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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#173: Giving, Receiving, and Return Receipts

Yikes! The holidays are just around the corner, which means it’s almost time for me to panic-shop for gifts. Even if you aren’t a big fan of Black Friday (when mega discounts and hard-won bargains are up for grabs) you might still be thinking about what to give to your loved ones, or what you might ask for yourself.

This week’s prompts are in the spirit of gift-giving. Whether your characters know just what to get, are scrambling for ideas at the last minute, or are the lucky (or perhaps unlucky) recipient of their own gift, it’s time to gather those wishlists and prepare for the upcoming festive season.

This week's prompts

Coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — getting your hands on it is another thing entirely.

Adventure – 22 stories

End your story with a character receiving a deeply meaningful gift they weren’t expecting.

Adults – 66 stories

Write about a character going to great lengths to return an unwanted gift.

Funny – 22 stories

Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Holiday – 27 stories

Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Holiday – 31 stories

Stories

“Elephants and Other Unexpected Gifts” by Lindsay Flo

Submitted to Contest #173

The snow was the type you weren’t supposed to drive in, period. Especially not during the heaviest part of the storm, when white fluff was dumping at an astonishing rate. Meg was at the wheel, navigating in her minivan, which was the absolute worst type of vehicle to be in at this point. I listened to her chatter, looked over my shoulder at Beth, wondering why neither of my cousins seemed to be frightened beyond belief like I was. I was half-wishing I had gone with my father instead, safe inside his four-wheel drive SUV, confident in his win...

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“It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Kittens ” by Sean McGillis

Submitted to Contest #173

Even when Ellie was little, I had a feeling she was destined to do great good in life. She was smart as a whip, responsible and her heart was always in the right place. I couldn't ask for a better daughter.It had been five years since my wife had died, leaving a great hole in our life. Although both of us still missed her greatly, we were past the devastation and moving forward.Christmas had become fun again, and it was just days away. I still hadn't shopped for her present. Work had kept me terribly busy, and I wasn't sure about what to get...

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“The Gift of Goodbye” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #173

Uncle Don and Aunt Lynette whispered in the love seat across from mine. Cousin Charles picked at his teeth, his large form hovering in the kitchen doorway, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Rod and Finney sat to the right of the hearth, which cackled with a glowing flame.The drapes in the living room had been drawn back, revealing the picturesque snowfall beyond it. Despite the odd collection of relatives, some of whom I hadn’t seen since I was five, our little gathering made an ideal representation of Christmas morning. My parents, twice...

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“The good we made each other” by Letícia Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #173

I have been standing in front of the door for the past ten minutes. My hand twitches towards the handle, but it seems like an invisible force pushes it back. The tightness in my chest makes it hard to breathe and I try my best not to let the tears fall. It takes me five more minutes to gather the courage to turn the knob. Inside, everything looks exactly the way I remember: some plants scattered around the living room, a jasmine scented candle burning on the center table, a few Christmas ornaments here and there. For a moment, it feels wrong...

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“The Unexpected Gift” by April GIBSON

Submitted to Contest #173

“The best gifts are the unexpected ones.”~Author UnknownI’m not sure who originally coined the phrase “the best gifts are the unexpected ones,” but a truer saying has never been spoken. For whatever reason, I don’t have a lot of experience with truly meaningful gifts. My adult children aren’t really gift-givers. My parents kind of approached gift-giving from a monetary standpoint, and it's been years since I really exchanged gifts with my sister or close friends. Gift giving is hard, and I think over the years my family and I have been slowl...

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“My Isaak” by Ela Mikh

Submitted to Contest #173

Obsession - is that good or bad? There is a different school of thought on that. Let’s discuss it for a moment. On one hand, people with obsession can be perceived as passionate, caring, and possibly even talented. Someone who’s refusing to give up on whatever item or topic that they are obsessing about. In my opinion, these are the people that invented light bulbs, phones, cars, X-ray machines - the list can go on. These people stayed true to their beliefs and ideas. The obsession with their work prevented them from giving up, possibly maki...

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“The Gift” by Marcus Newton-Howes

Submitted to Contest #173

She looked into my eyes. Sad, wistful and sorry. Went up on her tiptoes in order to kiss my cheek. Then crossed the street. It was only once she was over there that she spoke again. Shouting to be heard, but also perhaps to emphasize her message by saying it to the world. ‘I love you.’I was sad and mentally numb from trying to feel out solutions and finding none.Julia picked windswept hair out of her face, and looked imploringly across the street at me. The warm wind was picking up. Suddenly the wind i...

