PAYMENTS: All amateur and stock
performance rights to this Work are controlled exclusively by Christian Publishers. No amateur
or stock production groups or individuals may perform this play without securing license and
royalty arrangements in advance from Christian Publishers. Questions concerning other rights
should be addressed to Christian Publishers. Royalty fees are subject to change without notice.
Professional and stock fees will be set upon application in accordance with your producing
circumstances. Any licensing requests and inquiries relating to amateur and stock (professional)
performance rights should be addressed to Christian Publishers.
Royalty of the required amount must be paid, whether the play is presented for charity or profit
and whether or not admission is charged.
AUTHOR CREDIT: All groups or individuals receiving permission to produce this play must
give the author(s) credit in any and all advertisement and publicity relating to the production of
this play. The author’s billing must appear directly below the title on a separate line where no
other written matter appears. The name of the author(s) must be at least 50% as large as the title
of the play. No person or entity may receive larger or more prominent credit than that which is
given to the author(s).
PUBLISHER CREDIT: Whenever this play is produced, all programs, advertisements, flyers or
other printed material must include the following notice: Produced by special arrangement with
Christian Publishers.
COPYING: Any unauthorized copying of this Work or excerpts from this Work is strictly
forbidden by law. No part of this Work may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form, by any means now known or yet to be invented, including photocopying
or scanning, without prior permission from Christian Publishers.
Copyright © Christian Publishers
Printed in the United States of America
All Rights Reserved
Santa Gives
Back Christmas
A lighthearted comedy
for children
by John V. Bartocci
2
CAST OF CHARACTERS
VOICE 1 and 2
SANTA
MRS. CLAUS
GABRIEL (the angel)
STAR (of Bethlehem)
Children of the World
CHILD 1
CHILD 2
CHILD 3
CHILD 4
CHILD 5
CHILD 6
CHILD 7
Elves
ELF 1
ELF 2
ELF 3
ELF 4
LITTLE ELF
BIG ELF
Reindeer
DASHER
DANCER
PRANCER
VIXEN
BLITZEN
RUDOLPH
Nonspeaking Reindeer (optional)
COMET
CUPID
DONNER
PRESCHOOL CHOIR (optional)
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
3
PRODUCTION NOTES
Santa Gives Back Christmas is ideal for a cast of twenty-five to
thirty children, ages four to sixteen. However, adults or a mix
of adults and children could also make for a fun and
entertaining production.
The play is staged with most of the characters on stage
throughout the performance. This eliminates the challenge of
getting children on and off the stage and makes it easier to
have everyone available for singing. The cast may be expanded
or contracted easily by adding nonspeaking reindeer or
redistributing some of the elf or child dialog. This works well
for children who might enjoy singing and being part of the fun
but prefer not to have a speaking part.
Synopsis: This play is set in Santa’s workshop at the North
Pole. Santa Claus is concerned because he has become too
popular with the children of the world and he fears they have
forgotten the true meaning of Christmas. He decides that he
will bring all the children to the North Pole and teach them the
story of Jesus’ birth.
In this lighthearted comedy, Santa’s elves and reindeer help
him tell the story of Jesus’ birth to the children of the world.
Traditional Christmas carols are mixed in throughout the
performance to enhance the story.
The Set: The stage is divided into three sections: a hearth
room, Santa’s workshop, and a stable for the reindeer.
The hearth room is set Stage Right. A simple rocking chair and
a fireplace are all that are needed. The hearth room doubles as
a living room at the end of the play.
Santa’s workshop is set Center Stage. A brightly lit Christmas
tree is located Upstage Center. Two small rectangular tables
are positioned in front of the tree at angles. Between the tables
is a giant red Santa’s sack stuffed and overflowing with toys.
Decorate the tables to look like elf workbenches. The table
nearest the hearth room is a toy-making station and the table
nearest the reindeer is a paint and wrap station.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
4
To create the feeling of being at the North Pole, design a
backdrop that includes some large painted windows that
show the elements outside. If you have artistic talent
available, add a bit of playfulness by painting something
outside the windows, such as cartoon penguins at play.
Examples: penguins ice skating, skiing, or sledding.
The reindeer stable is set Stage Left. Line the reindeer up
behind a rail or stall. To add color, try using some gold
Easter grass as reindeer food.
Props: A few half-assembled toys and a wooden hammer
make excellent props to adorn the toy-making station. On the
other table, place a brightly colored finished toy,
paintbrushes and containers marked “red” or “blue,” and
some wrapping paper. Little Elf will need a bag of glitter to
be used as pixie dust.
A Nativity set will need to be wrapped up as a gift in an
easy-to-open box for the children to open at the end of the
play. Place it under the tree.
