I'm not looking for a play that's based on a movie, so no White Christmas, or It's a Wonderful Life or A Christmas Story.  I don't really want a play based on novel so no Christmas Carol.   

I'm looking at a play right now for next year that I'm very fond of. 

It's called "FrUiTCaKeS" by Julian Wiles - Dramatic Publishing.

"Comedy/Drama.  Cast: 4m, 4w, 6 boys, 7 girls, extras
Mix together a batch of fruitcakes, three dozen Christmas trees, 10,000 outdoor Christmas lights, a chicken pox epidemic, two southern spinsters, an estranged old man and a Christmas hog named Buster and you've got the recipe for a fun-filled and touching evening filled with holiday cheer.  Into this bucolic world comes Jamie, a kid who has run as far away from home as his money would take him.  At first he thinks the town's inhabitants are "nuttier than fruitcakes," but soon he comes to admire, appreciate and adore this nutty little town.  A moving story of alienation, understanding and reconciliation, "FrUiTCaKeS" provides audiences with a heaping helping of holiday warmth and Christmas cheer."

It's a better story than the blurb indicates.  (Who write these blurbs anyway?)  Cute "Mayberry-type" characters, an excellent story of "understanding and reconciliation", and a wonderful "smile on your face with a tear in your eye" ending.

Tom Dudzick's Greetings (http://tomdudzick.com/greetings__32002.htm) can be a well-done Christmas show that yes, does deal with religion (one of the characters is an athiest Jew), but is a very heartwarming play.

For a full-length comedy/drama, have a look at A Tiny Miracle with a Fiberoptic Unicorn. You can read it here online:

Mr. Lloyd,

Early this past spring, our theatre unexpectedly lost a director and his upcoming Christmas show had to be scrubbed, so I wrote a new one to replace it. Sadly, although this new show is now on the roster for next season, I wasn’t able to submit in time for this year.

Meantime, this new show is doing no one any good, just sitting in the can. I’m not particularly interested in money…the show is untested… but it may just be what you’re looking for.

It consists of a rather bittersweet one-act about an unhappy department store Santa (about a half hour’s length I think), and a couple of very silly sketches—one about the Magi getting lost in the Persian desert, and the other about a group of strolling Christmas carolers. Those should run about 20 minutes each, but until I’ve arranged a reading, I won’t know for sure.

If you’re curious, just fire off an email to smartbabies3@msn.com and I’ll be happy to send you some excerpts.

Gary