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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#122: Spree Season

What comes after Thanksgiving? Black Friday, of course! Though this massive shopping occasion originated in America, it’s since become normal practice in many parts of the world. And did you know the reason why this jolly season has such a bleak name? (Hint: it’s got nothing to do with sales and discounts!) Apparently, the police once used “Black Friday” to refer to the bumper-to-bumper traffic and crowds congesting streets as people rushed through their holiday shopping.

With this origin story in mind, here’s our gift to you this week: five prompts inspired by this strange and exciting intermission in the end-of-year holiday season. (And if you’re looking for actual gifts with a writerly flair, we’ve got 60 gift suggestions for you.)

This week's prompts

Write about a character who’s stuck in a shopping mall.

Christmas – 27 stories

Start your story in the middle of a traffic jam.

Thriller and Suspense – 27 stories

Write a story about a limited edition item going on sale.

Thriller and Suspense – 11 stories

A package arrives at your character’s house, but they didn’t order anything. Write about what happens next.

Thriller and Suspense – 59 stories

Write about a character who won’t (or can’t) shop for the holidays.

Christmas – 25 stories

Stories

“Unexpected Gifts” by Kasi Jay

Submitted to Contest #122

It was the middle of a Saturday afternoon. I sat in my favorite place on the couch, stretching my legs out on the chaise. Grabbing the remote, I turned on the TV, mounted above my fireplace. Netflix always seemed to have something I’d enjoy watching. Something caught my eye as I sifted through selections. Ooh, that looks good. Just as the trailer ended, my Ring doorbell sensed movement, spamming my phone with its crappy motion detection. I ignored it. Probably one of the neighborhood kids walking past. And pre...

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“The Philosopher's Café - Socrates” by Michael Regan

Submitted to Contest #122

David Hume had just arrived at LAX when he received news that his wife had been taken to the Lions Gate Hospital in North Vancouver. He immediately cancelled his meetings and booked a flight back to Vancouver. He was somewhere over Oregon when she passed away.The doctors said it was a brain aneurysm, “there was nothing you could have done”. That didn’t ease the guilt of not being with her in her final moments.Struggling with his loss, his business of advising clients on social trends closed.After a year of ‘bouncing around’ his five bedroom ...

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“The child of the Gods.” by Makiyah Dixon

Submitted to Contest #122

It was October 19th, 2024. The dusk of night crept into the room I was in. The moonlight glistened onto all the surrounding objects in my room. I get spooked easy so I got up to turn on the light. As I stopped in my tracks exactly. I saw a brownish truck pull in my driveway. I didn’t have any family members nor did I have friends. I only had one friend which was my cat Mr. Oiyz, I stared at the truck a little longer. Without my glasses, it is hard to make out the figure of the truck. Finally, my eyes weren’t deceiving me and I could see the ...

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“Dawn of Armageddon” by Georgia Papp

Submitted to Contest #122

The package sits neatly on top of my tightly made bed. I stare at the carton container of an unassuming brown color, devoid of all inscription, for five minutes before venturing a step near it. The fact that I hadn’t ordered anything wasn’t the strangest detail. But rather I wondered how it reached my bedroom upstairs when there hadn’t been anyone home all day. The gate and front door had remained closed, and there appeared no sign of an intruder. But even this wasn’t the strangest thing to have happened today. My eyes dart to the backpack ...

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“The Shelves are Laughing at me” by Livana Teagan

Submitted to Contest #122

"I know it's a weird fear to have Emmie. You don't understand," I told her in an angry voice. She was sitting in her green PT Cruiser at the edge of my driveway. The keys were still in the ignition. Her bright red nails tapped against the steering wheel in an impatient manner. Her blond hair twisted in perfect ringlets around her cheeks. Her blue eyes raged with fire. "If you don't want to go. That's all you have to say," her face scrunched with anger. I wanted to go with her. That wasn't the question. The question was how? Ho...

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“A Surprise in the Night” by Aejay Jin

Submitted to Contest #122

It was a bare winter night. A dark figure emerged from the steps of the train station, her breath forming clouds in the air. She was wearing a long, thickly padded winter coat that reached her calves, with the hood tightly secured around her face. Despite her cocoon-like protection, the occasional strong gusts of wind seemed to cut straight through, chilling her to the bones. Teeth chattering, she folded her arms and made short, quick steps, making a shuffling noise from the friction of her clothes. The rough cement street was wet from the s...

