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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

“Gifted ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #178

Joe Delante did not like Christmas. As a matter of fact, his friends would say he was more of a Grinch than Ebenezer Scrooge. Whether this was true or not, it did not make any difference since Joe loathed all the fuss his friends made about the holidays. Secret Santas and mistletoe just made the season intolerable as far as he was concerned. Listening to carols on the radio station as he drove his Mustang was enough to put him into a bad mood which could lead him to a good road rage if the cards fell a certain ...

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“A Christmas Truce” by Haley Clark

Submitted to Contest #178

Holly paces before the great hall’s doors, wringing her silver-gloved hands. She knows she should be admiring the festive decorations her team managed to scrounge up in the days since she came up with this plan. But Holly can’t stop thinking of the last Christmas she and her siblings spent together. It was the first family Christmas since her mother’s passing. The holiday season following the death of her father had been more of a celebration; there were inheritance gifts, after all. But without their dear mother to keep the peace, the las...

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“Timing is Everything” by Susan Catucci

Submitted to Contest #178

55 year-old Carolyn: Why won’t people just leave me alone! I enjoy my own company. I have everything I need. And what I don’t have, I can live without. I’ve had a long line of losers teach me how. What makes people think they know me, and what I need, better than I do? I don’t need anybody; I don’t want anybody. It’s been years since I willingly answered my door. Leave your business outside and maybe I’ll get to it. I doubt you have anything I can use anyway. I had to have the doorbell un...

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“The Night Before The Holiday ” by Ashley Hampton

Submitted to Contest #178

“ Can you pass the salt Geneva?” Luke asked, pointing his hand to the shaker on the table. Geneva picked it up slowly and raised it in the air. “ You mean, may you” she insisted. Luke’s mother, Nicole turned to Geneva. Her long weave swung as she did so. “ Geneva, give the boy the damn salt” A look of annoyance covered her caramel covered face. Geneva did not protest as she handed Luke the salt shaker. Luke grabbed it, pouring it heavily on the potatoes that Geneva had prepared. “Good lookin” he mumbled. “ Is that what you s...

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“House of the Dead” by Sav Lightwood

Submitted to Contest #178

"What in my name are these imbecilic decorations?" Cheap trinkets hung from the ceiling. Golden globes with a nuclear amount of glitter, red and white scythes that were far too blunt to qualify as weapons, and cardboard cutouts of reindeers, snowflakes, and what seem to be little garden gnomes. An awful waft filled the air which the Housemaster recognised as some rotten mixture of gingerbread (he hated sweet), peppermint (he hated fresh), and chestnut (this one was fine). Red, red, and red all around. Given, the House was red by default ...

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“You” by Aaron K

Submitted to Contest #178

You’ve never looked better than you do on this Sunday afternoon. It’s Christmas Eve, and you are beautiful. Your hair is tucked under your red toque, but a few loose tendrils have escaped, framing your face . Your jacket is open and you have a matching red scarf at your neck. When we left the car forty five minutes ago, the scarf was knotted under your chin, but the hike has made you warm so you’ve untied it. I look back at you, struggling on the path a few feet behind me, and something about the way the red knitted fabric frames y...

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“Mutantur Tempore” by Tara Leigh Parks

Submitted to Contest #178

(This story contains the threat of violence and language.)Greta woke and ran to the mirror to see if time travel messed up her face. She always worried about losing her looks in the name of one of Greg's experiments. Her face looked the same. Even the room looked the same. Greg was nowhere to be seen, though. Because everything looked the same, she figured the time travel didn't work. He must've left her sleeping while he went to drink away his fury. She hoped he was passed out because she didn't feel like dealing with a drunk Greg who went ...

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“Sunnyside Up ” by Amy Dear

Submitted to Contest #178

Quinn watched as his sister scarfed down plate after plate of endless pancakes from the local diner while only taking short breaks to smother the carbs in slabs of butter. He tried to avert his eyes and pretend to be interested in something outside the window whenever she'd sense his staring. "Ya know what?" She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and chugged from her orange juice before pointing a syrup dripping fork at him. "You weren't worried about carbs before you got with Linda." She shook her head before stabbing another pancake. Quinn pur...

