They've been waiting for this all year: Prestonwood Baptist Church's controversial Christmas production "The Gift of Christmas" is almost upon us, and tickets to the weeklong pageant are already selling out. But even as the Plano-based church preps for its personal Super Bowl, it's already drawing criticism for its showy, larger-than-life production.

Prestonwood's annual Christmas production began nearly 30 years ago, aimed at celebrating the story considered the foundation of the Christian faith. The Nativity story goes like this: a young woman named Mary miraculously became pregnant with the Son of God, and she and her husband Joseph journeyed from Nazareth to Bethlehem for a census. In Bethlehem, there was nowhere for the family to stay, but a kind inn owner allowed them to take shelter in a stable, where Mary gave birth to Jesus, as the Wise Men and angels and barn animals rejoiced.

It's a simple story, but Prestonwood's approach to sharing it is anything but. In recent years, the church's recounting of the birth of Jesus has become something akin to a Las Vegas show.

https://www.chron.com/culture/religion/article/texas-megachurch-christmas-show-prestonwood-21220794.php