Costumes: A Santa and Mrs. Claus suit are required, as is
one angel outfit for Gabriel. Create elf costumes by stitching
a simple tunic out of green felt. An easy no-sewing option is
to fold a length of fabric in half, cut out a semicircle for the
head, and leave the sides open. The tunic may be belted if
you wish. Elf hats complete with elf ears may be purchased
at most Christmas novelty shops.
The reindeer should wear a red felt collar with jingle bells
attached. Fasten it with Velcro. Antler headbands for the
reindeer may also be purchased at most novelty shops. Add
black gloves and brown sweats if desired. Dasher needs to have
a set of antlers that stand out from the others. For a nice sight
gag, try using antlers with flashing lights that can be turned
on by pushing a button when Dasher says, “Have you ever seen
antlers as marvelous as these?” Rudolph can wear a red clown
nose.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
5
The children characters should be costumed in pajamas and
nightgowns. A younger child should play the Star (of
Bethlehem). The costume should be designed for maximum
“cuteness.” A star shape may be cut from cardboard and
covered with foil. It may be worn on the front of the child,
attached to his or her shirt, or it may have a hole cut in the
middle to be worn as a collar or framing the child’s face.
Lighting: The hearth room should be dimmed after Santa
and Mrs. Claus’s initial scene. If available, use a spotlight on
the Nativity set at the end of the play.
Music: “Away in a Manger” (two verses)
“Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” (entire song)
“Deck the Halls” (two verses)
“O Little Town of Bethlehem” (two verses)
“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
“Hark the Herald Angels Sing” (first and third verses
recommended)
“Silent Night” (repeat first verse twice if desired)
Playing time: Forty to fifty minutes
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Scene 1
(Scene opens with the stage dark.)
VOICE 1: (Off-stage) It’s Christmas Eve and children
throughout the world can hardly contain their
excitement. Christmas means Santa Claus is coming,
and Santa means presents. It’s no wonder that
Christmas has become the most popular holiday.
(The stage lights come up on the entire set. In the hearth
room at Stage Right, SANTA stands beside MRS. CLAUS,
who sits in a rocker by the fire. The ELVES are working in
their workshop at Center Stage. Position BIG ELF, LITTLE
ELF, and ELF 1 behind the toy-making station and ELF 2,
ELF 3, and ELF 4 behind the paint and wrap station. When
not engaged in dialog the ELVES can pantomime making
and painting toys. The REINDEER stand or sit in the
reindeer stable at Stage Left. The CHILDREN characters
should be dressed in nightclothes and seated in the front row
of seats.
If you have a PRESCHOOL CHOIR they should be
brought up front at this point dressed in nightclothes to sing.
Use a spotlight if available. If your congregation does not
have a PRESCHOOL CHOIR, then the CHILDREN in the
front row may stand and sing.)
SONG: “Away in a Manger” (two verses)
(After the PRESCHOOL CHOIR sings, the CHILDREN in
the front row stand and the entire CAST sings.)
SONG: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”
(Lights down.)
VOICE 2: (Off-stage, a mother’s voice) You’d better get to bed,
children. Santa won’t come if you are awake.
(PRESCHOOL CHOIR exits and may be taken out to the
audience to enjoy the show.)
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
7
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
Scene 2
(The lights come up on the hearth room. SANTA is pacing
the floor. MRS. CLAUS sits in the rocking chair.)
SANTA: Oh my, my. This is not good. Not good at all.
MRS. CLAUS: What is it, dear?
SANTA: How could this have happened?
MRS. CLAUS: How could what have happened, dear?
SANTA: It’s awful, just awful!
MRS. CLAUS: Awful?
SANTA: It’s dreadful!
MRS. CLAUS: Dreadful, dear?
SANTA: I’m going to have to do something about this.
MRS. CLAUS: (Shocked) Oh my! What could possibly be so
awfully dreadful on Christmas Eve?
SANTA: I’ll tell you what. I’ll tell you. (Long pause) Kids
everywhere think I’m the greatest guy who ever lived.
MRS. CLAUS: And that’s awful?
SANTA: They think I’m the “coolest.” Whatever that means.
MRS. CLAUS: Yes, well, they love you, dear.
SANTA: I know they love me, but they are forgetting what
Christmas is all about. I’ve become too big a hit. I’m
afraid they’ve lost the true meaning of Christmas.
MRS. CLAUS: They’re just excited to see you, dear.
SANTA: Of course they’re excited to see me — hey, wait
a minute. I never let them see me. I sneak in like a
spirit in the night. (Pantomimes sneaking on tiptoe.) I’m a
Stealth Santa.
