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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#21: That Holiday Feeling

This is the fourth holiday season that our short story contest has been around! And it's become something of a tradition for the Christmas-themed prompts to very loosely relate to a favorite holiday movie. This year, we're challenging you to either write from the perspective of a movie's secondary character, or to simply reimagine the general premise in a whole new light.

Can't get enough holiday stories? Check out some of our reading guides:

Or maybe you're still searching for the perfect gift for a book lover, and don't want to add to their "to be read" pile? We've got a list for that too 🎄

This week's prompts

You live in a neighborhood where lots of people go out of town for the holidays. But lately, this has been resulting in an increased number of break-ins.

Holiday – 23 stories

Just before Valentine's Day, a long-lost relative you've never heard of enters your life.

Valentine's Day – 53 stories

Write a short story about a work Christmas party that goes... awry.

Winter – 26 stories

Write a short story about an inn-keeper wondering whether this will be their last holiday season in business.

Holiday – 33 stories

You are a bartender working a night shift when a group of people come in on a Valentine's Day pub crawl.

Valentine's Day – 33 stories

Stories

“I Think I’ve Got At Least One More Year In This Place, Kid” by Jake Muskovitz

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #21

A dirty white rag moving counterclockwise on a mahogany brown table. An image so well-ingrained in my head that I would often catch myself wiping down these same tables in my dreams, night after night. 40 years in the business and there were a number of things that I would never forget: the smell of beer mixed with the cleaning solution, the specific songs on the jukebox that played over and over each night, the crack of pool balls, and the warm ring of laughter. These days, some of those things were more common than others. The beer and cle...

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“The Christmas Lights” by Audrey Lininger

Submitted to Contest #21

I do love the lights. The blinking lights you see during the holidays. They fill my heart with glee. I may sound childish, and maybe I am, but there is not a happier feeling than waking up on Christmas morning and tearing open the presents under the tree.But today, the glee was different. My pulse screamed in my ears. What was this? This want. No, this need.The clinking of a utensil against a glass pulled me away from my thoughts. "I thank all of you for coming tonight." Mr. Christopher said. The CEO of the company, I have always felt out of...

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“Damn! What a lovely holiday.” by Govinda Chaddha

Submitted to Contest #21

December in Motton was a chilly, shivering month. Slough of cold, snow-draped wind gusted dangerously, leaving a blurry, misty ambiance. The road was sheathed with a three-inch high snow floor, deserted, suffused with blobs of faint streetlights that tried to accentuate the obscured beauty of the town. The time was edging past seven-thirty in the evening when Richard Wayne dawdled through the snow-filled road, puffing out a white-blanketed air of disgruntlement. He was clad in a heavy, dark hoodie, and his face was barely perceivable in the ...

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“Standing Up For The Lady” by Dawn Mandzik

Submitted to Contest #21

Bob headed to work. The cold December wind chilled his bones and the sky was filled with ominous clouds, a possible storm approaching. He hurried his steps anxious to get inside. Another Saturday night at the bar. Last weekend before Christmas so it shouldn’t be too crowded. Maybe just a few regulars, Bob thought with a sigh.As a San Fransisco transplant Bob often wished he worked at Finnerty’s the Irish Sports Bar just up the road. They usually had Bay Area fans. &n...

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“Uncle Jasper” by Jamie R

Submitted to Contest #21

This year for Christmas I asked for a DNA testing kit. I wasn’t actually expecting to receive one (it was one of the higher-priced items on my wish list), but it was one of the gifts I wanted the most. My family’s ancestral makeup has never been well-defined; I know that I’m Irish and English, but there’s never been any sort of roots with which I’ve been able to trace my family back. In fact, the amount of research and digging I’ve done has produced only a few results: I can now confidently follow my lineage as far back as one hund...

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“Uncle Reuben” by Nina Zhang

Submitted to Contest #21

The snowflakes outside were fat and fluffy, tiny ice crystals icing into spiraling shapes and patterns. The wind howled restlessly, a lone wolf crying out to the stars in the sky, like diamonds embedded in a black cloth. I traced my finger over the foggy window, leaving a path of pellucid glass. The cold air radiated off the panel as I pressed my nose close to it. The fire crackled in the room, it’s warmth coursing through the air, claws reaching for us but never finding flesh. I curled into a tighter ball, the smells of spicy, exotic ...

