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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#178: Happy Holidays

It's that time of year again! Whether you're observing a particular holiday, or simply raising a glass to making it through another year in one piece, December is a time for reflection, celebration, and taking stock. This week's prompts are, naturally, a nod to the season — and all the fun it can bring!


As much as we love the holidays, they can also be a difficult time for many; so no matter how you're celebrating this year, we hope that these prompts can provide you with a little festive escapism. Happy holidays, writers!

This week's prompts

Write a story about a family (biological or found) coming together for Christmas.

Christmas – 44 stories

Write a story that takes place over the eight nights of Hannukah.

Holiday – 5 stories

Set your story at a work holiday party,

Holiday – 35 stories

Write about a cynical character realizing they do have something to celebrate after all.

Character – 47 stories

Write a story about an unconventional holiday tradition.

Holiday – 51 stories

Stories

“Soul Bears” by Skott's Ghost

Submitted to Contest #178

An unknown force created four souls for 4 dolls out of thin air. A panda named peter Panda, a Black bear named Artie, a polar bear named May, and a red panda action figure named Red, were all suddenly alive but with translucent bodies, looking at their own actual, inanimate bodies on a hospital bed next to a girl they quickly recognized as their best friend. "Hi," uttered a seemingly sad humanoid resembling a generic angel as she approached the dolls from behind. "I understand that none of you can speak, so let me explain since you are all a...

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“The Christmas That Wasn't” by Linda Peterson

Submitted to Contest #178

The Christmas That Wasn't Most of us eight Monnahan sisters had always gathered to celebrate Christmas. For more than sixty-five years, we gathered. Our oldest sister, Jerri, had always participated marginally until later years when she became more interested. First, for several years, laden with bundles of presents for the gift exchange, as well as food for the feast, and families in tow, the older girls stumbled into our parents' humble home on Christmas Day. We cracked English walnuts, Brazil nuts, almonds, and hazelnuts into Dad's log-...

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“Boss Cindy's First Office Party ” by J. Nicholas

Submitted to Contest #178

      Cindy sat up at the screaming alarm, set two hours earlier than usual. On top of her morning routine, she still had more preparations for the afternoon’s Christmas party. Mr. Cuthbert, the manager, had taken a week off starting yesterday, so today, as the firm’s assistant manager, she would organize the festivities.            In the kitchen, she poured herself a cup of coffee--percolated and waiting for her--and told Alexa to play iHeart’s hair band ...

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“Santa at the Roundtable” by Keith Brooks

Submitted to Contest #178

Santa at the Roundtable               In his nearly fifty years of existence, Scott Lazlon had never been at a loss for words. He had been blessed with the gift of gab, the power of persuasion. His mother (as well as more than a few women he had taken to bed) always told him he had one hell of a “talented tongue”, that he could convince anyone the sky was black or that cats barked instead of meowed. He thought that was a bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. But as...

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“Making the Wrongs Right” by Dart V

Submitted to Contest #178

Estel Hollyfrost was snuggled up on her couch, sipping some warm hot cocoa. She took a slow sip, indulging in the lovely chocolatey taste. She was truly exhausted and just wanted to relax. She had been working day and night for the past three months, building toys for children. Being a toy-builder elf took a lot of effort, but she couldn't just give up. The pay was excellent, and the thought of letting Santa down made Estel shudder. Toy-builder elves have been in demand since many elves chose easier jobs, such as tending to the reindeer or b...

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“Researching Xmas ” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #178

Dear Robin,I don’t know who challenges me more, my daughter or our boss. The subject is the holidays. I wouldn’t say I like Christmas. The boss could not have been vaguer about what he wanted me to do: Research Christmas!Christmas has been overdone…it’s been commercialized. What can I say to sell more crap faster?Oh well, pick your poison! I researched every holiday, greeting, and even St. Nick…. I hope you can create some pictures from this; if you have questions, I’m at the office party, and we can brainstorm.Season Greetings(Popular gener...

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“The Luck Of The Draw” by Pat Gordon

Submitted to Contest #178

She wasn’t like the rest of them. The mirror affirmed that her bargain sweater and wrap dress exuded the confidence that a holiday party where she would know almost no one demanded. Sara tightly exhaled. The typical new hire in Artificial Intelligence was in their early 20’s and a good 12 years her junior. They also possessed a resume bulleted with internships and project successes corporations yearned for. But most of them hadn’t worked a decade as a computer science teacher to indifferent 10th graders. If she continued plodding the online...