MRS. CLAUS: Some stealth. Let’s see, you got caught eating
chocolate chip cookies by Billy Johnson last year. And
you scared poor Jessica Drummond to death when
you knocked over their Christmas tree in ninety-eight.
And then there was Soon-Li in ninety-six, Federico in
ninety-five …
SANTA: All right, all right. So nobody’s perfect. Nobody
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
8
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
except for (Pauses and points to the sky) you know who.
And that is precisely the point. Everyone’s talking about
me when they are supposed to be celebrating him.
MRS. CLAUS: Well, whatever can you do, dear? You can’t
expect the children to stop loving you.
SANTA: I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t go out this year.
MRS. CLAUS: (Gasps.) Oh no, dear. They look forward to
you coming all year long. You can’t not go. It would
crush them.
SANTA: Yes, you’re right, but I’ve got to do something.
(Pacing) Hey, I know! I’ll bring the children here and I’ll
tell them about the true meaning of Christmas. Yes.
That’s what I’ll do. That will be my gift!
MRS. CLAUS: All of them, dear? Here? You’re bringing all
of the children of the world here for … oh, my! (Gets up
and starts scurrying around, picking up and dusting.) I had
better get this place picked up. It’s been so long since
we’ve had visitors. Oh, my! (The lights go down on the
hearth room and then come up on the full stage.)
SONG: “Deck the Halls” (CAST sings two verses. The lights go
down. SANTA and MRS. CLAUS are frozen.)
Scene 3
(The lights come up on everything except the hearth room.
The ELVES are busy making toys. The CHILDREN seated
in the front row come On-stage and look around in awe and
wonder.)
CHILD 1: Oh, wow! Santa’s workshop! This is so cool!
CHILD 2: It’s just like I imagined it would be.
CHILD 3: Look at all these toys! (Goes over to the workbench
and picks up a toy.)
ELF 1: Ah, ah, ah. No, no, no. I’m afraid you’ll have to put
that down. These toys have not been elf-inspected yet.
CHILD 3: Sorry about that.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
9
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
CHILD 4: Oh, wow! You guys are elves, aren’t you?
CHILD 5: I’ve never seen an elf before. You’ve got big ears.
CHILD 2: And look! (Pointing to reindeer stable) Reindeer!
ALL KIDS: (Ad lib) Neat! Cool! Awesome! (Etc.)
CHILD 6: I wonder if they can fly. I bet they can!
CHILD 3: Which one is Comet? He’s my favorite.
CHILD 7: I like Blister!
ELF 2: Blister? I think you mean Blitzen. (Rolls his eyes.)
CHILD 7: Yeah, Blinkin, that’s who I like.
ELF 2: You wouldn’t like him very much if you had to feed
him.
CHILD 6: Can you make the reindeer fly? I want to see
them fly.
ALL KIDS: (Ad lib) Yeah! I want to see them fly too. Can
you? Can you? (Etc. SANTA and MRS. CLAUS enter
workshop from hearth room.)
SANTA: Ho, ho, ho! Hello, children. Welcome to the North
Pole.
ALL KIDS: (Shout together) Santa! (CHILDREN gather around
SANTA for a hug.)
SANTA: It’s really good to see all of you. Do you like the
North Pole?
ALL KIDS: Yeah!
CHILD 2: How did we get here, Santa?
SANTA: Why, I just used a little Christmas magic, my dear.
(Holds his finger to his nose.) Now I’d like for you all to
come over here and sit down because I brought you here
to tell you an important story. (Once the CHILDREN are
seated, SANTA paces in front of them.) Let’s see now.
Where should I begin? Hmmm. (He gets an idea.) Ah-ha.
(Decides against it.) No, no, that’s no good. Hmmm. I
know. Yes. Can anyone here tell me what Christmas is
all about?
CHILD 5: It’s about you. (Pointing) Santa Claus.
CHILD 3: It’s about presents.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
CHILD 2: Big presents!
CHILD 7: Lots of presents!
CHILD 4: No, no, no. It’s about giving.
CHILD 2: Yeah, that’s why you give us toys.
SANTA: Well, that’s partly true. It is about giving, but not
about giving toys. You see, God loves us very much,
and God gave us the whole world to enjoy.
ELF 1: God gave us sunshine.
ELF 2: And rain …
ELF 3: And mountains …
ELF 4: And oceans.
LITTLE ELF: God gave us pixie dust. (Throws some glitter in
the air.)
SANTA: Most importantly, God gave us his very own Son.
CHILD 6: Did God give us you, Santa?
SANTA: Well, I suppose he did.
ALL KIDS: Yea!
SANTA: (Signaling for quiet) Now, the thing is, after we die,
God wants us to come to heaven. But first we must ask
to be forgiven for all the bad things that we’ve done
here on earth.
