C O N T E N T M E N T C A L A M I T Y. Sample. Christmas Commotion Medley...37

Transcription

1 C O N T E N T M E N T C A L A M I T Y TABLE OF CONTENTS Christmas Commotion Medley37 Scene One: Sunday Morning Church Service7 Whiter Than the Whitest Sno52 Scene To: Christmas Eve Blackout8 Perspective Is Elective61 Scene Three: Christmas Morning12 Christmas Commotion (Piano)69 Scene Four: Christmas Dinner15 The Bile Is a Feast for the Soul73 Scene Five: Opening Gifts16 Content In a Tent82 Scene Six: Kids Learn Contentment18 Christmas Commotion Medley Reprise93 Reader's Theater Drama21 This is a smaller scale production of the same play No stage setup is required and the actors do not need to memorize any lines It is a very effective ay for smaller churches or schools to e ale to put on a nice Christmas program 3

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3 Setting: Tas the night efore Christmas and creeping aout as a C O N T E N T M E N T C A L A M I T Y ithin and ithout! This play takes place one extremely cold Decemer in the little ton of Plainsvie Plot: This play is a comical comparison eteen to Christian families ith very different perspectives aout contentment The Dary s are faithful to church, generous givers and active in service, hoever, inside their home e uncover seeds of discontentment lurking at every turn The Bloomfield s are a middle class family ho outardly are struggling, ut have learned the secret to true oy and contentment Happiness is not something that can only e possessed hen life is going good, ut can e accessed through Christ at any stage of life Characters: 1 Mr Thomas Dary ealthy usinessman and father 2 Mrs Lucille Dary eautiful mother of to ho has a complaining nature 3 Gilert Dary 12-year-old son ho is very sarcastic 4 Paige Dary 9-year-old daughter 5 Mr Kenneth Bloomfield father ho is struggling to provide for his family, hile keeping his trust in God 6 Mrs Darlene Bloomfield loving mother ho graciously supports and cares for her family 7 Summer Bloomfield 10-year-old daughter 8 Samantha ( Sammy ) Bloomfield 8-year-old daughter 9 Dre Bloomfield 7-year-old son 10 Preacher 11 Extras (at least three) to e used as church memers and the Dary s visiting relatives Props: Scene One 1 Center stage set up for a church service (chairs, podium, offering plates) 2 Dre s artork (ith cotton all sno) Scene To 1 To living rooms set up on each side of the stage (couch, Christmas tree) 2 Five candles matches 3 Sleeping ags pillos 5

4 4 Marshmallos Graham crackers 5 Skeers to toast marshmallos Scene Three 1 Pretend sno snoalls 2 Trees for outside 3 Coats for each child 4 Wrapped present ith a lender inside Scene Four 1 Tale and five chairs 2 Dishes for soup and iscuits 3 Soup and iscuits Scene Five 1 Wrapped present ith video games inside 2 Red icycle ith ig rion 3 Opened gifts to e spread around the Bloomfield's house 4 Bile Scene Six 1 Wrapped present ith lender inside 2 Cups filled ith milkshakes for the Bloomfield's Recommended Stage Setup Bloomfield s House Church / Outdoor Scenes Dary s House Estimated Length: 55 minutes Children s Choir 6

5 Choir - Christmas Commotion Medley S C E N E O N E (Scene takes place at center stage Setting is the close of a Sunday morning church service) Preacher and so, my fello parishioners, ith this Christmas season upon us, may e e ever mindful of hat e are really celerating It s not aout the fancy trees, or glittering lights, or all the presents rapped so neatly under the tree, ut rather e rememer the irth of a Savior ho came to this earth to save sinners May e not forget May e not forget! (rief pause; close Bile) As you leave the uilding today, rememer the offering plates at the ack are collecting funds to e sent to the Schartz family, ho have some special needs this Christmas Please give generously You are dismissed (Parishioners stand up and greet one another as they leave Many drop money into the offering plates Organ plays quietly in ackground) Mrs Dary Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Dary Mrs Bloomfield Well, good morning, Darlene And here ill your family e spending Christmas this year We ll e staying right here at home in Plainsvie this holiday - a nice quiet Christmas ith ust the five of us And hat aout your family Unfortunately, e re stuck here, too I keep telling my husand I ant to take off and go somehere arm for Christmas But there s alays some excuse It s too expensive he has to ork the kids Christmas programs conflict and this year all his family is coming here Can you elieve it I m going to e hosting dinner for 27 people! Sounds relaxing, doesn t it Oh, it s onderful to have family around for the holidays Unfortunately, our families ust live too far aay and our parents are getting up in age and don t like to drive long distances Plus, Ken hasn t een getting very many hours at ork and so finances are kind of tight for us to e ale to go and see them So, e decided that a nice Christmas at home ould e ust fine ( oins his ife) Mrs Dary Merry Christmas, Mrs Dary Isn t it nice to see sno covering the ground My kids have een praying for a hite Christmas Yes, mine have, too Of course, it usually means more ork for me since they keep tracking sno onto my kitchen floor 7

6 (Mr Dary calls from offstage) Mr Dary Lucille, I ve got the car armed up and ready to go Are you coming Mrs Dary Well, I etter get going Tom s outside aiting for me You folks have a Merry Christmas You too, Mrs Dary Say hi to Tom and the kids (Mrs Dary exits Summer, Sammy, and Dre oin their parents at center stage) Dre Mrs Bloomfield Summer Sammy Dre Summer Sammy Mommy, look hat I made in Junior Church today! Oh Dre, that s onderful! You re such a little artist What is it, Dre It looks like pretend sno It is Our teacher said that hen e look outside and see the sno it can help remind us that hen Jesus comes into our hearts, He can make them hite as sno Hey, e learned a verse aout that today, too Only our teacher said that Jesus can take our hearts and make them hiter than sno Whiter than sno! That s silly I can t think of anything that s hiter than sno Choir Whiter Than the Whitest Sno S C E N E T W O (While choir sings, center stage is cleared Lights shine on left stage here the Bloomfield's are relaxing at home) Summer Sammy I ust love Christmas! I love snoflakes and ingle ells and candy canes and Christmas carols and OK, I think e get the idea, Summer I love sledding and grandma s fudge and putting up the Christmas tree and Mrs Bloomfield Dre Samantha, not you too (giggling) Well, I love s mores and sleeping ags and telling stories around the campfire and falling asleep to the sound 8