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“Lonely Father Christmas” by Peter Sugiharto

Submitted to Contest #178

Knock..knock.. Ding..dong..ding..dong.. What is it? Why can't people let me sleep in peace? The man groggily got up from the sofa. David almost knocked over mountains of plates that hadn't been washed for two days. He wobbled towards the door while patting his costume. There's nothing wrong with being a little decent, especially after two days of wearing the same costume over and over. The salary was little, but at least it was enough to get by. The sweat didn't help, either. Who is actually enjoying a summer Christmas? Oh, I w...

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“Oakville Christmas” by Virginia Smith

Submitted to Contest #178

It was hot, I was hung over and I didn’t have time for all this shit. Why do I do this? Why don’t I just say that Christmas lunch at the club would be fine. I love lunching with a thousand randoms and their screaming offspring. So I offered our place, five acres of rather dusty grazing land on a hill far enough away that we could forget we worked in the city. I stayed up til god knows when the night before wrapping presents, weeping and singing along to Christmas carols on the TV. Generalised exhaustion and panic blending to a mix of I-d...

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“New Year's Birthday.” by AJ Eddy

Submitted to Contest #178

Every year the same thing happened. Nothing ever changed. On December 31st, Edgar Wallace would rise from his bed and walk the short distance to his bathroom. He would look into the mirror and see new lines had somehow, over the year, snuck their way onto his face. Edgar would stand there, frowning at a reflection of someone he didn't think he had ever really known.However, like clockwork, his phone would ring twenty minutes after his alarm went off. A generic tone he never felt compelled to change outside of this moment. On this day, it ann...

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“Everyday is Christmas” by Michael Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #178

“Whooo hooo!” Mark Malarky exclaims, the six vodka tonics in his system making his feet lighter than air. The well-dressed bank loan officer nearly stumbles into a petite, bundled up woman staffing a Salvation Army red kettle. She rings her bell loudly next to his ear. “Must you do that?” “Just making sure you’re awake, buddy. You almost crashed into my kettle.” “Heaven forbid I knock over your pot,” Mark slurs. “Now, if you had some stew in there, or some clam chowder…” “It’d be a waste on you, buddy. You’d just puke it back up. You’v...

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“When to Toast with Coke” by Kevin Alphatooni

Submitted to Contest #178

A bitter cold swept through Richmond, the coldest it had been in a decade, and Jerry Richardson, at the ripe age of 68, walked home alone after an 8 pm Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Arms crossed and knees aching, he scowled beneath his tightly-wound scarf. “This is gonna suck,” he mumbled. The wind howled and Jerry held himself tighter, shivering beneath his thick jacket. Though many didn’t show up this year, Jerry was never one to miss a Candlelight Service after coming home from fighting in Korea. “The Forgotten War” is what it was ca...

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“Fart” by Douglas W. Carr

Submitted to Contest #178

There’s really nothing unconventional about our family holiday celebrations—on either side. Over the years we’ve run the gamut of games and experimented with different foods, but nothing I would consider unconventional. Do you remember Trivial Pursuit? Yes? We actually played that several years in the different variations. I have no further comment. We played a game called ‘spoons’ where there’s one less spoon on the table than players. It’s a game of elimination where everyone is grabbing for a spoon at the same time. It was brutal. My un...

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“End of a Season” by Lunny Muffin

Submitted to Contest #178

At the dawn of the day he woke up from his flat thin mattress with a severe backache. In the tiny room he noticed his children one on top of the other in the corner floor mat, snoring in unison,. Without much delay he washed and rushed to the bus station, navigating the forest of people clustered at the old station, his steps dividing men and women and slipping through the pockets of space to make it on time. The season was fast approaching and his work was always heavy this time of the year. When the factory clock horned at six he was alr...

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“Home” by Ester Mersuli

Submitted to Contest #178

A picture frame with a photo of a well-known loving family of farmers. Smiles on everyone's faces, how happy they look. Ironic isn't it. Fake it till you make it, right? No one knows the truth though. If you dig deep enough into their eyes you may pluck out what's left over of their misery. 'The perfect family', we were called once. Unstoppable. Poised. Praised. Royalty. Huge honor to be called lucky to be born into a rich family with loving parents that care about every single family member. But in every herd, there is always a black shee...

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$250

Prize money

182

Contest entries

62

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 30, 2022 EST

Won by Molly Kelash 🏆

Title: Marie Antoinette

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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