Over the years, we’ve heard lots of holiday stories at The Narrators, even when they’re out of season, because life just seems more significant during special events.

Like birthdays and graduations and anniversaries, holidays elevate themselves to a different status among the crowd of 365. As a species, we’re drawn to creating a spectacle. So many of us love obsessing over the logistics of special events—the meals, the friends and family members, the music, the gifts and the travel. And, because we think so much about the traditions and the execution, holidays sear themselves onto our memory in a way that just doesn’t happen with a regular day at work. We obsess, we ruminate, we revel and sometimes regret the tiniest of details. And it’s those details, those long-term emotional marks and memories, my friends, that make such excellent ingredients for a story.

Today’s story comes from Matthew Taylor. It’s not about Christmas, per se, but it is about a Jesus-themed birthday party, which is pretty darned close to Christmas if you ask me.  Matthew is an actor, improviser and author who hails from the small sailing village of Itchenor in the UK. His performance was adapted from a short story entitled “Surprise Party,” which is also a chapter in his award-winning autobiography, Goat Lips: Tales of a True Englishman. This story was recorded live on 16 September 2015; the theme of the evening was “Firsts.” Happy holidays, everyone.

Our next live events will take place on 12 January 2016 at Tiger!Tiger! in San Diego and 20 January 2016 at Buntport Theater in Denver—the theme will be “Promise.” Both shows are free and start at 8pm. For a list of all our 2016 themes and information about upcoming special events, please visit our Events page.