7 of crickets (Whole family laughs) Dre, you d think it as the middle of July the ay you re talking - not Christmas Eve Mrs Bloomfield Sammy (pretending to shiver) And the coldest Christmas Eve since 1972 I sure am thankful e re not out camping in this eather (Suddenly a loud crash is heard outside and all the lights go don) Mrs Bloomfield Sammy Summer Dre Mrs Bloomfield Summer Mrs Bloomfield What as that, mommy I don t kno, dear But I m going to go and get some flashlights and candles hile your dad figures it out Can you come and help Sure, ut I can t see a thing Hold my hand, Sammy I m coming, too (All three girls head offstage) I ll go check outside and see hat happened Do you ant to come ith me, Dre I m right ehind you, dad (Boys exit offstage) (from offstage) I think I found something, girls - a hole ox of candles And here s a ox of matches I found Great ork! Let s see if e can t get some light (Girls enter living room and Mrs Bloomfield lights several candles Stage lights come up dimly Scene shifts over to right stage here the Dary s have also lost electricity) Mrs Dary Oh, great! No this is ust hat I needed to happen on Christmas Eve It ust isn t enough that I have to e stuck in Plainsvie in Decemer Or that I have 23 of my eloved in-las coming over for dinner tomorro Or that I had to do all the Christmas shopping for those 23 eloved relatives all y myself Why does God hate me Mr Dary Settle don, Lucy It s not a alk in the park for me either Who do you think pays for all those presents you ought Or all that food! You d think e invited 123 people over for dinner tomorro And on top of that, have you seen our 9

8 utility ill this month Do you kno hat it costs to heat this place And no this! I ll proaly get stuck ith another ill to repair hatever it is that caused our poer to go off Paige (hining) I m hungry I ant a pizza Gilert Mrs Dary Yeah, me too I m starving Can e please have something to eat Kids, I can t take this right no Ho do you think I m supposed to make you a pizza hen I have no electricity If you ant something to eat, get it yourself (Lights remains dimly lit on the Dary s, ut attention is turned ack to the Bloomfield's and Dre come ack inside) Mrs Bloomfield Dre Summer Sammy Mrs Bloomfield Dre Paige Well, it looks like one of our trees fell over and must have hit a poer line No telling ho long it ill take them to repair it, eing Christmas Eve and all It looks like Dre is going to get his ish of camping out in Decemer Why don t e get the sleeping ags and ring them into the living room (excitedly) Do you mean e get to camp out in here tonight And e could pretend the candles are a great ig, arm campfire And hat aout s mores No camping trip is complete ithout s mores I think I might e ale to muster up some chocolate and marshmallos (exits offstage) That sounds great! Who ever thought e d e camping in Decemer Maye it s God s special present to me on Christmas Maye, Dre (Scene shifts to the Dary s on right stage) But mom, I only kno ho to make peanut utter sandiches and I don t even like those Mrs Dary Gilert Well, peanut utter is hat s on the menu tonight So get cooking (pretending to e a nes anchor) We no tune in to Chef Paige Dary And hat ill she e cooking up for us this fine evening (hold out pretend microphone) 10

9 Paige Gilert Leave me alone, Gilert Ah, her famous peanut utter sandich And atch ho gracefully she spreads the peanut utter onto the read Tune in next eek to atch her tackle pouring a glass of milk Mr Dary Mrs Bloomfield Summer Dre Sammy Mrs Bloomfield Dre Mrs Dary Gilert Paige Gilert Mr Dary OK, that s enough! We have enough prolems ithout adding your squaling to the mix (Scene shifts ack to the Bloomfield's) (enters ith ingredients for s mores) Here you go kids Let s make s mores Everyone get a candle (Family egins toasting s mores over their candles) (pretending) This is the iggest campfire you ve ever made efore, dad It s so right and arm And the sound of crickets and ullfrogs in the oods Aaah! We d etter atch out for ears Good thing e have the adventurous Dre Bloomfield here to protect us all Don t orry everyone I ll e on the look-out (Scene shifts ack to the Dary s) I told you e should have gone to Florida this Christmas Didn t I tell you Oh, I ust hate this eather! So, hy couldn t e go to Florida, dad It sure ould have een etter that eing stuck in oring Plainsvie ith no electricity Hey, I d even e illing to stay here if e sent Gilert to Florida Ha, ha, ha A professional chef AND a comedian I told you, Lucille, e can t afford to go to Florida Besides, I don t have anymore vacation until next summer (Scene shifts) Sammy This is so much fun We should do this every year 11

10 Summer Dre I m so thankful for our arm, cuddly sleeping ags on a night like tonight And I m thankful that mommy had a ox of candles (Scene shifts) Paige Gilert Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mr Dary You mean e re stuck in this freezing eather all inter long Florida One day I ll move to Florida (Scene shifts) I m thankful for my family and that e can all e together (Scene shifts) Oh, hat am I going to do Why does our family have to come over tomorro (Scene shifts) Well, I m thankful for God s provision (Scene shifts) If my oss paid me a decent age, I might e ale to take this family on vacation (Scene shifts) And I m thankful for good health (Scene shifts) I m getting a headache! (Bloomfield's settle into their sleeping ags, hile Dary s all pout) Choir Perspective is Elective S C E N E T H R E E (While choir is singing, center stage is set ith pretend sno all over Scene is Christmas morning at the Bloomfield's) Mrs Bloomfield Good morning, kids Merry Christmas! 12

