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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

“The Other Side of Christmas” by Frank Delgado

Submitted to Contest #178

Frank Delgado 13600 SW. brightwood St Beaverton OR 97005-1115 503 8963022 tolpinsk@yahoo.com 1,400 words THE OTHER 07-10-19 by Frank Delgado 1 The Other Side of Christmas By Frank Delgado There is an experience in my life, a unique yet haunting moment, that is so vivid, that it's trapped in time and returns every Christmas. The reason for this fear began in 1959 as a child in Bavaria, Germany, in a farmhouse in the middle of a snowfield on the edge of the Black Forest. It was a time of lights, gifts, food, friends, and family; it was C...

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“Catholic School Memories” by Kathryn Minicozzi

Submitted to Contest #178

My onstage debut was unforgettable. I was Innkeeper No. Two in St. Joseph’s Elementary School’s Annual Christmas Pageant. That was the year we First Graders were reenacting the Nativity as part of the Show that All Parents Were Expected to Sit Through. Each grade presented something different, and our school went up to Grade Eight. You can imagine how long the whole mess was every year. Getting back to my debut -- my choices were limited when it came to being cast in any of the parts. The plum roles were out of the...

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“Holiday Call” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #178

“Margaret — call for you.” William enjoyed her scowl of displeasure. She had been annoying him all day. He felt it only just that she have to take the call this year. He wouldn’t admit how much pleasure he took in her discomfort. William was stout, dressed in an old-fashioned tweed suit, with his tie loosened, and the top button of his pants unbuttoned for comfort. His hair, sleek, white, and still thick, was combed across his head, parted with a ruler on the left.Margaret was thin rather than stout, with iron-gray curls rioting around her h...

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“The Season of Scaleward” by Mike Paul

Submitted to Contest #178

Dawn, the 19th of Macha, fourth cycle of Tellus The dawnfrost danced with the light of a thousand emeralds. Ovens blazed anew, filling the morning air with millberry and spiced mead scents. The northern town of Snowmarble came to life that morning, ready to celebrate the passing of another solar cycle, and Lily Westhaven was already on her way downstairs. She took the stairs three at a time, a song in her heart, nightgown billowing in the breeze of her own creation. "Max! Max! Come quick, come quick! T...

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“Making the List” by Sharon Catlett

Submitted to Contest #178

Jenny was running to the bedroom to cry before Steve could catch her. “Jen wait!” “No, I’m the worst cook ever!” “No, you are not, you just need practice” Jenny cried louder and Steve winced knowing that was not the right thing to say. Facedown on the bed Jenny cried long and hard as Steve stroked her blonde hair. Steve loved this girl from the moment he laid eyes on her at Billy Bob’s during Texas OU weekend. They enjoyed the great music and dancing and when the evening ended, ...

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“Billie and the Great Red Spot” by Jess Maynard

Submitted to Contest #178

Billie's birthday happened to fall on a very special holiday for the residents of her city. A Jovian New Year only happens once every 11.9 Earth years, after all. The research station where Billie and her family live, New Alexandria, orbits Jupiter every 400 days and is home to 10,000 people. Billie came home from school the day before her birthday at a dead sprint, banging the door to her family's living quarters open already halfway through a conversation she’d been waiting to have all day, as if she'd been barely holding it in the ent...

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“ THE CHRISTMAS NUT” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #178

THE CHRISTMAS NUT Mary and Louis spent every Christmas in their cottage in the Alpes with their children. They had been married for ten years. Every year, at Christmas there was a new child. In their cozy cottage, there was always a Christmas tree and a Nativity scene made with the figurines that Louis and Mary engraved in wood and that their children modeled in clay. To have a pinch of novelty to the usual Christmas Mary and Louis had decided to inaugurate a completely new tradition. All of them were found in nuts and loved squirrels.&nbs...

