m ristmas For most of us the festive season is simply a time to
Ch What eans to me
celebrate and relax with friends and family. But there are many whose jobs mean Christmas is their busiest time of the year. HELEN TITHER meets six of them...
The church nativity organiser
LIZ ATKINS, 42, is junior church leader at Penketh Methodist Church in Warrington, Cheshire, and in charge of the nativity. She lives with her husband Patrick and their sons Steven, 14, and Chris, 12
For some children Christmas has
become all about the presents, but a nativity helps remind them of the true meaning of Christmas – that we are celebrating the birth of Christ. We all remember being in our own nativities, and these are creating a whole new generation of memories. “This year will be my 10th nativity, and if I’ve learnt anything from my work with children it’s to not try and make things too perfect. We learn the songs from mid-November only because, in my experience, the more you practise the play with the little
ones, the harder it’s going to be! And, to be honest, the nativity is at its funniest for the audience when it doesn’t go to plan – when someone pulls her skirt up or won’t sit down. One year we had a real baby as Jesus. Inevitably, she spent the whole time crying and her mum couldn’t help as she was playing piano for the carols! “Choosing who is Mary and Joseph is still very important, and we have a different couple every year. In the last few years, however, I’ve noticed
that girls all want to be angels and boys want to be shepherds. And as there aren’t as many kids these days, sometimes we get adults to be kings. “We try to make all the costumes ourselves as it’s so much nicer – although it does mean I’m always off-stage, sticking angels’ wings back together! But I love this part of my job. It is worth all the troublesome moments because, when it comes together, it’s really very special.