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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

“The Box” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #173

He’s really gone. The thought rattles around in my mind, tumbles into meaninglessness. When he comes home for the holidays this Christmas, it will not be him. It will be a man, with experiences, a life I don’t know about, dressed in his skin. Looking almost the same, but so very different. What do I think of this unknown man? Resentment, for stealing my child from me. Fear, at the inevitable changes. But most of all, pride, at who he is becoming. In the room, we optimistically call the “laundry room,” is a ...

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“Charlie's Gift” by Paige Lohr

Submitted to Contest #173

When I met Charlie he was stationed in Germany with the reserves. we texted and Skyped until he came home. Then we dated and really hit it off. Both of us had been hurt in the past. So we wanted to take it slow and be sure of our feelings. I told him of my insecurities with men, and how it had ti do with me growing up with a controlling mother. She was not an affectionate person either. When I was a teenager, my body was changing and emotions were all over the place. I had no one to turn too for advice and support. Mother was a bitch and...

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“How I Found You” by Holly Sissons

Submitted to Contest #173

How I Found You Trudy was sitting on the drive with the engine running as I rounded the corner. As soon as she saw me, she gave a casual wave and pulled off through a cloud of exhaust smoke. It would have been nice if she’d had time to stop and say hello given what day it was, but she looked rushed as usual. It wasn’t as though I was asking for a lot, such as to find a warm, heavenly-scented bath drawn for me after the end of another long night shift. I sighed as I realised that she hadn’t had time to deal with...

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“A Gift to Keep” by Sara Abdulla

Submitted to Contest #173

A Gift to Keep The last of the ladies had left. Leah plonked herself on the sofa, she pulled off her black ballerina shoes, and examined the fair puffy toes. Her girls had really outdone themselves. She could not stop smiling. The balloons, the flowers, the pastel theme, just the baby shower she had dreamt of. Her baby bump showed proudly in the rose gold silk gown. A tiara on her long luscious black mane, a satin sash that read " Mom to Be", she really looked the Queen of her fairy tale. The games, the food everything was perfect. Now it wa...

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“Catastrophy Coffee” by Falynn Almeda

Submitted to Contest #173

Holidays aren’t the only time one can receive gifts and I had received loads of gifts from my family members when I got my first place. I’m Mira and I achieved living-on-my-own status at 33. It’s a two-bedroom duplex apartment and after too many years of paying off student debt, I finally got to move out on my own. I love my family but living with them forever can make one feel restricted. And I never lived with friends because every time I saw friends live with friends, they ended up not friends; socially claustrophobic. So, I accept...

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“Return of the King” by Frederick Barstow

Submitted to Contest #173

Language Warning “Can’t you just take it?” “Unfortunately, I can’t sir. Not without a receipt.” The kid at the counter stares back at me. Only half of his irises are showing from under his eyelids. I think I read somewhere that that means a person is secretly insane, but he’s probably just stoned. The register beeps and fluorescent lights start chipping away at my restraint. What’s more, the store is still playing Christmas music even though it's fucking January. “It w...

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“The Gift Worth Giving Up” by Natalie Franks

Submitted to Contest #173

“Sister!” “Sister wake up!” I jump awake to the sound of gleeful screams and tugging of my arms from my two younger siblings. Groaning in contempt, I slowly open my crusted, sleep-filled eyes to groggily glare at the overexcited children. The bright light shining from my oriel windows blinded me and I shut them hurriedly in pain. “Sister, it’s time to get up. It’s Christmas!” By this time, the youngest of the two, Christina, has crawled on top of me and is enthusiastically jumping on my unmoving body. Meanwhile, her older twin...

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“Ms. Gruber” by Dan Coglianese

Submitted to Contest #173

Every Christmas Eve, my wife Tiffany, our kids, and I go to my parents’ house. They still live in my childhood home in Mechant Lake, Il. We live in Bloomington now, so it’s a good two hour drive in the best weather. A couple of hours after we arrived, and just before dinner, the doorbell rang. My mother stood up and said, “Oh, that must be Joe!” ...

