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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

“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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“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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“Loosening Marley's chains” by Linda Hallstrom

Submitted to Contest #21

J.E. Marley had been angry for 70 years – ever since he realized that his mother had named him after two characters in Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Jacob Ebenezer Marley. The chain-bound ghost and the bitter old man.Jacob rarely let anyone know his given name, being careful to list himself always and only as “J.E.” But, somehow, the opening scenes of A Christmas Carol infused his character. Even in grade school, he appeared sullen and unfriendly.Raised by a single mother, he was frequently home alone, left to carry out adult tasks.A care...

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“Seasons Greetings” by Michael Guido

Submitted to Contest #21

Part 1: Snowball Fight Rounding the corner of the house, I spot his little, red, dog eared, hat poking up from the mound roughly 30 feet away. I scoop up a pile of wet snow, perfect for packing snowballs, and begin plotting my malicious plan of attack as I wait. Everything goes silent… It’s so quiet you can hear the snow falling in gentle pats. The sky is a frosty light blue. The dark pine trees are bundled in a thick blanket of snow, making them look as if they were planted that way. The houses are caked in festive green and red light...

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“Christmas Time” by J C

Submitted to Contest #21

In the small town of Gaze, everyone knew everyone. It was a sweet town where there was never any crime. People often didn’t lock their doors when they went to bed because they didn’t have any worries. Some would go on our vacation still without bother to lock their homes. It was such a perfect place to live, but it took a great deal to be accepted into such a high quality town. Not only was it beautiful, but it was very costly. Very. Which made the homes the perfect ones to break into. With only days before Christmas, I knew most of the town...

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“Fate” by Pauline Breatnach

Submitted to Contest #21

'December at Brampton is my favourite time of year,' Eduardo mused, as he strode along by the stables. The mares, 'Ginger' and 'Silky' whinnied contentedly beneath the dim light of the stable lantern. Through slits in the stable door, Eduardo could see Silky's whitish, grey mane where it flowed along her sleek neck. Eduardo lingered for a while.'Silky's time to be delivered is near,' Eduardo murmured. He noticed her rounded, full belly. This would be her fifth foal. Silky's foals were much sought after. Eduardo revelled i...

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“Who Needs Her?” by Patsy Shepherd

Submitted to Contest #21

The thing was, she already had a perfectly good sister, had had her for most of her life, so what in heaven’s name did she need another one for? A brother: now that was something different. She didn’t have a brother, never had had one, and if there was one thing it would have been nice to have, it would have been a brother. To do things. You know, like the car things, the yard things, the basement things, all the things that she had been responsible for all along.But no, there was God up there, snickering as He always seemed to do whenever H...

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“Auntie Hester Comes to Call” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #21

I usually find it quite easy to at least MAKE a New Year’s Resolution about spending less money on magazines. Keeping it’s another matter. But pre-Christmas magazines get on my nerves. I was about to say that if you’re a bloke you won’t know what I’m talking about, but that’s shameful stereotyping, and after all, they do regularly print photos of their male readers, often, admittedly, on the same page as the dogs and cats that appear to be fans of them. All the same – and no point to denying it – i...

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“The Best Christmas Gift” by Eva Gryder

Submitted to Contest #21

For as long as I remember, I was an only child. That was why I was so shocked to discover that I had a sister. Let me take a small step back. One day ago, on Christmas Eve, I heard a loud knock on my door. I was still in my soft, plush robe with a large cup of steaming coffee in my hand. "Who in the world could that be?" asked my husband, Michael. "No one was supposed to come until noon." I just shrugged and shook my head as I half-walked, half-slid in my bedroom slippers towards the large oak door. I peeped out the window a...

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“Doppelgänger” by Angela Roberts

Submitted to Contest #21

Luisa made her way up the escalators towards the shopping center and through the temporary grotto. Glistening globes hung everywhere. Silver icicles dangled from the vaulted ceiling; several meters high. They seemed to spin in time to the Christmas songs playing over the speakers. Last Christmas by Wham! The day had gotten off to a rotten start. Luisa wasn't in the mood for Christmas crowds. Screaming little monsters hyped up on candy canes. But as usual she had left her Christmas shopping to the last minute. Besides, she needed to buy more ...

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“O Holy Night” by Tommy Fox

Submitted to Contest #21

“Breaking News: yet another death has occurred this week, marking this the seventh of the month. Twenty-year-old Margaret Bell was found poisoned inside her own house last Saturday night. Police were called into the scene when neighbors reported the—” “Oh turn that off, will you?” Mia said, appearing at the door. “Shhh.” Brian, her bespectacled coworker who was a known conspiracist in the workplace, shushed her quickly. Mia frowned, entering the room with a plate of cookies in hand, her contribution to the event. Her scarlet pumps click...

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“Hedonist, Inc.” by Sjan Evardsson

Submitted to Contest #21

As much as I hated these things, I found myself at another Hedonist, Inc Christmas blowout. The company’s real name is HedoLine, Inc, but I’ve called it the other way since the first party I attended here. It was a booze-fueled night of inappropriate jokes, kiss and grope, and indiscrete lavatory hookups.Around me the others came in, dropping off the normal “party supplies.” Assorted finger foods, seven bottles of high-grade liquor, a case of energy drinks, a bowl of cannabis edibles (a staple since legalization), and The Punch Bowl. Three l...

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“The Christmas Party” by Mei Joan Guyll

Submitted to Contest #21

The Christmas Party‘It’s the same old same old every year,’ Jemima, from the typing pool moaned.‘What? Pub lunch and cheap crackers?’ Lynn, the receptionist sneered.‘Considering that we all still have a job, I’m not complaining,’ old Mr Thomas, the security guard commented in passing.However, on the day that they were all told to assemble at the ground floor of their 10 storey building, everyone was talking.‘This isn’t normal is it?’ Lynn nudged Jemima.‘No, can’t say it is. Gawd, I hope they’re not gathering all of us in the foyer to announc...

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“A Pair of Black Heels” by Samantha Russell

Submitted to Contest #21

The oven clock read 5:02 and the smoke alarms blared. I had managed to burn yet another casserole. My mother used to make them constantly, specifically for our family’s annual Christmas Eve gathering, and I always watched in speculation. With my mother in mind, I had wanted to cook up a casserole for my work’s Christmas party. The wait staff at Higgin’s, a low-key brunch diner, planned to all meet up at coworker Charlie Zeatod’s house for a little holiday bash. Everyone was told to bring an item of food, and we’d kick back and eat and watch ...

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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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