I have collected a bunch of diverse, amusing, profound, reflective, clever, funny and off the wall “Christmas” videos . . . TWENTY in all.  If you know of some other GREAT videos for use at Christmas – nativities, Christmas eve services, carols etc . . . do ADD a link in the comments section as it would be great to have more to recommend.

Enjoy.

Number 1.

“Born is the King (It’s Christmas).”  This is the video of a Christmas song from Hillsongs.  A catchy tune and a bunch of kids running wild and crazy in the woods – what more do you want?

Number 2.

“Christmas in a Nutshell.” From the excellent Dan Stevers, who produces some cracking videos.  This has some nice visual gags and is an excellent animation . . . (Do visit his website, and purchase the video you want to use – it supports his ministry).

Number 3.

“He Chose The Shepherds.” I have used this a fair bit over the last couple of years and, in fact, using it this year in a couple of Christmas assemblies!  If you are doing some teaching over Christmas that draws in the shepherds story, this is a great little video from “Friends and Heroes.”

Number 4.

“Someone is Coming.” IF you want a bit of cosmic context, maybe use this video – from the garden of Eden to the coming of our Saviour.  It packs a lot in, but gives a great, sweeping perspective of God’s plan.

Number 5.

“Retooning The Nativity.” Used this a lot.  A sparky animation, beautifully done.  With humour the video highlights the discrepancies between our “passed down” traditions about the first nativity and what the Bible actually says.

Number 6.

“The Christmas Story.” Get ready to go “ooh” and “aaaah”, absolutely fantastic costumes and great storytelling from the children involved.  Beautiful.

Number 7.

“Bethlehemian Rhapsody.”  Ok, this is for a bit of fun.  Listen to the re-worked lyrics, it is a bit of genius – I have found myself just watching it on repeat and smiling to myself.

Number 8.

“Hallelujah” Beautifully rendered in “blender” a reflective and moving piece which is just perfect for midnight communion on Christmas Eve.  Stunning music is from Jazz trumpeter Chris Botti (who also has a fabulous Christmas album called “December“).

Number 9.

“Are You Smarter Than a Fly? Episode 1 : Christmas Pudding” This is, well, pretty disgusting – but kids will love it.  A flies eye view of the birth of Christ.  Superb quality animation with these fun characters . . . .

Number 10.

“The Christmas Story – The Shepherds.” I’m fixated a bit on the shepherds this year, this one is a simple animation to accompany the text being read straight from the Bible – a handy way of doing a reading within a service.

Number 11.

“The First Coming.” I really like Dan Stever’s work, so this is the second one of his in this list.  Haunting and more reflective, another great one for midnight communion on Christmas Eve.  As I mentioned earlier, to support Dan – please purchase a copy from his website, the video here is a “preview only” copy.

Number 12.

“Four Kinds of Christmas.” Glen Scrivener does it again.  This is very good, the contrasts bring definition and highlight the true value and meaning of Christmas.  *Santa Warning*  Watch it first, give some thought to where your kids are at with Father Christmas before watching . . . he’s not slated, but it is intimated that he isn’t real.

Number 13.

“The Gift” Another video from ‘Speak Life” who produced “Four Kinds of Christmas”. A humorous take on the passing on of gifts without really giving it any thought . . .

Number 14.

“Happyland Nativity” And, yet again . . . the Speak Life Team must be doing nothing else at the moment but making videos!  This is wonderful and suitable for any age.

Number 15.

“The John Lewis Advert 2019” Ahh,  go on – it’s the John Lewis advert! I’m sharing it because it is fun – but, also it is worth using to ask ourselves how inclusive is our Christmas? There has been a fantastic blog written by my friend Mark Arnold, “Why Children with Additional Needs are like Edgar the Dragon” – give it a read [here].

Number 16.

“Hear The Bells” Could be sung together. Great for use in a kids midweek club  in the run up to Christmas.

Number 17.

“Today is the Saviour’s Day” From the awesome band that is Rend Collective, just released this month as I write this (October 2020). Going straight on my playlist!

Number 18.

“Christmas According to Kids” I love this, possibly my favourite of all of these. It combines the natural voices of children – with all their quirks and humour – with adults acting out and letting the children “be” their voices. Brilliant and very funny.

Number 19.

“The Mystery of the New Noisy Neighbour” A charming re-telling with cute animation, ideal for watching at home together – probably for ages 3-7ish.

Number 20.

“Noel” Powerfully sung by Lauren Daigle, a great song to include as part of an online service, especially if you don’t have a choir or band.