11 Dre Summer Wake up sleepy heads The poer s ack on this morning and e have lots to do today (sleepily) Is it Christmas already or am I dreaming Yes, Dre, it s Christmas! Let s get our coats on and go outside to make sno angels Sammy Dre Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Bloomfield That sounds great, Summer! (looking outside) Besides, it looks like God gave us a fresh lanket of sno for Christmas Wo! God s ust giving us all kinds of presents this year! (calling after them) You kids undle up It s cold out there (Kids put their coats on and head outside) (lovingly) Merry Christmas, honey (hands ife a present) I got you a little present Oh, Ken, you didn t have to get me anything this year I kno money has een tight lately ith your hours eing cut at ork I asn t expecting anything Well, it isn t the ne refrigerator you ve een anting, ut I anted to get you something (Mrs Bloomfield opens present to find a lender) I noticed that our old one as roken Thank you, dear A lender is a great gift Hey, maye later on tonight e can make ice cream shakes That sounds terrific! You re such a good ife and mother (Scene shifts to the Dary household here Paige and Gilert are running around) Mrs Dary Mr Dary Paige Mrs Dary Would you kids knock it off We have company coming in three hours and I ve got to get this house cleaned up Kids, hy don t you give your mother a hand Do e have to, dad It s Christmas Actually, Tom, they d proaly e more help if they d ust go outside and play Mr Dary Gilert Alright kids, you heard your mother Go play outside for a hile OK, dad Let s get our coats, Paige 13

12 (Paige and Gilert put coats on and hurry outside to here the Bloomfield kids are already playing) Sammy Dre Hi, Gilert Hi, Paige We re making sno angels Do you guys ant to play ith us Paige Gilert Summer Gilert Dre Paige Summer Paige Summer Paige Sammy Dre Sure I love playing in the sno Yeah, me too Do you ant to have a snoall fight (throing a snoall) Sure, ut you etter run (Kids all go ild throing snoalls everyhere) Hey, this is no fair It s three against to That s not our prolem (out of reath) I call a truce Agree OK Let s give them a reak, guys (Kids all sit don in the sno) So, hat are you guys hoping to get for Christmas Well, I asked for this ne dress I sa at the store But I kno that my parents don t have a lot of money this year, so I don t kno if I ll get it or not Ho aout you I ant a ne ike A red, Yamaha, 10-speed, ith a asket and a ell Oh, and a matching red helmet to go ith it Wo! I asked for a ike, too The one you ant sounds pretty great (pause; sadly) But I proaly on t get that kind I asked for more Legos What aout you, Gilert Gilert Well, there s this ne set of video games out called Termination of the Sloth s that I really ant There are five games in the series and they come in this aesome carrying case I gave my parents a picture of them so they ouldn t get mixed up Summer Those sound like some neat gifts (pause) It s getting sort of cold out here Sammy Paige I m cold, too Can e go inside Yeah, I think I m ready to go inside and arm up, too (Kids stand up and get ready to go inside) 14

13 Dre Gilert Good luck ith your Christmas gifts You, too See you guys later Piano Christmas Commotion S C E N E F O U R (While music plays, lights go don Sno is sept center stage Tale is set at the Bloomfield's for Christmas dinner Lights come up dimly on the Dary s, here relatives can e seen and heard arriving at the house When the music is finished, lights come up on the Dary s) Relative #1 Relative #2 Relative #3 Relative #2 Mrs Dary Relative #2 Relative #1 Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary Lucy, everything ust smells onderful! You alays ere such a onderful little cook (patting elly) I haven t eaten for days, saving room for this ig dinner What are e having to eat Well, I made ham, roast eef, aked potatoes, apple stuffing, cranerry Jell-O salad, and homemade dinner rolls That sounds fantastic And it sounds like you ve een keeping very usy You have no idea When is dinner going to e ready, dear It should e ready Why don t you gather everyone and have them find a seat (talking loudly to get everyone s attention) Well, e re so glad that you all could make it today My ife says that dinner s ready So hy doesn t everyone come into the kitchen and find a chair We ll have a ord of prayer and then dig in (Family all heads toard the kitchen Comments are heard aout the onderful food prepared Scene shifts to the Bloomfield's ho are sitting at the tale) Summer Mrs Bloomfield This soup is onderful, darling Yeah, mom, it s really good I love the iscuits We re certainly very lessed this Christmas 15

14 Dre Yes, God is very good You kno, kids, not everyone gets a delicious meal on Christmas They don t Ho come Summer Mrs Bloomfield Summer Dre Some countries are very poor and people don t have money for food Sometimes people are very sick and can only eat simple foods Some families don t have a mommy that can cook as ell as yours (Kids giggle) But did you kno that there is something far more valuale than physical food What s that The food from God's Word I as ust reading the other day in First Peter It says that ust like our odies need food to gro, our soul also needs food to gro Our soul gros y reading the Bile and praying, right Very good And depending on ho much e have felloship ith God, our soul is either starving or feasting I ant oth my stomach and my soul to have a feast this Christmas! Choir The Bile is a Feast for the Soul S C E N E F I V E (While choir sings, stage is set for opening gifts in oth households Scene opens in the Dary s living room around the Christmas tree) Paige Mr Dary Paige Daddy, can e please open our presents no I ve een aiting for 364 days! Come on already! What did you do, Paige Make your Christmas ish list last Ne Years Daddy, you kno ho long I ve een aiting for a ne ike My ike s so old it still has the training heels on it Gilert Paige (sarcastically) Maye there s a reason for that! Be quiet, Gilert! We all kno hat as on your Christmas list a stuffed Barney doll and airplane sippy cups 16

