Countdown to Christmas

​ COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS

A funny party game that also deals seriously with Jesus’ birth, about 12 minutes

Only the Narrator of this story needs this script.
Read the following instructions to the group:

Everyone present will help me tell this Christmas story.
When you hear me read your name, you will shout a phrase.
I will assign your parts now, and the phrase that you will shout when you hear your name.
When I assign your part, you will practice it;
I will repeat your story name, and you will shout the response.

STORY NAME          SHOUTED RESPONSE

Doctor Bugzapper       “Something weird is going on.”
Fearless Freddy           “Never fear, Freddy is here!”
Fluffy Flo                    “Oh, somebody save us!”
Baron Killjoy              “I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha! (Laugh fiendishly)”

Assign the following parts to any number of people, so that everyone gets a part.
If the group is small, a person may have more than one part.

STORY NAME            SHOUTED RESPONSE (any number of people)
Sturdy Stallion              “Neigh!”
Burly Bear                    “Grrrrr!”
Playful Potlicker           “Bow-wow-wow!”
North Wind                   “Oooooooo!”
Rusty Rifle                    “Ker-blam!”
Huffy Puffy                    “Choo choo! Wooo wooo!”

    The name of our story is Countdown to Christmas.

    Howling as it blows through a hamlet in old Russia,
is the icy NORTH WIND. [Response: Oooooooo!]

    The good doctor speaks loudly for his family to hear,
“Let’s rejoice; Christmas, is only seven days away.”

    Suddenly the door flies open: bang!
It sounds like the doctor’s old worn out RUSTY RIFLE. [Ker-blam!]

    Freezing air blows out the oil lamp.
“Aha!” cries Doctor Bugzapper. [Something weird is going on]

    “It’s those thieves with curved swords,”
wails daughter Fluffy Flo. [Oh, somebody save us!]

    “Stay calm,” shouts her brother Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy is here!]

    “I will close the door. It is just the North Wind. [Ooooo]

    A horse neighs in the street, and a loud reply comes
from the family’s horse, Sturdy Stallion. [Neigh!]

    Bang! Bang! “Robbers are pounding on the door now!”
wails Fluffy Flo. [Oh, somebody save us!]

    Freddy carefully opens the door, and out rushes the little dog,
Playful Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!]

    In rushes the angry, stinging North Wind. [Ooooo]

    “It blew out the lamp! A thief sneaked in; I heard his steps,”
cries Fluffy Flo. [Oh, somebody save us!]

    “Where did our dog go?” Asks the doctor in the dark.
    The intruder replies, “He bit my ankle! I am the telegraph operator.
I came at this late hour, because the message from Siberia is Urgent.”

    The doctor cries, “Stop attacking our visitor, Playful Potlicker.” [Bow-wow-wow!]

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

    They relight the lamp and the doctor reads the message.
“It is from the mayor of Forgotten Mesa, a remote, Siberian mining town
where the peasants have never heard about Jesus.”
He shouts to be heard above the North 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 is Christmas Day!

    “This map shows the way. We can make it if we hurry now by sleigh
to the train depot and catch Huffy Puffy.” [Choo choo! Wooo wooo!]

     “It’s a perilous trip,” remarks Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy is here!]

    The doctor adds, “The mayor says he’s heard that Christmas means
 joy and peace, and asks me to tell his villagers about it.
They only drink vodka and fight at Christmas time.
We must go. Son, hitch the sled to Sturdy Stallion.” [Neigh!]

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

     “Help!” screams Fluffy Flo. [Oh, somebody save us!]

     “Stay calm,” orders Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy is here!]

    He aims Rusty Rifle. [Ker-blam!]

    As usual, the old rifle misses,
but there to drive the bear off is Playful Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!]

    The train jerks and clanks, and off goes Huffy Puffy. [Choo choo! Wooo wooo!]

They chug past peasants’ huts and snow-laden trees bending
in the furious North Wind. [Oooooooo]

They count the days left to save the villagers from death —six, five, four.
Clickety-click, clickety-click, go the wheels of Huffy Puffy. [Choo Choo. Wooo wooo!]

    Having climbed into an empty car,
traveling along with them, is Burly Bear. [Grrr]

    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 their final stop,
and unload Sturdy Stallion [Neigh]

    Having taken a liking to the family,
down from his car climbs Burly Bear. [Grrrrr]

    They examine the map, hoping to find their way.
“Worry not, my friends,” says a tall man in black;
it is Baron Killjoy. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

    He bows, gallantly sweeping off a silk hat,
but fails to impress Playful Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!]

    He kicks the dog and asks, “Why do you travel so far north?”
The doctor explains the life-saving vaccine for Forgotten Mesa,
and shows the map to the baron.

    The stranger sneers, “Your map is obsolete.
But don’t worry,” says Baron Killjoy. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

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

    The son hitches up Sturdy Stallion. [Neigh!]

    They glide over snow up the baron’s trail. It ends at a hole in a mountainside.
Two crosses have gloomy epitaphs.

     “Aha!” cries Doctor Bugzapper. [Something weird is going on.]

     “That vile baron deceived us. Oh, look out!”
A thousand bats come flying jerkily from the black hole,
startling Fluffy Flo. [Oh, somebody save us!]

     “This kind doesn’t bite,” assures Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy 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 Stallion. [Neigh!]”

    Meanwhile, the evil baron plots to obtain Forgotten Mesa’s valuable mine.
He tells the people, “I’m the doctor with the vaccine.
I’ll administer it after I dine,” lies Baron Killjoy. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

    The mayor asks him why Christmas brings people joy.
The baron hesitates. “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 North Wind. [Ooooo]

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

    The baron smiles a crooked grin, “My good man!
You lack the flashiest celebration of all—fireworks!
Bring a box of dynamite, and I’ll fix the situation,”
boasts Baron Killjoy. [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

    Before dawn, the villain totes the dynamite to the high bridge,
attaches it, and hides, waiting, holding the deadly detonator.
He hears Sturdy Stallion. [Neigh!]

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

     “Grrrr!” Growls Playful Potlicker. [Bow-wow-wow!]

    He tracks the evil baron’s scent across the bridge.
The bear comes, too, also tracking the scent. The son cries,
“Look who’s aiming a gun at the bear! Baron Killjoy” [I’ll take care of you! Ha ha ha!]

    The dog catches the baron’s sleeve and the shot misses.
The doctor spies wires. He sees the baron raise the detonator.
“Aha!” cries Doctor Bugzapper. [Something weird is going on.]

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

    They are reassured by Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy is here!]

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

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

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

    The bear flings him into the chasm.
Screams echo back and forth between the canyon walls.
They finally arrive in Forgotten Mesa.
 “Oh, oh!” cries Doctor Bugzapper. [Something weird is going on.]

    The villagers are strangely silent, and eye them warily. Something is wrong!
“Here’s the vaccine!” shouts Fearless Freddy. [Never fear, Freddy is here!]

    The mayor suddenly cries, “I see it now! The baron lied!
You have come in time; it is Christmas Eve. We are rescued!”

    The family explains Christ’s birth and the Gospel, and they cheer,
“Christmas is joyful now; Jesus was born, died and rose again to save us!”

[pexcerpt] Young and old will boo the villain and cheer the hero in this funny Christmas party skit with suspense and surprises. A brave doctor in old Russia rescues a village from an evil baron who plots to turn true celebration of Jesus’ birth into tragic death. [/pexcerpt]

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