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“The Naughty List” by Emilie Conroy

Submitted to Contest #21

Anders rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Maxine was knocking on his door, looking in all ways like her night had been anything but silent. "I thought you'd find your way here." “Humbug.” Maxine crossed her arms. "Maxine, the stupid production assistant." "After you disappeared from the party everybody got kind of worried. So what happened to you? Where'd you go?" She dawdled, sticking her hands in her pockets, examining the posters on the walls. Great, she thought...

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“The Same Shade of Silver” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #21

Look, I’m as charitable as the next person. Okay, maybe not if the next person were Mother Teresa or Bill Gates, but saints and billionaires are pretty thin on the ground, and I reckon I more than do my bit, though I sometimes think if another of those earnest young persons oh so politely accosts me outside the shopping centre insisting they’re not after money and there’s no obligation, I might just forget I’m a lady. And we’d certainly done our bit in the Berry and Beer Gut. We firmly believed that col...

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“Peach Schnapps Peach” by Rob Conway

Submitted to Contest #21

Most of the staff hated the holiday pub crawl crowd. “Take the bar, Marty,” they would say. “College kids home for the holidays and alcohol are worse than the usual drunk idiot crowd.” It was no matter to him. Drinking was drinking, booze was booze, he enjoyed both in his time and would not judge another for doing the same.The first few groups came and went, leaving Marty a generous tip each time. A new group entered. “Peach schnapps all ‘round.” The leader of the group was the stereotypical fraternity boy. He had the huge smile, shoulders b...

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“Work-off” by Amanda Mnguni

Submitted to Contest #21

Work-off"That's a nice outfit you got there Mrs Taylor"His voice echoed through the hall. I turned to look at him "Oh thank you Mr Evans"That was awkward. The boss has never complimented anyone-or so I thought,and I'm so much happily married."Let me get back to the uhmm to everyone"He turned on his black shiny shoes walking up to where everyone was.Awkward!I looked at the beautiful view just on the balcony. It was so beautiful to watch,the starts sparkling their way through the night.Beautiful!"You good?"I turned to look at this face ex...

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“THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS” by Easwari Saminathan

Submitted to Contest #21

Mistletoe hung over doors, trees were decorated with lights and ornaments, gifts were placed under the trees and it was snowing outside. People were in a rush doing shopping and preparing for the festive season. You guessed right. Christmas was approaching. Little Hollow was a town tucked away in the outskirts of a big busy city. It was a beautiful coastal town. Many tourists came to spend summer vacation here. The beach was lovely and the sea water calm enough to swim. Set along the beach was a small inn c...

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“Aunt Gertrude” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #21

Aunt GertrudeI come from a small family without a lot of Old World tradition except a Presbyterian religious background that is not binding to church attendance. The God I knew was a distant one and when I opened my travel agency, I was convinced that God would not interfere with my daily life or so I thought. My sister and only other sibling, Mandy paid a bit more attention to bringing her three sons up in a more traditional religious atmosphere, but I continued to resist any sort of affiliation that would bind me to something I did ...

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“The Holiday Intruder” by Shaneka Murphy

Submitted to Contest #21

"Your due date is December 28," said Mr. Jenkins, the town librarian as he handed me the newly checked out book with his rough, worn hands that had their own story to tell. "You'll love this one," he said with a bit of excitement. He stood about 6'-3" with a broad, stately stature that made me wonder why he'd ever considered being a librarian rather than an athlete or a fitness instructor. His hands were covered with scars, some quite a few years old, some much newer. Often I'd wanted to inquire about them, but didn't wan...

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“The Blueridge Inn” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #21

Blueridge Inn, one of the safest and coziest places to visit during the holiday season, and the good folks there sure know how to make each guest feel right at home. Brewford Reynolds, the owner of Blueridge is expecting this year to be its busiest one yet.Jimmy Rusk, the best mechanic out of Blueridge, AL., backs his truck in. Head leaning out the driver’s window to see, if he was backing the thing in right. Before he unloaded the Christmas tree, to carry it inside the inn, to decorate it. He drew his elbow back and left fist forward. Then ...

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“Last Party at the Argus” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #21

It is a truth we probably ought to acknowledge that if an office has never established the tradition of a Christmas party, then there’s possibly a very good reason for it. The staff at the office of the East Counties Argus (which was still surviving though there was talk that it might have to be made into a fortnightly rather than a weekly publication) weren’t a po-faced posse of the successors of Scrooge. They exchanged Christmas cards, which were strung up on green and red striped waxed cord acr...

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$50

Prize money

168

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 27, 2019 EST

Won by Oceania Chee 🏆

Title: This Simple Phrase

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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