There is something about watching young children sing their hearts out whilst wearing wonky halos and striped tea towels on their heads, that draws that lump to the back of my throat each year.

There will always be that one child that misses their cue, forgets their lines or projects their voice louder than everyone else.

There will be the ones that huddle in embarrassment wishing it to be over and yet deep down excited about every minute they’re on show knowing their loved ones are there to watch and capture their performance on a smart phone.

Some will giggle, some will be deadly serious and some will become mini teachers and attempt to lead the unruly.

The baby Jesus will stay swaddled for the first few minutes but eventually end up being carried by his leg or upside down in breech position.

The Headteacher will come on after the finale to thank the children of Nazareth for all their efforts and the parents of course for making several trips to Asda and Quality Save to get an angel costume 3 sizes too big so it will do for next year.

The teachers will take brief respite while the proud and emotional parents ask their children to stand still and smile with cute grins of about 4 teeth, before they are ushered back to class.

The classroom will be littered with camel heads, sparkly tights, angel wings, cardboard crowns and dressing gowns.

After the children have undressed and mixed up one another’s vests, pants and cardigans, they will line up at the door for playtime.

With their tops inside out and their coats unfastened they will burst into the playground for the after show party and the critics reviews.

What they don’t realise is that the more their wonky crowns slipped and the faster they blurted out their one monotone line in their performance, they made their families love them even more.

This is what makes every child a star of the show and this is why in their own unique way…

They all shine.