Countdown to Christmas

A fun party game dealing with Jesus’ birth, about 15 minutes

Only the story’s narrator needs this script.

Narrator:

“You all will help tell this Christmas story. It is a melodrama, so you may hiss at the villain
and cheer the heroes. You all have a part. When I read your story name, you will shout a phrase.
I will now assign your story name, and the phrase that you shout.”

Story name                             Shouted response

Dr. Vladimir                               “Something weird is going on.”

Daring Dmitri                             “Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!”

Adorable Anna                            “Oh, somebody save us!”

Baron Villainov                          “I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!”

[Mention that people may hiss or boo after this villain speaks.]

Sturdy Steed                               “Neigh”

Bulgy Bear                                  “Grrrrr”

Potlicker                                      “Bow–wow–wow”

Rusty Rifle                                  “Ker-blam!”

Huffy Puffy                                 “Choo choo, wooo wooo”

Siberian Wind (everyone else)    “Oooooooo”

[If your group is small, then give some people more than one part.][GP1] 

Narrator: (as you read, emphasize names in bold) Countdown to Christmas is a story
in the old melodrama style. Listen! Howling as it blows through a hamlet in old Russia,
is the icy Siberian Wind. [Oooooooo]

The good doctor and renowned researcher tells his family,
“Rejoice! Christmas is only seven days away!”
Suddenly the door flies open, banging like their old flintlock Rusty Rifle.” [Ker-blam!!]

Icy air snuffs out the lamp. “Aha!” exclaims Dr. Vladimir. [Something weird is going on.]

“Maybe it’s the Tsar’s thieving Cossacks with their curved swords,”
screams the delicate daughter, Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

“Stay calm,” assures her brother Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]
“I’ve shut the door. It was just the Siberian Wind. [Oooooooo]

A horse neighs outside, and a reply comes from the family’s Sturdy Steed. [Neigh]

Bang! Bang! “Someone’s at the door, maybe Robbers!”
wails Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

The doctor opens the door, and out rushes the little dog, Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow]

And in rushes the stinging Siberian Wind. [Oooooooo]

“It blew out the lamp! A thief has sneaked in; I hear his steps,” wails

Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

“Where did our little dog go?” Asks the doctor in the dark.

The intruder replies, “He’s biting my ankle! I am the telegraph operator.
I came in this storm because this message from Siberia is urgent.”

 “Stop attacking our guest,” the good doctor scolds Potlicker.” [Bow–wow–wow]

“I know no one in Siberia,” frets Dr. Vladimir. [Something weird is going on.]

They relight the lamp and the doctor reads the wire. “It’s from the mayor of Silver Mesa,
a remote, Siberian mining town. The peasants have never heard about Jesus.”
The doctor’s words are drowned out by the Siberian Wind. [Oooooooo]

“The mayor says an epidemic of Mad Moose disease will slay a thousand souls
in seven days, unless they get my new vaccine! Seven days – that’s Christmas!
We can make it in time if we hurry to the train depot and catch

Huffy Puffy.” [Choo choo, wooo wooo]

He adds, “The last part of the trip must be by sleigh. It’ll be perilous.”

But they are assured by Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]

The doctor reads on. “He’s heard that Christmas means joy and peace,
and asks me to explain it to his villagers. He says they only drink vodka and fight
at Christmas time. Let us start. I’ll hitch the sleigh to Sturdy Steed.” [Neigh]

At the depot, they load the horse on a freight car, and something stirs in a dark corner;
they have awakened the hibernating Bulgy Bear. [Grrrrr]

“Help!” screams Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

“Stay calm,” orders Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]

He aims Rusty Rifle. [Ker-blam!!]

The old musket misses as usual, but there to drive the bear off is Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow]

With a jerk and a clank, off chugs Huffy Puffy. [Choo choo, wooo wooo]

It leaves a trail of black smoke as they pass peasants’ sod huts
and snow-laden trees bending in the angry Siberian Wind. [Oooooooo]

They count the days left to save the villagers from the deadly disease: six, five, four. Clickety-click, go the wheels of Huffy Puffy. [Choo choo, wooo wooo]

Having climbed into an empty car, going along also, is Bulgy Bear. [Grrrrr]

They plan to tell the villagers about Christmas, how God was born as a man
to save us from our sins. With two days to go, they arrive at the closest depot
and unload Sturdy Steed [Neigh]

Having taken a liking to the family, down climbs Bulgy Bear. [Grrrrr]

They examine a map, hoping to find their way. “Worry not, my friends,”
declares a tall man dressed in black, Baron Villainov. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

He bows, gallantly sweeping off a high silk hat, but fails to impress

Potlicker. [Bow–wow-wow!]

