Christmas Lessons

Don't Let the Wrapping Fool You!

For this skit you will need a lamb and a mouse. By changing the dialogue slightly you can use any farm animal for the mouse that you may already have. If you want to add to your menagerie, we have great prices on the lamb and the mouse. I would take the vest off the mouse and pin a bow on her head. The lamb should do most of his dialogue in a whisper.  

Mouse: For crying out loud, how is a sister supposed to sleep with all the racket around this place?

Lamb: Shhh!

Mouse: Don’t shhh me! I need my beauty sleep…what in the world is all this racket about?

Lamb: Shhh!

Mouse: What part didn’t you understand?  I said, “Don’t shush this sister.

Lamb: The baby… you’ll wake up the baby.

Mouse: Uh huh and what turnip truck do you think this sister fell off? Da ya think I’m stupid? There ain’t no baby in this here stable.

Lamb: If you don’t be quiet you’re gonna wake it up.

Mouse: Why don’t ya stick a sock in it?

Lamb: (whispering) Over there... in the manger. See the baby?

Mouse: Oh, it’s a people baby! (shocked, growing louder and louder) A people baby? But what are people doing in a stable… no wonder I couldn’t sleep. And boy wuz I ah sleeping good too.  I wuz dreaming about cheese…

Lamb: (Sticks a sock in the mouse’s mouth)

Mouse: (Spitting) What are you doing? Is that a sock? Did you stick a nasty sock in my mouth?

Lamb: I said, “Shhh” and I mean it! If those people see you, they’re not going to be happy about a nasty rat being in the stable.

Mouse: Rat! Did you call me a rat? I’m a cute little mouse, not a nasty rat.

Lamb: Mouse, rat, whatever you are…you gotta be quite because this baby is really special.

Mouse: Yeah, right! All babies are special.

Lamb: No really, this baby is special special!

Mouse: And what makes this baby special special?

Lamb: He is the Messiah. This baby is the Son of God.

Mouse: You’re making this up.

Lamb: No, I’m not making it up. I was sleeping when suddenly a bright light woke me up. It was as bright as daylight, but it was still night. I was frightened. The shepherds were frightened, then the angel . . .

Mouse: Angel. You want me to believe you saw a real angel? There ain’t no angels round these parts.

Lamb: I saw a real angel in the sky over the fields where we were.  The angel said “Don’t be afraid.”

Mouse: You didn’t see an angel.

Lamb: I did so! Just ask the shepherds. They saw them too.

Mouse: Yeah, right. Like a shepherd is gonna talk to a mouse. Uh Huh, I can really see that happening.

Lamb: (continuing without missing a beat) …the angel said, “I have wonderful news. The Messiah, the Lord, is born in Bethlehem.” And then suddenly the sky was filled with lots of angels.

Mouse: No, way!

Lamb: Yes, way! I’m telling you the truth I saw it with my own two eyes. The shepherds were so excited. They wanted to see the baby and so did I. So I followed them to this stable. We found the baby lying in a manger just like the angel said.

Mouse: Don’t look like anything special to me.

Lamb: The angel said he would be wrapped in swaddling clothes…

Mouse: He swallowed his clothes? You don’t think this sister is gonna swallow that tall tale do ya?

Lamb: No! Swaddling clothes. That’s how his mother wrapped him. In long, narrow strips of cloth, around and around like the shepherd bandage a wound. It’s called swaddling clothes. See.

Mouse: And that’s the Messiah?

Lamb: (sheep nods)

Mouse: …here in this stable?

Lamb: (sheep nods) in that manager.

Mouse: A baby wrapped in a poor woman’s meager swaddling cloth. He don’t look so special to me.

Lamb: Don’t let the wrapping fool you…

Mouse: Here comes somebody, gotta go.

Lamb: Don’t let the wrapping fool you…

Have an adult puppet come onto stage holding a piece of wrapping paper at this point and begin where the animal puppets left off.

We live in a visual society. Presentation is very important in our society. We want our houses to look good, our cars to look good, our clothes to look good, our food to look good and yes even our gifts to look good. Thousands of dollars are spent every year on gift wraps, bows and gift bags. We want to wrap the gift beautifully. But don’t let the wrapping fool you. Just because God’s gift was wrapped in a little package didn’t diminish the greatness of God’s gift. God’s plan of salvation was sent into the world in a little package. God had big plans for his little gift.

Don’t let the wrapping fool you. God’s gift was wrapped in swaddling clothes. He wasn’t wrapped in the clothes of royalty. He came humbly so anyone could approach him. He came to give His life for everyone, not just the rich and famous.

Don’t let the wrapping fool you. He looked like an ordinary baby, but there is nothing ordinary about what He would accomplish. He was the Word made flesh. He was the son of God come in the form of a man to redeem all man kind.

Don’t let the wrapping fool you. He was wrapped in humanity so that you could be wrapped in His kingly robe of righteousness.

Don’t let the wrapping fool you. Christmas is not about a baby. It is about peace, love, joy, redemption. Not the kind that is expressed through human emotion but the God kind that keeps on loving, that keeps on giving even in the midst of trouble, turmoil and hatred.

Don’t let the wrapping fool you. Christmas is not old news. It’s new news. His mercies are new every morning.  Every day God wants to walk with you and talk with you and help you be an over comer and winner in every area of your life.  

So next time you see a piece of wrapping paper or you open a gift be sure to remember, “Don’t let the wrapping fool you.”

And maybe you think I am stretching things too much with the little joke about “sticking a sock in it”. There must have been socks way before the time of Christ because when the three Hebrew boys were thrown into the fiery furnace the Bible says they were thrown in with their tunics, hosen and hats in  Daniel 3:21 "Then these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace." A modern day word for hosen would be socks. Use our curriculum to teach this Christmas. It will save you time because it's all in there- stories, object lessons and puppet or drama skits.

A great song to use with this skit is "Unwrap the Gift" from A Very Mary Christmas CD!  You can also use this song with Lesson #1 from our Christmas Lesson Set.