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“Christmas Crisis ” by Delaney Roberts

Submitted to Contest #122

I’ve been in the car for way too long. I’m running out of songs to play and I refuse to listen to Christmas songs on the radio. My phone is ringing for the eighth time in a row. Ugh, of course, it’s Mom again. “Hey, Mommy!”, I say as I answer the phone with faux joy. “Vanessa, you’re going to be late”“I know Mommy. I’m stuck in traffic, I’ll be there soon”“I told you to stick to the back roads, you never listen to me. Ever since you left for college you never come to visit and the family only gets to see you around the holidays. And whe...

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“Run!” by Connie Elstun

Submitted to Contest #122

(Contains brief Dystopian gore)Pine Grove Mall couldn't provide a non-gender specific Santa Claus this year due to an unforeseen incident. Everyone who resided in our small suburban community was dead, or at least that appeared to be the case. Well, everyone except Faith and me. We hid when those things, those machines, entered the mall. Two strangers together, just she and I hiding and scared. Before we sat in our protected cubby, eighteen-year-old Faith Gardner told me how she loved coming to the mall to socialize with her friends and...

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“Present Past” by Edward Hamilton

Submitted to Contest #122

Present Past by Edward Hamilton PING! As soon as he heard the sound from his pocket, he felt annoyance wash over him. He pulled the phone from his pocket. A couple of swipes and a security code later, he saw the text. Dad! The limited-edition Christmas red Rainbow Troll doll is available ONLY at Toys-a-Lot at 5pm on Dec 24th. I hope you can get it for me. Love you. He groaned as he stared at the text. This time of year was not a slow time for his work. He was going to get off on Dec 24th...

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“The Christmas With No Money” by Kimberly Larraine

Submitted to Contest #122

Our chimney was made of posterboard so Santa could magically enter our home. That hand drawn brick chimney had worked its magic for years. Popcorn garlands and handmade ornaments adorned our gifted tree. Glittered paper snowflakes were hung across every doorway. We all loved Christmas. Our six children, all under age eleven were anxiously counting the days until it came. What their little hearts did not know is that there was no money; no money for shopping, no money for toys. Their father was a painter and it had been a difficult and slow y...

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“Gilded” by Emilie D

Submitted to Contest #122

Alexi The alarm went off and I quickly silenced it. It had been set as a precaution but I had never actually gone to sleep. For weeks I had been watching, waiting. We all had. 96.5 million followers on Jayma’s account meant the whole world was watching. This morning was a 5am release for me because Jayma lives in London, so the announced time was really 10am GMT. I had kept myself up rewatching her most recent tour documentary and making photo edits for the fan account I ran. Now I opened my instagram and navigated to her page. Sh...

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“Unstuck” by L Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #122

It was time for Aurora to shift into park and release her stiffening leg from the brake. Nearly a quarter of an hour had gone by since traffic came to a standstill on the northbound highway. As her grip on the wheel loosened, along with her focus on the road, the busyness that she had forced on her mind also made an abrupt halt. The trip to the mall this morning was to be the culmination of days spent checking holiday sales and making up a shopping list, but all of that was on hold now because of black ice and distracted drivers. The...

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“Mind Astir ” by Agnes Goldfinch

Submitted to Contest #122

It was not its sudden appearance that she found the most suspicious. No. It was the name that was written on the box, which otherwise was quite bare, lacking in the usual stamps, stickers, and obscure signs, maybe even the occasional QR code (and this lack was particularly glaring in comparison to all those other packages that she hoarded throughout the week). But even the absence of a sender’s address did not startle her as radically as that name did. Elle N. There was no last name, no Nichols, just these two words (or, perhaps, a word and ...

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“A Hour in Traffic” by Words By Mary Isaboke

Submitted to Contest #122

Mr. and Mrs. Hall were looking forward to spending Christmas Eve with their son, daughter n law and two grands. As it turned out, they got stuck in the middle of a traffic jam for a hour. They were on their way to North Carolina from New Jersey. Three more hours of driving was in front of them. On a major highway, everything stopped. They got stuck in the middle of a congested traffic jam and their anxiousness turned to fearfulness.This couple are in their middle fifties. Mrs. Hall does not drive long distance. So Mr. Hall is at the wheel. M...

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“Signature Required” by Lisa Roberts

Submitted to Contest #122

What fresh hell is this? The porch motion detector flash of white light blinded me. As my eyes adjusted, I tore off the yellow post office slip fluttering against the screen door. What now? I had signed all the documents for the sale of the house. Did the realtor forget something? Again? The post office slip said “Signature Required” In bold letters along the bottom. Struggling to balance my purse and keys, I miss the lock, after several tries the key catches and my front door unlocks. I dig in my ...

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$250

Prize money

149

Contest entries

104

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 03, 2021 EST

Won by Laura Jarosz 🏆

Title: No Forwarding Address

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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