He kicks the little dog angrily, and asks, “Why do you travel so far north?”

The doctor explains the life-saving vaccine, and shows his map to the baron.
“That map is obsolete!” sneers the pompous fellow.
But do not worry,” declares Baron Villainov. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

“This is the way now.” He draws a line on the map, sips from a flask,
 and winks at the daughter. “How lucky, my lovely lass, that I came in time!”
boasts Baron Villainov. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

They hitch up Sturdy Steed. [Neigh!]

They glide over miles of wind-blown snow, following the baron’s trail
marked on the map. It ends abruptly at a dark hole in a mountainside.
Two crosses beside it have gloomy epitaphs, and gloomy dusk has fallen.

“Oh no!” cries Dr. Vladimir. [Something weird is going on.]
“That vile baron has deceived us. Oh, look out!”

A thousand bats come flying jerkily from the black hole,
startling Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

“Keep calm!” assures Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]

“We must go back!” moans the doctor. “Can we make it in time?
We must cross the mountain and a long, high bridge. Faster, Sturdy Steed! [Neigh!]”

Meanwhile, the evil baron plots to obtain Silver Mesa’s rich mine,
and lies to the villagers, “I am the doctor with the vaccine. I’ll administer it after I dine.”

The mayor asks him why Christmas brings joy. The baron sneers.
 “Christmas? Oh, yes! Peasants gorge themselves, give gifts they can’t afford,
hang up silly decorations and drink to excess.”
He shouts above the din of the wailing Siberian Wind. [Ooooo]

The mayor shakes his head. “We already do all that, but still find no joy.”

The aristocratic smiles has a crooked grin, “My good man!
You lack the flashiest celebration of all: fireworks!
Bring a box of dynamite.,” demands Baron Villainov. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

Before dawn, the villain totes the dynamite to the high bridge, attaches it and waits, holding the deadly detonator. Soon he hears Sturdy Steed. [Neigh!]

The travelers stop in the middle of the high bridge to pray before entering Silver Mesa. They wince at the shrill whine of the Siberian Wind. [Ooooo]

“Grrrr!” Growls Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!]
He jumps from the sleigh and tracks the evil baron’s scent across the bridge.

Coming also, tracking the dog’s scent, is Bulgy Bear. [Grrrrr]

The son points. “Look! There’s the baron, aiming a gun at that bear!”

The dog catches the baron’s sleeve and the shot misses.
The good doctor spies some wires and traces them to the villain.
 “Aha!” cries Dr. Vladimir. [Something weird is going on.]

“Get off the bridge!” Screams Adorable Anna. [Oh, somebody save us!]

They are reassured by Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]

He sees the detonator and aims the old Rusty Rifle. [Ker-blam!!]

The bullet misses and the baron jeers, “You, my friends, will be blown to bits
when I count to three. One! Two! Merry Christmas, fools!”
cries Baron Villainov. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

The bear appears behind the villain as he cries “Three!”
Two furry arms close around the villain’s chest; the horrified family hears ribs crack,
and the victory cry of Bulgy Bear. [Grrrrr]

The bear flings him into the chasm, and screams echo between the granite walls.
At last, they arrive in Silver Mesa.  “Oh!” warns Dr. Vladimir. [Something weird is going on.]

The villagers are mysteriously silent, and eye them warily. What is wrong?

“Here’s the vaccine!” shouts Daring Dmitri. [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]

The mayor eyes them carefully and suddenly brightens,
“I see it now! The baron lied! You came in time; it is Christmas Eve. We are rescued!”

The villagers hear the great news of Christ’s birth, sacrificial death and resurrection.
They are stunned to learn that salvation in Christ is by God’s free grace for all who believe, and break out with cheers and tears. The mayor thanks the family and observes,
“Christmas is joyful now that we know that the Lord Jesus Christ was born,
died and rose again to save us!”

Sensing the bliss and wagging his tail is Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!].

A final exclamation comes from the Siberian Wind [Ooooo].

And the curtain falls. Thus ends the story of…
Dr. Vladimir          [Something weird is going on.]
Daring Dmitri        [Never fear, Daring Dmitri is here!]
Adorable Anna      [Oh, somebody save us!]
Baron Villainov     [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]
Sturdy Steed          [Neigh]
Bulgy Bear            [Grrrrr]
Potlicker                [Bow–wow–wow]
Rusty Rifle            [Ker-blam!]
Huffy Puffy           [Choo choo, wooo wooo]
Siberian Wind       [Oooooooo]