Help Identify Christmas Movie for My Column

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

Any help is as always greatly appreciated.

 

 

"It’s a Christmas movie about a family of kids that are really poor who are outcasts and mean to the other kids in school. They’re in maybe fifth or sixth grade. The school is putting on a Christmas play and the girl of the poor family wants to play Mary, which she ends up being. I think I remember the kids attacking some firemen or something that came to the school and a brother and sister befriend them, I believe. I think the title is the last name of the family, I’m not sure. Is that enough information? I would like to watch it again and let my son see it because I remember that I liked it very much and my class at school saw a play based on it at a local theater. Do you know what it is? Thank you for your time."

[GreatWhiteNope 0]

I know what this is - give me a few minutes to think about it.

 

Ok - there were kids in the family who were poor and lived in an apartment building. A social worker came and checked on them on a regular basis.

 

This used to air on Nickelodeon. It was probably an old after-school special or something. It might have been based on a book.

 

Still thinking...

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I know it's based off of a book, because we read the book in either 3rd or 5th grade, and then watched the movie. I distinctly remembering one scene where the girl that wanted to play Mary said they could steal a baby from a carriage at the supermarket.

 

Shit...what the fuck was it called...GAH!

[WrestlingDeacon 0]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085231/?fr=c2...9b24_;fc=1;ft=1

 

Some of my other minions have pegged it as The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. That's the imdb link to it.