15 Mrs Dary Mr Dary All right, you to Cut it out Let s try and enoy these fe moments together I think you ve aited long enough We promised that after dinner, and after our company all ent home, e d open presents So, it s time for presents! Mrs Dary Gilert Paige Mrs Dary Paige Mr Dary Paige Here you go, Gilert (Hands present to son) (Opens present) Aesome! These are the exact video games I anted Thanks, guys No if only he as smarter than the rapping paper, he d actually e ale to play them Paige (Pause) And this present is for you (Reaching ehind the all, she pulls out a ne ike ith a right red rion) Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it Ho could you possily have knon that s hat I anted Your sutle reminders these past 364 days helped a little You re the est parents in the hole orld I love you very much! (Lights fade on the Dary s Attention is turned to the other side of the stage here the Bloomfield's are also gathered in their living room, efore opening their gifts) Summer Dre Mrs Bloomfield (Reading from his Bile) not that I speak in respect of ant, for I have learned in hatsoever state I am, thereith to e content I kno oth ho to e aased, and I kno ho to aound, every here and in all things I am instructed oth to e full and to e hungry, oth to aound and to suffer need I can do all things through Christ hich strengtheneth me Daddy, that s a funny story to e reading on Christmas Yeah, e usually read aout ay Jesus on Christmas And that s a good story, too But I thought e d read something different this year Your dad and I thought that hile e usually place a ig emphasis on all the nice presents e ant, it might e a good idea to talk aout contentment Sammy Contentment What s that That s a good question, Sammy Contentment is eing happy ith hat you already have instead of alays anting something else 17

16 Mrs Bloomfield Summer Did you kno that the story daddy as reading as ritten y a man named Paul You ve maye learned aout him at church We learned in Sunday School that Paul as eaten, stoned and left to die Very good, Summer Dre Sammy Mrs Bloomfield Dre Summer Sammy I rememer my teacher telling me that Paul lived in a tent Well, Paul as a tent maker, so he may have lived in a tent Sammy, do you kno anything else aout Paul Didn t he get thron in ail Not only did he get thron in ail, ut he sang songs hile he as in there Can you imagine anyody eing happy in ail Kids, Paul as content even though he as eaten, stoned, shiprecked, itten y a snake, run out of ton, thron into ail, and possily even living in a tent Content in a tent Hey, that rhymes So, e should e content if e live in a mansion or a tent (sadly) And I should e content hether I ever get a ne ike or have to keep riding my old one that s ent I m proud of you kids You have the idea exactly This Christmas let s determine to e content in a tent Choir Content in a Tent S C E N E S I X (Scene is outside here the Dary and Bloomfield children are discussing their ne gifts) Paige (shoing off her ne ike) Summer, Sammy, Dre! Look hat I got for Christmas! Isn t it eautiful Sammy Paige Sammy That s really nice, Paige I m glad you got hat you anted What aout you Did you get a ne ike No But I got some really nice coloring ooks and some stickers that I anted They re really pretty 18

17 Summer Gilert Dre Gilert, did you get the video games you asked for Yeah! You guys ill have to come over and play them ith me sometime That ould e really fun Gilert Summer Dre Gilert Summer Sammy Paige Summer Dre Gilert Sammy Gilert Summer Gilert Paige Sammy (talking to Summer and Dre) And hat did you to get Well, I got a ne inter coat And I got some Matchox cars (unimpressed) Oh! Well, I m sorry you guys didn t get hat you really anted That s OK We decided that this Christmas, no matter hat, e ere going to e content That s right I learned that I can e ust as happy ith a ook of stickers or a ne ike or even nothing at all I don t think I could have een happy ith ust stickers Sure you could have, Paige You see, God can give you strength to e happy in any situation Daddy told us the story of Paul in the Bile Did you kno that he as happy even in ail What as rong ith him Nothing as rong ith him God ust helped make him realize that things couldn t make him happy I m pretty happy ith my ne video games You may e happy right no, ut I et that in a year you on t even care aout those games anymore We ll have to ait and see aout that We d etter go inside no, Paige Mom told us she anted our eds made efore lunch (Gilert heads inside) I ll e right there, Gilert (talking to Sammy) Are you really happy ith your ne stickers and coloring ooks A ne ike ould have een really nice, ut, yes, I am happy ith the gifts I got Paige Summer Well, if you ever ant to ride my ike, I ll let you That s very nice of you, Paige 19

18 Paige Sammy Dre Well, you re proaly right I could choose to e happy ith or ithout my ne ike You ust let me kno hen you ant to ride it I etter go no (leaves to go home) See you later Merry Christmas Merry Christmas Bye Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary (Scene changes to the Dary s house) Lucille, there is one more gift to open I ought you something I think you ll like very much Oh, Tom, I thought you forgot You really shouldn t have (opening gift excitedly) What could it possily e There are so many things I ve had my eye on (After opening the gift, she pauses, then says ith disgust) A lender! You ought me a lender I kno ho much you like those fruit smoothies and I thought you could make your on A lender Maye a ne set of paamas or some ne perfume or a night aay from the kids or Lucy, I as ust trying to e thoughtful After all, you told me not to get you anything I alays tell you not to get me anything That doesn t mean, don t get me anything! I give up! (Lights shine on Bloomfield's ho are contentedly drinking milkshakes in their living room Lights stay up on Dary s) Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary (hining) Don t I deserve anything to make me happy Of course you do, dear I m really sorry aout the lender This has een a lousy Christmas I cook and clean for eeks We lose the poer on Christmas Eve It s freezing outside And no this a lender I don t kno any oman ho ould e happy ith a lender (dryly) Merry Christmas, honey Choir Christmas Commotion Medley Reprise 20

