School nativity plays are an institution that, according to parenting website Netmums, is rapidly dying out. Where there were once crying donkeys, wise men pulling their beards off and Mary pinching Joseph, there's now aliens, footballers and Elvis Presley. Also, the process is being called a 'winter play' to level the playing field and not leave out those who practise other faiths.
Sounds to us like the nativity is less 'pushed aside' and more 'evolving' – why shouldn't other kids be able to join in with a winter play just because they don't believe that some dudes brought a baby Frankincense? Bring in all the aliens you want if it'll liven up the whole thing, but that does mean we should say goodbye to the traditional yearly fight over Mary and the kid dressed as a cow who pisses himself.
A quick whipround of The *Debrief *offices brought up some classic anecdotes – from 'My brother was a brick' to 'I was the understudy for the Star and you got to fly in on a harness covered in fairylights then land on a bit of hay, so I thought about injuring the girl' to 'My godson is playing King Herod and walks around saying "IT'S MY JOB TO KILL JESUS"'– so we asked you guys for your nativity play horrors and you rose to the occasion majestically. Like a star in the sky of Bethlehem.
Here are the ones that made us lol all over our mince pies:
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.