One person asks the others for words – a food, a number, an animal sound – without saying what the story is about. Then the finished story is read aloud, and it never makes sense. Play on the phone at the table, or print the sheets.
That person asks the others for one word at a time, just as the hint says, and types it in (or writes it on the line of the sheet).
When all the words are in, the whole story is read aloud.
The words stay on this phone: nothing is sent or saved.
Pick a story
or Ctrl+P / ⌘P
One story a page, A4 or Letter, portrait, 100%: the words to ask for, with a line for each, and the story with numbered blanks.
Santa’s Very Busy Night
a number from 1 to 12
a silly word
a food, plural (e.g. pancakes)
a color
a plural noun (e.g. umbrellas)
things from the kitchen (plural)
animals (plural)
a verb (e.g. wiggle)
the name of someone in the room
a plural noun (e.g. buttons)
a big number
an adverb (e.g. loudly)
a noun (e.g. sandwich)
On Christmas Eve, Santa woke up at ______ (1) o’clock and shouted, “______ (2)!” The reindeer were eating ______ (3) for breakfast, and the oldest one had a nose that glowed ______ (4). The sleigh was packed with ______ (5) and ______ (6), so it was very, very heavy. High above the roofs, the elves sang a song about ______ (7) until the moon began to ______ (8). In the first house, ______ (9) was still awake, sitting next to the tree. “Shh,” whispered Santa, and he filled a stocking with ______ (10). Then he ate ______ (11) cookies, drank some warm milk and flew off ______ (12), calling, “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good ______ (13)!”
The Great Cookie Disaster
a big number
the name of someone in the room
something in a kitchen (e.g. fridge)
a food, plural (e.g. pickles)
an exclamation (e.g. Oh no)
something smelly (e.g. old socks)
a verb (e.g. sing)
animals (plural)
an adjective (e.g. crunchy)
a funny sound
a plural noun (e.g. paper clips)
a verb (e.g. tickle)
Every year Grandma bakes exactly ______ (1) gingerbread cookies. This year, ______ (2) offered to help. First, the flour went everywhere, even on the ______ (3). Then somebody added ______ (4) to the dough instead of sugar. “______ (5)!” cried Grandma. The kitchen smelled like ______ (6), and the oven started to ______ (7). When the cookies came out, they were shaped like ______ (8) and tasted ______ (9). The dog sniffed one, said “______ (10)” and ran away. In the end, everyone decided to decorate them with ______ (11) and call them modern art. They are still on the table, next to a sign that says, “Please do not ______ (12)!”
The Snowman Who Wanted a Vacation
a funny name
a plural noun (e.g. marbles)
a place (e.g. Hawaii)
a plural noun (e.g. socks)
a number
an adjective (e.g. sparkly)
a verb (e.g. hop)
a silly word
a number from 2 to 100
a verb ending in -ing (e.g. dancing)
an adverb (e.g. quickly)
a food (e.g. pizza)
In our yard lives a snowman called ______ (1). He has a carrot nose, two buttons and a hat full of ______ (2). One cold morning he said, “I am tired of snow. I want to go to ______ (3)!” So he packed ______ (4), a towel and ______ (5) sandwiches. At the bus stop, a crow asked him, “Why are you so ______ (6)?” The snowman just smiled and began to ______ (7). The bus driver laughed so hard that she said “______ (8)” ______ (9) times. When the snowman finally arrived, the sun was shining and everybody was ______ (10). “Oops,” he said, “I am melting ______ (11)!” Now he lives in our freezer, next to the ______ (12), and sends postcards to the cat.
The Tallest Tree in Town
a number
a food (e.g. cinnamon rolls)
a number from 2 to 50
a funny word
a plural noun (e.g. spoons)
a food, plural (e.g. meatballs)
a color
a plural noun (e.g. noodles)
a verb (e.g. sneeze)
another verb (e.g. wobble)
the name of someone in the room
an exclamation (e.g. Gotcha)
a plural noun (e.g. shoelaces)
This year our family bought the tallest Christmas tree in town. It was ______ (1) feet tall and smelled like ______ (2). Getting it through the door took ______ (3) people and a lot of shouting: “______ (4)!” We decorated it with ______ (5), ______ (6) and a string of lights that blinked ______ (7). On top we put a star made of ______ (8). Then the cat decided to ______ (9), and the whole tree began to ______ (10). Luckily, ______ (11) caught it just in time and yelled, “______ (12)!” Now the tree is tied to the wall with ______ (13), and the cat has to watch it from the sofa.