19 Reader's Theater Drama 21

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21 Characters: Props: 1 Narrator 2 Mr Thomas Dary ealthy usinessman and father 3 Mrs Lucille Dary eautiful mother of to ho has a complaining nature 4 Gilert Dary 12-year-old son ho is very sarcastic 5 Paige Dary 9-year-old daughter 6 Mr Kenneth Bloomfield father ho is struggling to provide for his family, hile keeping his trust in God 7 Mrs Darlene Bloomfield loving mother ho graciously supports and cares for her family 8 Summer Bloomfield 10-year-old daughter 9 Samantha ( Sammy ) Bloomfield 8-year-old daughter 10 Dre Bloomfield 7-year-old son 1 Ten stools for readers 2 To rapped Christmas packages ith lenders inside Recommended Stage Setup: Children s Choir / Musicians Ken Darlene Summer Sammy Dre Narrator Paige Gilert Lucy Tom Music Options: If a children's choir is unale to perform all of the songs, the folloing versions of music (listed elo) are availale Adult choir, small ensemle, duets, or solos can e supplemented in place of the children's choir Other version may e purchased at foreveresurecom 1 Christmas Commotion Medley children or youth choir 2 Whiter Than the Whitest Sno children s choir, adult choir (SATB), solo, or duet 3 Perspective is Elective children s choir or small ensemle 4 The Bile is a Feast for the Soul children s choir, adult choir (SATB), solo, or duet 5 Content in a Tent children s choir or adult choir (SATB) 6 Christmas Commotion Reprise children s choir or all choirs comined Estimated Length: 45 minutes 23

22 Song - Christmas Commotion Medley Narrator Mrs Bloomfield Narrator and so, my fello parishioners, ith this Christmas season upon us, may e e ever mindful of hat e are really celerating It s not aout the fancy trees, or glittering lights, or all the presents rapped so neatly under the tree, ut rather e rememer the irth of a Savior ho came to this earth to save sinners May e not forget May e not forget! You are dismissed With that, Pastor Mitchell closed the Sunday service and the parishioners filed eagerly out the door There ere excited rumlings in every corner of the sanctuary Darlene Bloomfield could e heard eagerly discussing her families Christmas plans We ll e staying right here at home in Plainsvie this holiday - a nice quiet Christmas ith ust the five of us With Ken s ork schedule and the tighter finances, e decided it ould e est to stay close to home This ill e the first Christmas spent ith ust our family I m really looking forard to it Others, like Lucille Dary, could e heard lamenting the looming tasks that lay ahead Mrs Dary Can you elieve it I m going to e hosting dinner for 27 people! Tom s family is coming I still have to clean the house, make guest eds, do my last minute gift shopping, and cook Christmas dinner Sounds relaxing, doesn t it Narrator Narrator Mr Dary Narrator Kenneth Bloomfield as relaying ho Christmas alays stirred up fond family memories When I as a oy, my dad and I ould go out to the oods and cut don our on tree hile mom stayed at home making her special shortread cookies Hopefully, this year our family ill e making some ne memories of our on Thomas Dary as ishing he could ust get aay from his family I sure ish e could have gotten aay this year to somehere arm Lucy keeps asking me to take our family to Florida, ut it ust seems to never ork out Instead, e have 27 relatives all coming to see us But, like it or not, Christmas had arrived Sno as on the ground Lights ere stren from the housetops Jingle ells could e heard in every store And children s Christmas art as hung around the house Dre Mommy, look hat I made in Junior Church 24

23 Mrs Bloomfield Summer Sammy Oh, Dre, that s onderful! You re such a little artist What is it, Dre It looks like pretend sno Dre Summer Sammy Narrator Summer Sammy Mrs Bloomfield Dre Mrs Bloomfield It is Our teacher said that hen e look outside and see the sno it can help remind us that hen Jesus comes into our hearts, He can make them hite as sno Hey, e learned a verse aout that today, too Only our teacher said that Jesus can take our hearts and make them hiter than sno Whiter than sno That s silly I can t think of anything that s hiter than sno Song - Whiter Than the Whitest Sno Even though this Decemer as one of coldest on record in Plainsvie, that couldn t stop the excitement of one tenyear-old girl Summer Bloomfield loved everything that Christmas had to offer I ust love Christmas! I love snoflakes and ingle ells and candy canes and Christmas carols and OK, I think e get the idea, Summer I love sledding and grandma s fudge and putting up the Christmas tree and Samantha, not you too! (giggling) Well, I love s mores and sleeping ags and telling stories around the campfire and falling asleep to the sound of crickets (Whole family laughs) Dre, you d think it as the middle of July the ay you re talking - not Christmas Eve (pretending to shiver) And the coldest Christmas Eve since 1972 I sure am thankful e re not out camping in this eather (Suddenly a loud crash is heard off stage) Sammy What as that, mommy 25

24 Mrs Bloomfield Sammy Summer I don t kno, dear But I m going to go and get some candles hile your dad figures it out Will you come and help me Sure, ut I can t see a thing Hold my hand, Sammy I m coming, too Dre Narrator Mrs Dary Mr Dary Paige Gilert Mrs Dary Narrator I ll go check outside and see hat happened Do you ant to come ith me, Dre I m right ehind you, dad As Dre and his father headed outside, they discovered a tree had fallen onto the poer line Both the Bloomfield s and the Dary s ere ithout poer on Christmas Eve It seemed more than one family could handle Oh, great! No this is ust hat I needed to happen on Christmas Eve It ust isn t enough that I have to e stuck in Plainsvie in Decemer Or that I have a herd of my eloved in-las coming over for dinner tomorro Or that I had to do all the Christmas shopping all y myself Why does God hate me Settle don, Lucy It s not a alk in the park for me either Who do you think pays for all those presents you ought Or all that food You d think e had 127 people coming over for dinner tomorro! And on top of that, have you seen our utility ill this month Do you kno hat it costs to heat this place And no this (hining) I m hungry I ant a pizza Yeah, me too I m starving Can e please have something to eat Kids, I can t take this right no! Ho do you think I m supposed to make you a pizza hen I have no electricity If you ant something to eat, get it yourself While the Dary s anxiously tried to figure out ho in the orld they ere going to get everything done, the Bloomfield s had come up ith a plan of their on Well, it looks like one of our trees fell over and must have hit a poer line No telling ho long it ill take them to repair it, eing Christmas Eve and all Mrs Bloomfield Dre It looks like Dre is going to get his ish of camping out in Decemer Why don t e get the sleeping ags and ring them into the living room (excitedly) Do you mean e get to camp out in here tonight 26

