If you think about it, the best Christmas stories are invariably about making the best of a bad situation.

The Nativity, It's A Wonderful Life, Home Alone, even Die Hard - all are tales of triumph against the odds.

And the same can be said of the Eden Penarth Church's decision to take their famous Nativity performance online in order to comply with social distancing restrictions.

A short film depicting the Nativity performed by members of Eden Church Penarth has been a hit online.

The Church have since 2009 been staging a Nativity play at Cosmeston Medieval Village, but they unfortunately had to cancel this year in line with COVID-19 restrictions.

But with 819 YouTube views and counting, their 2020 performance has had a wider reach than ever before - a testament to their hard work and adaptability.

"We've been using the Medieval Village as the backdrop for our Nativity for the last 11 years now, doing a live performance in front of about 150 people," Church member Mark Frost tells Nub News. Mark was a major force behind the film and featured alongside a cast of roughly 30 people.

"We do it every year come rain, hail and snow - it's an open air thing and the audience stand and watch. It's an amazing location to do it.

"There's music and lights. But obviously we couldn't do that this year with all the guidelines so we decided to make a film."

The film is shot in iconic locations across Penarth, including the beach, Esplanade, Cosmeston Lakes and Stanwell Road Baptist Church.

It lasts 37 minutes and is complete with Herod, shepherds, wise men and baby Jesus himself.

"To have that big an audience (819) it would have taken five physical performances, so we're amazed it has been so popular. We want people to enjoy it, particularly at the moment," Mark continues.

"It was a lot more work, but it feels even more important to do it this time around."

Watch here.