CHILD 4: But you don’t do bad things, Santa.
SANTA: Oh, I’ve been known to eat a few too many
chocolate chip cookies from time to time. (Pats his belly.)
But that’s beside the point.
ELF 1: (Taking over) The point is that God sent us his Son
from heaven, and his Son was free of all sin. In fact, he
was perfect, even better than Santa. He was sent here
to forgive us of our sins.
ELF 4: During his life he did many wonderful things. He
taught us to love God and also to love each other.
ELF 1: In the end, he gave his own life so that God would let
us into heaven. Does anyone know the name of God’s
Son?
CHILD 5: Jesus?
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
11
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
ELF 1: That’s right. Jesus. And we celebrate Christmas
because that’s the day that Jesus was born.
CHILD 2: What was that day like, Santa?
ALL KIDS: (Ad lib) Yeah, tell us. Please, tell us. (Etc.)
SANTA: Well, first an angel appeared to a young couple
named Joseph and Mary.
ALL KIDS: (Ad lib) An angel? Wow! (Etc.)
SANTA: Yes, it was the angel Gabriel.
GABRIEL: (Enters from the aisle.) Yes, it was I who appeared
to Joseph and Mary. I told them that Mary was going
to give birth to a very special child, the Son of God.
They were very surprised, but I told them to have faith
and not to worry. I told them that God had given them
this child and that he wanted them to name him Jesus.
Being of good faith, Joseph took Mary to Bethlehem to
have the child.
ELF 2: There is a song about Bethlehem. Do you know it?
(CHILDREN nod.)
SONG: “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (CAST sings two verses.)
ELF 2: And so Joseph went with Mary to Bethlehem …
ELF 3: Yeah, it goes like this, see. I’ll be Joseph. And Mrs.
Claus, you can be Mary, and …
LITTLE ELF: (Chiming in) Oh, Mrs. Claus is always merry.
And Santa is jolly!
ELF 2: Not that kind of merry, you elf-wit. Mary. M-A-R-Y.
Mary, as in Jesus’ mother Mary.
LITTLE ELF: Oh, that Mary. Of course you meant that
Mary. Why, every elf knows Mary.
ELF 3: Right. So I’m Joseph, you’re Mary, (Points to MRS.
CLAUS) and Dasher, you can be the donkey that takes
us to Bethlehem.
DASHER: (In a snooty tone. All the REINDEER are snobbish —
perhaps even using a British accent.) I can’t be the donkey.
You are much better suited to be the donkey than I. I’ll
play Joseph, and you play the donkey.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
12
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
ELF 3: How can you play Joseph? Joseph walks on two
legs. You walk on four — and you have hooves — like a
don-key.
DASHER: Yes, that’s true. However, donkeys do not have
antlers. Have you ever seen antlers as marvelous as
these? (DASHER’s antlers should stand out from the others.
Try using flashing antlers for a good laugh.) But they do
have rather large ears, like an elf. And that is precisely
why you should play the donkey.
ELF 3: Oh, would you just take us to Bethlehem?
MRS. CLAUS: Yes, take us to Bethlehem, please. And no
flying. This isn’t a reindeer story, you know.
RUDOLPH: (Perking up) Reindeer story! I know a great
reindeer story and it’s all about me, Rudolph!
DANCER: Yes, I like that story too. Well, except for the part
where we wouldn’t let you join in any reindeer games.
(All of the REINDEER hang their heads in shame as they
remember.)
PRANCER: Terrible behavior on our part.
VIXEN: Quite inexcusable, really.
BLITZEN: Still feeling bad about that one.
VIXEN: We were such bullies back then.
RUDOLPH: Yeah, but in the end you all loved me, remember?
VIXEN: That’s right, we did.
BLITZEN: Of course we did. What kind of reindeer would we
be if we didn’t?
DANCER: How could we not have loved you? You only
saved Christmas that year. (All the REINDEER start
dancing around and singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed
Reindeer” until ELF 4 interrupts them.)
ELF 4: Excuse me. (Loudly) Excuse me! (The REINDEER get
quiet.) Like she said, this is not a reindeer story.
VIXEN: Oops!
BLITZEN: Sorry about that.
DANCER: Yes, please continue.
This perusal script is for reading purposes only.
No performance or photocopy rights are conveyed.
Thank you for reading this free excerpt from:
SANTA GIVES BACK CHRISTMAS
by John V. Bartocci.
For performance rights and/or a complete copy of the script,
please contact us at:
CHRISTIAN PUBLISHERS
P.O. Box 248 - Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406
Toll Free: 1-844-841-6387 - Fax (319) 368-8011
[email protected]