25 Summer Sammy And e could pretend the candles are a great ig, arm campfire And hat aout s mores No camping trip is complete ithout s mores Mrs Bloomfield Dre Paige Mrs Dary Gilert Paige Gilert Mr Dary Mrs Bloomfield Summer Dre I think I might e ale to muster up some chocolate and marshmallos That sounds great! Who ever thought e d e camping in Decemer Maye it s God s special present to me on Christmas Maye, Dre (Scene shifts to the Dary s) But mom, I only kno ho to make peanut utter sandiches and I don t even like those Well, peanut utter is hat s on the menu tonight So get cooking (pretending to e a nes anchor) We no tune in to Chef Paige Dary And hat ill she e cooking up for us this fine evening Leave me alone, Gilert Ah, her famous peanut utter sandich And atch ho gracefully she spreads the peanut utter onto the read Tune in next eek to atch her tackle pouring a glass of milk OK, that s enough We have enough prolems ithout adding your squaling to the mix (Scene shifts ack to the Bloomfield s) Here you go, kids Let s make s mores Everyone get a candle (pretending) This is the iggest campfire you ve ever made efore, dad It s so right and arm Sammy Mrs Bloomfield And the sound of crickets and ullfrogs in the oods Aaah! We d etter atch out for ears 27

26 Dre Good thing e have the adventurous Dre Bloomfield here to protect us all (ravely) Don t orry everyone I ll e on the look-out (Scene shifts ack to the Dary s) Mrs Dary Gilert Paige Gilert Mr Dary Sammy Summer Dre Paige Gilert Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Dary I told you e should have gone to Florida this Christmas Didn t I tell you Oh, I ust hate this eather! So, hy couldn t e go to Florida, dad It sure ould have een etter that eing stuck in oring Plainsvie ith no electricity Hey, I d even e illing to stay here if e sent Gilert to Florida Ha, ha, ha A professional chef AND a comedian I told you, Lucille, e can t afford to go to Florida Besides, I don t have anymore vacation until next summer (Scene shifts) This is so much fun We should do this every year I m so thankful for our arm, cuddly sleeping ags on a night like tonight And I m thankful that mommy had a ox of candles (Scene Shifts) You mean e re stuck in this freezing eather all inter long (longingly) Florida One day I ll move to Florida (Scene shifts) I m thankful for my family and that e can all e together (Scene shifts) Oh, hat am I going to do Why does our family have to come over tomorro (Scene shifts) Well, I m thankful for God s provision (Scene shifts) Mr Dary If my oss paid me a decent age, I might e ale to take this family on vacation 28

27 (Scene shifts) And I m thankful for good health (Scene shifts) Mr Dary Narrator Mrs Bloomfield Dre Summer Sammy Dre Mrs Bloomfield Mrs Bloomfield I m getting a headache! Song - Perspective is Elective Christmas morning had finally arrived A fresh lanket of sno no covered the ground And, in the Bloomfield house, you could feel the excitement in the air Good morning, kids Merry Christmas! Wake up, sleepy heads The poer s ack on this morning and e have lots to do today Is it Christmas already or am I dreaming Yes, Dre, it s Christmas! Let s get our coats on and go outside to make sno angels That sound great, Summer Besides, it looks like God gave us a fresh lanket of sno for Christmas Wo! God ust keeps giving us all kinds of presents this year! You kids undle up It s cold out there (Brief pause) (lovingly) Merry Christmas, honey (hands ife a present) I got you a little present Oh, Ken, you didn t have to get me anything this year I kno money has een tight lately ith your hours eing cut at ork I asn t expecting anything Well, it isn t the ne refrigerator you ve een anting, ut I did ant to get you something (Mrs Bloomfield opens present to find a lender) Mrs Bloomfield I noticed that our old one as roken Thank you, dear A lender is a great gift Hey, maye later on tonight e can make ice cream shakes 29

28 Narrator That sounds terrific! You re such a good ife and mother While Kenneth and Darlene enoyed a fe quiet holiday moments together, their children played happily outside It asn t long efore their little trio as oined y Paige and Gilert Dary Sammy Dre Paige Gilert Summer Narrator Gilert Dre Paige Summer Paige Summer Paige Sammy Dre Hi, Gilert Hi, Paige We re making sno angels Do you guys ant to play ith us Sure I love playing in the sno Yeah, me too Do you ant to have a snoall fight Sure, ut you etter run So ith that, a snoall fight quickly ensued There as sno flying everyhere The kids got sno in their hair, in their oots, and don their coats Before too long, all five kids ere cold and tired Hey, this is no fair It s three against to That s not our prolem I call a truce Agree OK Let s give them a reak, guys Consider this my Christmas present to you Speaking of presents, hat are you guys hoping to get for Christmas Well, I asked for this ne dress I sa at the store But I kno that my parents don t have a lot of money this year, so I don t kno if I ll get it or not Ho aout you I ant a ne ike A red, Yamaha, 10-speed, ith a asket and a ell Oh, and a matching red helmet to go ith it Wo! I asked for a ike, too The one you ant sounds pretty great But I proaly on t get that kind And I asked for more Legos What aout you, Gilert Gilert Well, there s this ne set of video games out called Termination of the Sloth s that I really ant There are five games in the series and they come in this aesome carrying case I gave my parents a picture of them so they ouldn t get mixed up Summer Those sound like some neat gifts Brrrrr! It s getting sort of cold out here 30

