13 Christmas Assembly Ideas for Primary School
For many primary school children, Christmas is the most exciting and magical time of year. From counting down the days on their advent calendars to praying every single night for the gift of a white Christmas (*crosses fingers for this year*), it’s a time for joy and education in equal measure.
So how do you get the right balance for your KS1 and KS2 Christmas assembly? Read on and we’ll tell you! Whether you want to put a spin on a whole primary school nativity or sing some truly brilliant and festive Christmas assembly songs, here are some unforgettable Christmas assembly ideas for all primary school children to enjoy!
Creative Ideas for Your Christmas Assembly
A Christmas assembly can be the most wonderful of occasions, brimming with anticipation and seasonal goodwill. In terms of content, anything festive goes really, but here are some creative ideas for a school Christmas show to get you started.
1. Sing Your Heart Out
Who doesn’t love a good old-fashioned festive sing song? Whilst the usual Christmas tunes can get a little tired year after year, we offer a range of original school Christmas song packs, such as our catchy and hip-bopping ‘Let’s Get Singing Christmas’ songbook.
If you are looking for the classics, we also have songbooks with the more traditional Christmas carols for schools, as featured in our popular ‘Glad Tidings Carol Service’.
All our Christmas songs have been composed for primary school children between 5 and 11 years old, so you’re sure to find something for everyone.
You can explore our fantastic Christmas assembly songs, listen to our song samples, and pick up many of the songs at a 100% discount on our website!
2. Create an Advent Calendar
Looking for an interesting Christmas assembly idea to celebrate Advent?
To create a bit of audience participation, ask the school to put their hands up and suggest one word that reminds them of Christmas. It could be anything from presents to Christmas pudding, to holly (and perhaps even a few biblical references too!). Use a large board with 24 squares drawn on it and write or draw each word in a square to form what could look like an advent calendar. Prior to your assembly, you could ask a class to decorate the board in Christmas colours so that it looks festive and, once you have filled all the boxes, it can be used as a discussion point for the rest of your festive EYFS Christmas assembly. Why not include our Behind Every Door festive song which brings to life the traditional advent calendar?
3. Get Poetic
You can spread the joy of Christmas through poetry too by asking the children to write poems about Christmas either in groups during their English lessons, or individually as part of their homework. Ask them to include what Christmas means to them, why they’re excited about the big day, or just a few verses on the things that remind them of Christmas. A selection of poetry can then be performed by the children, perfect for KS2 Christmas assemblies.
4. Go Global
Teaching the nativity story often forms part of our school Christmas traditions in the UK, but what are other traditions from around the world? Prior to the day of your festive assembly, put your class into groups of four or five, allocate them to a country, and discuss each country’s Christmas tradition. This makes for an additional fun, end-of-term Christmas activity.
You could then bring together the right props and costumes, as well as do some festive flag artwork and create different scenes during your Christmas assembly to encapsulate each country’s Christmas tradition. This could be a nice discussion point in your assembly and one that could also encourage audience participation.
5. Break Tradition
We defy anyone who says they don’t know the tune to ‘The 12 Days of Christmas’! So why not switch things up a bit and have some fun by changing the lyrics into something about your school? You could then have the words projected onto a screen during your Christmas assembly in the hope of teaching the words to the whole school (your class, of course, already know them, meaning they can act as a buffer if you’re not the world’s best singer...) and enjoy a fun festive sing-along. Just make sure you have a willing pianist to hand!
Or, why not try adding a few school-specific touches to our toe-tapping song, ‘The Wonders of Christmas’, and make the most of the vocal and backing track.
6. Put on a Christmas Musical
One of our favourite Christmas assembly ideas for primary school is to perform a Christmas musical! Whilst rehearsals take work, the joy of putting on a school musical and seeing it all come together makes all the effort worthwhile.
We have an ever-expanding selection of Christmas musicals, such as our brand new production, ‘Bethlehem Ballroom’, or why not try our popular ‘The Inn Crowd – A Groovy Musical Nativity’, and capture a flavour of this wonderful time of year, bringing to life the sense of anticipation and excitement felt by all children as the big day approaches. Plus, the songs are super-catchy which makes them quick and easy to learn.
Nativity Ideas for Your Christmas Assembly
Most know what the nativity story is, but not everyone’s heard your version. Here are a few ways to put your own spin on the classic nativity play for your Christmas assembly.