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“A Hannukah story” by Dilbert Jazz

Submitted to Contest #178

It was the first night of Hannukah, and Rachel and Leah were getting ready to light the menorah. Rachel was a talented artist with long, curly hair and a warm smile. Leah was a software developer with short, stylish hair and a confident demeanor. Together, they made a dynamic and loving couple. As they lit the first candle, they reminisced about the past year and all their challenges. They had both lost their jobs due to the pandemic, which had been a challenging and uncertain time for them. But they had leaned on each other for support and ...

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“A New Family For Christmas ” by Elizabeth Clark

Submitted to Contest #178

In twenty minutes, this house will be full of people. In twenty minutes, strangers will arrive. In twenty minutes, will be the first Christmas since my dad got remarried. In twenty minutes, Christmas will never be the same. “Kyle, you can’t stay in your room until Christmas is over,” Nikki shouts at my door. “Stop sulking!” Of course, she would know what I was thinking. She is my twin. My twin, who also hated the idea of dad remarrying and moving us to this house to fit our “new” big family. But, after only two months, Nikki decides she ...

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“A Solstice Gift” by Rafaela Hernandez

Submitted to Contest #178

For weeks, Sera had paid little mind to the red and gold decor lining the streets of her city. Until it was at her door. The green paint of her apartment walls had peeled more and more every day. Withered by age– it was the oldest complex around. Inhabited by those like her, who did not wish for much company. So, it was a surprise when she beheld the pine-wreath that hung from her front door, left bare for her to decorate. Sera merely snorted before she threw it out. The encounter was enough to remind her, though, of the holida...

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“Yuletide” by Zoë Watts

Submitted to Contest #178

It was cold, the mountains capped in snow and the sprawling forest pines covered in it; as a mother would lay a blanket on her child. Between the steep cliffs going down into the valley, the waters of the fjord lay still and quiet; as though the world had simply stopped. Snow had a way of deafening things, sound stopped. Everything was quiet. Dawn hadn’t even broken… I had been sitting a long while, nestled with my back to a lichen (and now snow) covered rock. I knew this rock well and it knew me; I had been coming to sit here for many ...

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“An Unexpected Christmas Turn” by Sonia Ferrigno

Submitted to Contest #178

I shot a glance across the open office. Mac and Donna were laughing as our boss made a fool of herself trying to act out some undecipherable charade from an enigmatic film. I was hopeless at remembering film titles. Our office Christmas party was in full swing. Pathetic. Throwing money away on useless gifts no one ever wanted in the first place. Wasting food on already over-nourished individuals, who should be going on a diet instead. Why couldn’t people be generous and cheerful the rest of the year, why did they have to wait fo...

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“Christmas Lost, Christmas Found” by Catherine Sonnier

Submitted to Contest #178

Two Christmases were lost during Covid19, partly due to the virus, mostly due to family disagreements, disdain, disconnectedness, remorse, aching sadness, and addiction. It wasn't that long ago, I remember feeling estranged from family and friends. Corona Virus presented itself as an unwanted guest in 2019, restricting family gatherings and celebrations. My mother, 82 years of age, had contracted Covid, and thankfully survived. Christmas was somewhat depressing since my mother wasn't allowed visitors. Alzheimers didn't allow her to fu...

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“Second Best Gift” by Ace Burnside

Submitted to Contest #178

Francesca stared at the miraculous display of the gift shop's front window, her brown, doe-like eyes sparkling much like the glitter reflecting from the biodegradable, eco-friendly faux snow surrounding her. As of this moment, she would buy—in her humble opinion, that is—the greatest present of all time, better than any parent has gotten from a young child before. With a hum, she entered the small shop—hardly any bigger than her bedroom at home, really—and waved the shop clerk over. He must have been in either his teens or his early twenti...

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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!

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