29 Sammy Paige Dre I m cold, too Can e go inside Yeah, I think I m ready to go inside and arm up, too Good luck ith your Christmas gifts Gilert Narrator Mr Dary Narrator Summer Mrs Bloomfield Dre You, too See you guys later As the morning continued on, the Dary s relatives egan to arrive There as activity in every corner of Lucille s clean house Wonderful smells aounded in the kitchen here a feast had een prepared There as roast eef, ham, aked potatoes, apple stuffing, cranerry Jell-O salad, and homemade dinner rolls The tale as set quite festively And after hat seemed like an eternal ait to the kids, it as finally time to gather the family and eat Well, e re so glad that you all could make it today My ife says that dinner s ready So hy doesn t everyone come into the kitchen and find a chair We ll have a ord of prayer and then dig in (praying) Dear God, e ant to pause and thank You for Your gracious provision to us Thank You for our family and the safety You gave them all in their travels Thank You for this delicious meal that Lucy has prepared And most of all, thank You for sending Your Son so many years ago on that very first Christmas Amen The Dary s all feasted on their delicious Christmas meal There as laughter and oking, singing and playing, and afterards homemade apple pie But hile the Bloomfield s enoyed a very different meal, there as no less enoyment This soup is onderful, darling Yeah, mom, it s really good And I love the iscuits We re certainly very lessed this Christmas Yes, God is very good You kno kids, not everyone gets a delicious meal on Christmas They don t Ho come Some countries are very poor and people don t have money for food Sometimes people are very sick and can only eat simple foods Some families don t have a mommy that can cook as good as yours (kids giggle) But did you kno that there is something far more valuale than physical food Summer What s that The food from God s Word 31

30 Mrs Bloomfield Summer I as ust reading the other day in First Peter It says that ust like our odies need food to gro, our soul also needs food to gro Our soul gros y reading the Bile and praying, right Dre Paige Mr Dary Paige Gilert Paige Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Gilert Paige Mrs Dary Very good And depending on ho much e have felloship ith God, our soul is either starving or feasting I ant oth my stomach and my soul to have a feast this Christmas! Song - The Bile is a Feast for the Soul Daddy, can e please open our presents no I ve een aiting for 364 days! Come on, already! What did you do, Paige Make your Christmas ish list last Ne Years Daddy, you kno ho long I ve een aiting for a ne ike My ike s so old it still has the training heels on it (sarcastically) Maye there s a reason for that Be quiet, Gilert! We all kno hat as on your Christmas list a stuffed Barney doll and airplane sippy cups All right, you to Cut it out Let s try and enoy these fe moments together I think you ve aited long enough We promised that after dinner, and after our company all ent home, e d open presents So, it s time for presents! Here you go, Gilert Aesome! These are the exact video games I anted Thanks guys No if only he as smarter than the rapping paper, he d actually e ale to play them Paige (pause) If you look ehind the couch there is a present for you Paige Mr Dary A ne ike! Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I love it Ho could you possily have knon that s hat I anted Your sutle reminders these past 364 days helped a little 32

31 Paige You re the est parents in the hole orld I love you very much! (Scene shifts to the Bloomfield home) Summer Dre Mrs Bloomfield Sammy Mrs Bloomfield Summer Dre Sammy (Reading from his Bile) not that I speak in respect of ant, for I have learned in hatsoever state I am, thereith to e content I kno oth ho to e aased, and I kno ho to aound, every here and in all things I am instructed oth to e full and to e hungry, oth to aound and to suffer need I can do all things through Christ hich strengtheneth me Daddy, that s a funny story to e reading on Christmas Yeah, e usually read aout ay Jesus on Christmas And that s a good story, too But I thought e d read something different this year Your father and I thought that hile e usually place a ig emphasis on all the nice presents e ant, it might e a good idea to talk aout contentment Contentment What s that That s a good question, Sammy Contentment is eing happy ith hat you already have instead of alays anting something else Did you kno that the story daddy as reading as ritten y a man named Paul You ve maye learned aout him at church We learned in Sunday School that Paul as eaten, stoned and left to die Very good, Summer I rememer my teacher telling me that Paul lived in a tent Well, Paul as a tentmaker, so he may have lived in a tent Sammy, do you kno anything else aout Paul Didn t he get thron in ail Not only did he get thron in ail, ut he sang songs hile he as in there Can you imagine anyody eing happy in ail Mrs Bloomfield Dre Kids, Paul as content even though he as eaten, stoned, shiprecked, itten y a snake, run out of ton, thron into ail, and possily even living in a tent Content in a tent Hey, that rhymes 33

32 Summer Sammy We should e content if e live in a mansion or a tent And I should e content hether I ever get a ne ike or have to keep riding my old one that s ent Narrator Paige Sammy Paige Sammy Summer Gilert Dre Gilert Summer Dre Gilert I m proud of you kids You have the idea exactly This Christmas let s determine to e content in a tent Song - Content in a Tent After much aiting, the Bloomfield children opened their presents While they didn t get hat they d hoped for, they ere not disappointed They truly had caught the spirit of contentment This happy family spent the afternoon playing games and making a gingerread house While there as no fanfare, it ould e a Christmas to rememer Later on that evening, Summer, Sammy, and Dre decided to once again go outside and play The Dary kids ere already outside Summer, Sammy, Dre! Look hat I got for Christmas! Isn t it eautiful That s really nice, Paige I m glad you got hat you anted What aout you Did you get a ne ike No But I got some really nice coloring ooks and some stickers They re really pretty Gilert, did you get the video games you asked for Yeah! You guys ill have to come over and play them ith me sometime That ould e really fun Summer and Dre, hat did you to get Well, I got a ne inter coat And I got some Matchox cars (sadly) Oh! Well, I m sorry you guys didn t get hat you really anted Summer Sammy That s OK We decided that this Christmas, no matter hat, e ere going to e content That s right I learned that I can e ust as happy ith a ook of stickers or a ne ike or even nothing at all 34