7. Make it a Musical
Our wonderful selection of award-winning primary school nativities are the perfect way for students to come together, get excited about the festive season and learn about the nativity in a memorable way. The songs are quick to learn, easy to stage and can be rehearsed separately by different year groups.
We are also proud to present many Niki Davies nativities – one of the UK’s best-loved writers of songs, musicals and plays for EYFS, KS1 and KS2 children. Her songbooks and musicals are great fun and demonstrate extensive experience for both younger and older children and her own classroom teaching experience. ‘Boogie Woogie Nativity’ remains one of our most popular Christmas nativity musicals from Niki, captivating the children and audience alike with six fantastic songs.
8. Modernise It
The idea of a man in 2023 asking his labouring wife to ride around on a donkey looking for somewhere to give birth is more than a little bit alarming. So, telling the story of the nativity with a contemporary twist would make for some light entertainment don’t you think, (whilst staying in keeping with the nativity theme, of course).
Ask the children to come up with some modern-day school Christmas show ideas for the nativity and get them to write scripts as part of their English lessons, ready to perform at your Christmas assembly. For example, rather than Mary and Joseph going around knocking on people’s doors, there could be a funny line about them just staying at home and checking lastminute.com first. This is a creative and fun Christmas assembly idea for a primary school that the children will love.
9. Pick Out the Highlights
If you’re short on time and can’t fit a whole performance of the nativity into your festive Christmas assembly, ask your class to choose which bits they think are the most significant and create freeze frames to demonstrate them. You can then read through the nativity story in your assembly, with the children doing quick-fire nativity scenes in the background to take care of the visualisation. You could always round off the assembly with an uplifting and catchy Christmas song such as Sing It Out!
Alternative Christmas Assembly Ideas
If you’re looking to really mix things up and opt for a truly alternative Christmas assembly, we have a few fun and creative ideas for a Christmas assembly that will really set you apart from the rest.
10. Wrap Up Warm
Now we know that Christmas time comes at one of the coldest times of the year in the UK, but isn’t that part of the fun? Consider an open-air performance of your Christmas assembly. Everyone could come armed with warm clothes and hot drinks and gather in the playground or field in a large circle while you and your class perform your assembly (adapted accordingly) in the middle.
If you’re looking to keep it as brief but as entertaining as possible, our wonderfully fun ‘Cheeky Cherubs’ mini nativity guarantees to pack in all the joy of a Christmas assembly, in just 15 minutes!
11. Make a Movie
You could film your Christmas assembly for all to enjoy from the comfort of their own homes or organise a slumber party festive assembly showing for all the school to gather and watch! It will make for a truly magical and personalised take on a normally traditional event.
Either film it in one take or, better still, ask willing members of your class to film it themselves in scenes. As long as you have the appropriate equipment at school and a bit of editing knowledge, this could work well as a fun alternative to the usual Christmas assembly held in the school hall.
Last Minute Christmas Assembly Ideas
If you’re short on time, are faced with a last-minute change of plans or have opted not to undertake the task of a school nativity, here are some fantastically quick and simple last minute Christmas assembly ideas!
12. Bring Out the Christmas Jumpers
Incorporate the well-known charitable event into your assembly and invite the whole primary school to wear their best (or worst!) Christmas jumper. Or better still, encourage pupils to design their own! Make some of the children’s more popular designs a talking point with reference back to traditional tales of the festive period.
13. Decorate the Tree
Ask each child to write or draw a Christmas wish on a small piece of paper with a tie, and during the assembly, allow each pupil to hang their wish on the Christmas tree (time and logistics allowing of course). Whilst the children are hanging their wishes, focus the point of discussion on the meaning of Christmas.
We hope you’ve enjoyed our list of Christmas assembly ideas for primary school and that you’re feeling well and truly in the festive spirit! Christmas is a special time of year for everyone, particularly children, so a few fun and exciting Christmas assembly ideas will always go down a treat. If a musical school nativity tickles your fancy, then take a look at our 15 Brilliant School Nativity Ideas, with a selection of nativities perfect for early years ages through to KS2.
For more creative and seasonal assembly ideas, please explore the rest of our blog or get in touch and we’ll be more than happy to chat about how our resources can help you create a truly memorable Christmas assembly!