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“The Dangers of Retail” by Shakeela Pouncy

Submitted to Contest #173

Wally tucked and rolled into the aisle of Halloween costumes, then army crawled his way to the other side. He was nearly spotted, but his military training put him at an advantage to keep a low profile and out of sight. Reaching the end of the aisle he sits up, back against the aisle, and holds his knees to his chest. Sweat pours down his face and his heart races, thinking back to how he was nearly taken captive. He never thought working as a cashier in retail could be so dangerous. Some of his co-workers were already taken against their ...

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“That Time of Year” by Ian Gonzales

Submitted to Contest #173

It’s that time of year again. The time when everyone suddenly realizes that they’ve put off their holiday shopping a little too long. When everyone decides, on the level of some kind of group consciousness, that they need to get all their gift buying done right now. And it seems like every last one of them decided to come to Bart’s Mega Mart, where I work. I guess I can see the wisdom in their choice. I mean, here at Bart’s you can find everything you might need. I mean, you can buy novelty garden gnomes, big screen 4K TVs, and custom-flavor...

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“A Cream Cracker Christmas” by Erica Ward

Submitted to Contest #173

Violet was still chilled through from her morning shower; Frank hadn’t had the hot water tank fixed yet, and icy rivulets had trickled down her aching body as she shivered in the dimly lit cubicle. The supermarket insisted that staff wear their oversized blue tabards over shirts – no jumpers or cardigans allowed – and her teeth chattered as she smiled mechanically at shoppers while Christmas music blared over the tannoy. “Would you like to donate an extra one of these to charity today?” Violet cradled the tin of own-brand soup and smiled a...

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“Pelican Beach Christmas” by Tim Brostrom

Submitted to Contest #173

Pelican Beach Christmas By Tim Brostrom The elderly brothers walk slowly together along a remarkably barren public section of Pelican Beach, their destination unsure, though there is a holiday festival on the pier ahead. Jonathan, the younger of the two by a few years, is still stout and well formed with a barrel chest, wickedly strong thighs, a proclivity for tapping his fingers one against the other, and a dark black full-cheeked beard with tinges of misty shale gray. He wears a navy-blue nylon windbreaker and wide-brimmed canvas khaki-col...

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“A Christmas Thank You” by W. Matthew Hart

Submitted to Contest #173

A Christmas Eve walk. W. Matthew Hart 11/18/22 On this day in December, my wife and I decided to walk on the beach together. Thankfully the late afternoon was clear, calm, and cold Christmas Eve. We drove to Forest Beach in South Chatham and parked the car. Then, we opened the car doors and took off our shoes to slip our feet into wader boots. We left the car on this crisp, cold, windless afternoon. We w...

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“What A Surprise!” by Donna Williams

Submitted to Contest #173

The life of a pastor's wife is interesting, to say the least. Most of the time the last thing she expected was to be a pastor's wife. Quite often, when she married the man, she married someone in a profession so far removed from ministry that the thought never occurred to her. Many times she has never known a pastor's wife personally and has only observed her from a distance at church. Then there are the women whose fathers were pastors and as a PK (pastor's kid) she declared more than once, "I will never marry a pastor." But, God seems to h...

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“Mustard Seed” by Fig Tree .

Submitted to Contest #173

Warning: the trigger warnings contain spoilers. TW: Mental Health, Miscarriage, Physical Trauma, Slight Gore Suicide. In the dark, birdsong hours of the early morning in their bed, she could feel the baby blooming inside her. Sometimes, between the sleeping and the awake, her lids still listlessly shut and grasping the last gossamer tresses of dreams, she could feel him shifting inside the swollen curve of her belly, as truthful and foretold as starlight. She knew he was a boy, she read in the shadows and sunrays that he would be born in...

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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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