33 Paige Summer I don t think I could have een happy ith ust some stickers Sure you could have, Paige You see, God can give you strength to e happy in any situation Dre Gilert Sammy Gilert Summer Gilert Paige Sammy Paige Summer Paige Sammy Dre Narrator Daddy told us the story of Paul in the Bile Did you kno that he as happy living in a tent What as rong ith him Nothing as rong ith him God ust helped make him realize that things couldn t make him happy I m pretty happy ith my ne video games You may e happy right no But I et that in a year you on t even care aout those games anymore We ll have to ait and see aout that We d etter go inside no, Paige Mom told us she anted our eds made efore lunch I ll e right there, Gilert (pause) Sammy, are you really happy ith your ne stickers and coloring ooks A ne ike ould have een really nice, ut, yes, I am happy ith the gifts I got Well, if you ever ant to ride my ike, I ll let you That s very nice of you, Paige Well, you re proaly right I could choose to e happy ith or ithout my ne ike You ust let me kno hen you ant to ride it I etter go no See you later Merry Christmas Merry Christmas Bye The sun finally set on Plainsvie that Christmas evening The sky as right ith stars and the gloing Christmas lights All as quiet outside And if you peeked inside the Bloomfield s house, you ould see a mom and dad ith their three children happily enoying milkshakes Yes, this cozy family had truly realized that contentment is not found in material things It s not found in delicious foods or exciting festivities It s not found in family or friends Contentment came to earth in a stale so many years ago It as ecause of that tiny ay, named Jesus, that mankind can have true peace and happiness Mr Dary Lucille, there is one more gift to open I ought you something I think you ll like very much 35

34 Mrs Dary Mr Dary Oh, Tom, I thought you forgot You really shouldn t have (opening gift excitedly) What could it possily e There are so many things I ve had my eye on (After opening the gift, she pauses, then says ith disgust) A lender! You ought me a lender I kno ho much you like those fruit smoothies and I thought you could make your on Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary Mrs Dary Mr Dary A lender Maye a ne set of paamas or some ne perfume or a night aay from the kids or Lucy, I as ust trying to e thoughtful After all, you told me not to get you anything I alays tell you not to get me anything That doesn t mean, don t get me anything! I give up! Don t I deserve anything to make me happy Of course you do, dear I m really sorry aout the lender This has een a lousy Christmas I cook and clean for eeks We lose the poer on Christmas Eve It s freezing outside And no this a lender I don t kno any oman ho ould e happy ith a lender (dryly) Merry Christmas, honey Song - Christmas Commotion Medley Reprise 36

35 37 Piano rit - F n n n n F a tempo Christmas Commotion Medley n - - n n n n n n for Youth Choir and Keyoard n Words and Music y HEIDI FULLER Arrangement y NANCY BJOKNE n f â n Copyright 2008 y Forever Be Sure, LLC All rights reserved Duplication in any form is prohiited ithout ritten permission from the pulisher

36 38 Christmas Commotion Medley n 33 n n n n n

37 Christmas Commotion Medley f F - - -

38 40 Christmas Commotion Medley n n n n ev - 'ry -here you J n f â rit F Choir unison F a tempo n n n n It's that time of J year go, J skies light up at J n n hen J night ith J

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40 42 Christmas Commotion Medley un- der - neath the tree, I on-der ust hich ones are ait - ing pa - tient - ly for me Sno-flakes fall ten - der - n 89 from the in - ter sky, and smells a - ound through - out the ly ton of

41 93 rit Christmas Commotion Medley 43 f a tempo grand-ma's ap - ple pie Glo rit f a tempo ri a! Ho I love De - cem - Glo 101 J J er! ri - a! J

42 44 Christmas Commotion Medley Ho I love De J J - cem Ó er! F A a tempo a tempo rit - mid the fuss and hur - ry u - sy ho - li - day, may e all e mind - ful of this hy e

43 Christmas Commotion Medley n 121 ce - le - rate this ay Je - sus came from Heav'n a - ove to our Ó re - demp-tion pay Be - cause of His a - tone-ment 125 the saved can sure - ly say, "Glo Ó f f

44 46 Christmas Commotion Medley ri - a! Ho I love the Sav - Glo J J Ho I love the J Sav ior!" ior! ri a! J

45 141 Christmas Commotion Medley F To-part J Ó A F Pres-ents rapped fes-tive - ly - mid the fuss and hur - ry of this un - der-neath the tree, I on - der ust hich ones are ait - ing u - sy ho - li - day, May e all e mind - ful pa - tient - ly for me Sno-flakes fall ten - der - ly ce n hy e - le -rate this ay Je - sus came from Heav'n a - ove to

46 48 Christmas Commotion Medley our re- demp-tion pay Be - cause of His a - tone-ment from the in - ter sky, and smells a - ound through - out the ton of the grand-ma's ap - ple pie Glo saved can sure - ly say Glo f f ri - a! Ho I love De - cem ri - a! Ho I love the Sav - J J er! ior!

47 Christmas Commotion Medley Glo Glo ri - a! ri - a! Ho I love De Ho I love the 173 J J - cem Sav er! ior! rit 4 3 J Ó Ó 4 3 P 4 3 J J 4 3

48 50 Christmas Commotion Medley 177 P Choir unison J J J Con - tent - ment comes J J not from a truck - load of toys or striped Christ - mas can - dies or J J J J gin - ger - read oys It does - n't ar - J J J J J rive in a

49 Christmas Commotion Medley rein - deer - pulled sleigh, ut on - ly through Je - sus, a J J rit sleep on rit hol the J - i - hay He's all J J that I J J need on this day J J less'd J J J J U U

50 52 Whiter Than the Whitest Sno for Youth Choir and Keyoard Part 1 Part 2 Piano P P P Whit - er than the hit - est sno Whit - er, hit - er, hit - ter than the hit - est sno J J Words and Music y HEIDI FULLER Copyright 2008 y Forever Be Sure, LLC All rights reserved Duplication in any form is prohiited ithout ritten permission from the pulisher