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“A Christmas Story ” by Patricia Jablonski

Submitted to Contest #173

A Christmas Story “Come on, Mark. It’s Christmas. We need to celebrate.” The four of them pushed their way into the elevator and held it open for him. He stopped half-way there, fake-patted his pockets. “Go on, okay? I forgot something. I’ll be right behind you.” They booed him as the elevator doors closed. Mark turned the overhead lights off, leaving the office in the dreary glow of his desk lamp. After he did what he’d promised to do, he took a flask from his bottom drawer and took a long pull, then another, grimacing. A ...

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“Really hard, Really slow” by Emma Bob

Submitted to Contest #173

Hi, I'm May and coincidentally my best friend's name is June. We're both 12. She asked me for a PS5 for Christmas but there is a problem, there is only one left in the WORLD. SO I'm going to make it my mission to get my hands on that PS5 and make my best friend have the best Christmas of her life. Here is my plan: I will go to bed at 9:30, sneak out at 10:00, and get to the bank to make my savings account. My mom would never let me have a savings account so that's why I have to sneak it. "May, time to go to bed!" My mom yells that to me ...

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“Utter Chaos” by Wake Lloire

Submitted to Contest #173

Cleo looked at her calendar for the month. It was one of those giant ones with the big boxes attached to the fridge with magnets that sometimes meant she’d hear crashing in the middle of the night to wake up in the morning to a mess of art by her children, restaurant take out menus and the business cards of people she’d meant to call all over the kitchen floor. Her calendar was full, and heavy. Both metaphorically and literally. Jeremiah had just taken up Taekwondo. It was on Monday and Wednesday nights. Caitlyn was in dance class on Tu...

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“The Pathos of Things” by Caroline Smith

Submitted to Contest #173

Sixteen: Our gloved fingers intertwine as he steers me away from the ice patches in our path. The tinsel that shrouds the Christmas tree in the town square gives us a glittering wink as we take our cups of hot cocoa from the vendor with a grateful nod. We sit on the bench in front of Fancy’s Fudge, ignoring splinters digging into the backs of our puffy coats and the peeling green paint that bubbles beneath our jeans. We’re drunk off fumes of chocolate and pine, and from the spirit that lingers in the scene around us, laughing families window...

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“Bookshops aren't libraries ” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #173

Includes swearing There was something about the smell of vintage paper; worn and yellow and dog-eared corners that had been flattened out and then creased again. The ink that stained the pages with words that couldn’t become unsaid once spoken aloud. She drifted through the aisles, this wisp of a person with hair that was blacker than the nights in the depths of winter when even the silver penny of a moon is obscured by clouds. She was everything that writers would romanticize in the stories she was browsing. You wouldn’t believe me, but s...

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“Time” by Priya D

Submitted to Contest #173

“After crossing the valley and walking a mile surrounded by greenery everywhere, we find the famous cherry blossom trees which now give the scenery a soft pastel pink look with pinkish white blooms welcoming us to what is called as the heaven on earth.” I finish reading. But I keep looking at the beautiful pictures wondering if my words did justice to these beautiful visuals. Well..there is only one way to find out. “You should go”, says my mom as if reading my thoughts. I feel an unexplainable guilt both at the words and at the mere though...

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“Eddy and Tom at the Walmart Part V” by Mustang Patty

Submitted to Contest #173

Life was certainly different for Eddy. At his mother’s insistence, he’d taken a part-time job at the local Walmart. He was immediately trained on the register, so he spent at least four hours a day standing on his feet and forcing a smile. Does anyone else understand how difficult it is to say the same thing over and over to every person? Sometimes he’d switch it up. Instead of saying, “Hi, how are you today?” he might say, “What about this weather?” Neither question got a great response. Some people grunted and watched him take each item ...

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“Black coffee” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #173

I always thought it meant more to write about pain, heartbreak, death… because who hasn’t felt the knots in their gut when something twists inside them and felt the fraying ropes pull apart. It resonates more because we’ve all felt it. We haven’t all felt the pure unfiltered love story that I’m about to tell you, the sort of imperfect love where you’re in your early 20s trying to navigate through a labyrinth of love and life that feels familiar and yet is still so new to you. It is so like the movies in that all that matters is me and you, ...

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$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

79

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 25, 2022 EST

Won by Jacob Brown 🏆

Title: How to Return a Book Titled "How to Improve Your Writing in Five Easy Steps" in Five Easy Steps

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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