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“Christmas Eden” by Eileen Hartles

Submitted to Contest #178

CHRISTMAS EDEN This may have been the worst idea ever. You don't pull together a group of adults who barely know each other and pretend to be a family again. It's ridiculous. I had moved out of the house when I was 15. I just couldn't deal with the abuse and neglect from my so-called parents. They didn't care one bit about us 8 kids. We truly meant nothing to them; except a few extra dollars from the government. We scrounged for nibbles of food, taking apples off of our neighbor's trees, nicking bread off of a deli...

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“Our First Christmas Together” by Mary Ann Ford

Submitted to Contest #178

With Christmas only two days away, the Lawrence household was beyond chaotic. Mrs. Lawrence and her sister were out shopping for those last few Christmas gifts and without them 18-year-old Jase was having quite a time keeping his young cousins in check. Being an only child, he was unaccustomed to such a laborious workout as this. Playing basketball was one thing, dealing with screaming little kids running in circles around him was entirely another.None too soon the door was pushed open, and the two women blew in with the snow. Bags of gifts ...

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“Dad's Last Christmas” by Ralph Emery Barhydt

Submitted to Contest #178

Dad’s Last Christmas My dad just died. He was supposed to die at Christmas, but things happened. Good things. He still died of cancer but he had an extra 9 months that was good for all of us. It was a bit bizarre and certainly unexpected. My mom, my sister, and I were all estranged from Dad and simply expected to hear that he had died in the VA hospital. Like I said, things happened. My parents were not divorced but they were separated and lived in different houses. Dad just became irascible, too much so. He never physically beat Mom, bu...

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“Sarah's Family Sitcom: Holiday Special” by Jarrel Jefferson

Submitted to Contest #178

I love my family for exactly twenty-three minutes, excluding commercial breaks. Across my face, fragmented footage of each cast member, all of us clumsy and smiling. A catchy jingle tunes out my screaming, and no one can see the terror popping from my eyes as I realize I cannot escape THE CHRISTMAS EPISODE. It is a cold, snowy winter morning, and I am wearing a t-shirt and jeans. I am rigid yet my body shivers. I hug myself with little relief, yet it is my best effort against the freezing winds stabbing my skin. Dad shuffles on-screen th...

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“The Holiday Party” by Eunice Amero

Submitted to Contest #178

1,202 words The Holiday Party Chloe had a big evening ahead of her. She was happy as she started getting ready to go to her work holiday party where her job in a jewelry store was taking place. In behind the jewelry story was a huge storage room and each year they would clean it up and decorate it for their Christmas party. She loved it. It was so beautiful as the lights hung from the ceiling and colorful bulbs hung in the windows and along the walls and lights from corner to corner were tinsels hanging from them. Each year they pu...

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“Triumph” by William Smith

Submitted to Contest #178

The stars outside Arecibo Station disappeared behind another arriving freighter: the Coral Sea. Kiffen’s here, Carlina thought, gazing out the tiny porthole on the rimward side of the station’s lower tower. She rolled her eyes, already anticipating his boastful swagger after the job he and his crew pulled at the Pices outpost. Turning back to her datapad, she pulled up the statistics again and shook her head. The last time someone had made off with that many quid worth of artifacts to auction off, the whole crew retired to ...

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“Deck the Halls” by Avery Crescent

Submitted to Contest #178

Twinkling white lights and long red ribbons cascade down the branches of the towering Christmas tree that greets visitors as they ascend the grand staircase to the museum rotunda. I pause at the top of the stairs to admire the grand tree and take in the sight of the vivid mural that adorns the domed ceiling. It depicts the Greek goddess Athena in golden armor and a pale white tunic standing triumphantly over the war god Ares sprawled on the ground beside his plumed helmet and battle sword. When...

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“The Fourth Christmas Ticket” by Emilie D

Submitted to Contest #178

2:32 pm Jonathan heard a horn on the quiet street and knew it was meant for him. He quickly snapped a photo of the package he’d dropped on the welcome mat and grabbed the railing to steady himself on the iced over carpeted stairs. (Who carpeted outside an apartment building?) He jogged as safely as he could back to his idling van which was blocking a quarter of a driveway next to the building. “Sorry!” He shouted to the stone faced driver waiting to pull onto the street. Her non response was better than some of the other ones he ha...

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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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