Countdown to Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Dear Grandpa

Amber has invited her whole family to her new home to have the "perfect family Christmas." She has decorated her house, carefully planned the meal, and even ironed her shoelaces! Once her brother, sister, parents, and curmudgeon of a grandfather show up, though, nothing goes right. When a last-minute accident prevents Amber from making Christmas dinner, it falls upon her kitchen-challenged siblings to take up the slack, with hilarious results. Just when the dinner can't get any worse, it ends up with a twist or two that makes it, indeed, the perfect family Christmas. Read more.

The Family Fruitcake

Laurie McKinnon is determined that everyone should have a normal Christmas, especially while her eldest son is away serving in the military.  She rushes about making sure everything is ready for the impending arrival of the extended family including putting out the family fruitcake. The fruitcake was made some 20 years ago, and has never been eaten. It has become a family tradition to keep it in the pantry until Christmas, when it earns a place on the table only to be put away for the next year. The afternoon brings arguments, tears, joy, and reconciliations, some long overdue. But no matter what, it will always be a regular McKinnon Christmas— just as long as they have the fruitcake. And nothing could go wrong with that … could it? Read more.

'Tis the Season

Celebrate the holiday season in a new way this year! These two short interrelated comedies provide a fresh alternative to traditional holiday dramas.

In “‘Tis the Season” (3 m, 2 w, 2 flexible), the Scheduler has called a meeting of representatives of major winter festivals and holidays because the “people upstairs” have decided December is too cluttered with similar events. The group, including Santa, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, and Solstice, discuss who could retire, merge, or relocate, but they cannot agree. When the Scheduler is called away, the discussion escalates into combat! Festivus seems to emerge the winner, but at his moment of triumph the Scheduler appears with the replacement holiday: Winterval. The others finally unite--to oust the newcomer!

In “Frostymas” (3 m, 3 w), a host family including Pop, Sorbet, and their teens Neapolitan and Suzi, welcome guests to their Frostymas celebration. The Frostymas faith, of course, honors the timeless snowman, Frosty, and all things snowman-related. As the family explains the meaning of the various elements and traditions, they lead up to the most sacred observance of all -- the eating of the traditional snow cones!  Read more.

Fairy Tale Christmas

Holiday cheer is driving Queen Malvinia crazy! The former evil stepmother of Snow White’s story is now somewhat reformed, and rules over the kingdom of Happily Ever After. But ever since all the traditional fairy tale characters began getting along, demand for the Queen’s various potions on her website have fallen off drastically. So she’s thought of a new way to boost sales. With the help of Cinderella’s stepsisters, and Wolfgang Amadeus Toothful, alias the Big, Bad Wolf, she throws a Christmas Eve party. Though the Three Little Pigs try to keep the mood happy by singing carols and telling corny jokes, the Queen’s poisoned mistletoe makes everyone angry at each other. Soon everyone will want her nasty spells and wicked charms. The kingdom will turn into Happily Never After! Jack, the Giant Killer, is really a computer nerd and he uses his talents to alert Fairy Godmama, who shows up in the nick of time!  Read more.