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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 Legacy” by Alvin Johnson

Submitted to Contest #21

The LegacyJesse Weeks and his wife, Delores, who lived in Summerville, South Carolina, had just finished dinner when Jesse’s cell phone rang.On the cell phone screen, it read “Private” and Jesse was ready to decline the call, as he did with all calls where he did not recognize the number.But something told him to answer this call.“Hello.”“Hello,” said the voice on the other end, “is this Jesse Weeks?”“Yes, it is.”“Mr. Weeks, my name is Robert Witherspoon, Charles Conyers gave me your name.”“Charles from Sumter?”“Yes. I’ve been recently worki...

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“A cupid Christmas ” by Ruth Owota

Submitted to Contest #21

The first time I saw him, I didn't really see him, just the pile of books in his cart. My dad and I were in the mall for our last shopping spree before Christmas and I was at the book section, scouring through the shelves when my attention was drawn to him. Him whose face I couldn't quite figure out from the distance I stood. The mall was in full bustle as it was expected during the whole holiday fever and amidst the crowd, I caught the name of the book he was flipping through "To kill a mockingbird" by Harper Lee. My curiosity eventually go...

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“Fancy Not Knowing That!” by PASCALE DENANCE

Submitted to Contest #21

I overheard Mother telling the maid to prepare the yellow room (that’s one of the chambers facing the inner courtyard). “Rowena is an orphan”, Mother said to me later, “she is my late sister’s only daughter and she is coming to live with us”. I had so many questions “So she is my cousin? How come I never heard about her?”, but I knew better than to ask Mother, whose lips were even more firmly pressed together than usual. My sisters have to be dressed up all the time. But Rowena came to us wearing jeans and flat shoes. She is so weird! When ...

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“Tradition” by Sahar Khanpour

Submitted to Contest #21

Every Christmas retains the pungent smell of Iranian stews and dog shit. It’s more comforting than it sounds, really. A tradition of ours is to go up to our grandfather’s house for Christmas day after all, and two spoiled Havanese pups aren’t going to change that. My siblings and I always look forward to the exciting night; food, partying, and money are all proper forms of motivation. Every year has been essentially the same for the past ten years or so, and no one expected this year to be any different. We were incredibly wrong. ...

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“Stella's New Old Gift” by Jeff Bittleston

Submitted to Contest #21

Stella’s New Old Gift It was Stella’s 35th Christmas Eve on this planet. It hadn’t been a great year for her. Her extreme social awkwardness had gotten worse, there was her ugly breakup, followed by the depression, which was followed by the relapse of drug abuse. On the bright side, she didn’t need to worry about her job getting in the way of her holiday fun. She’d been let go from her first grade teaching gig because of the failed drug test, but that was a couple of weeks ago, and she’d been sober for the last 9 days. So things were l...

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“HISTORY REPEATS” by SHYAMALA BHUVANACHANDRAN

Submitted to Contest #21

Suddenly Susheela asked me, "Why not we go to Thirukkadaiyur this time?""What for?" I questioned. "Your birthday, that is falling next week. Thirkkadaiyur is not any ordinary place, it is Markandeya Kshetram, a holy place marked for seeking longevity in life."Getting irritated I said, "You know I don't believe in such rituals. All spiritual activities have lost their spirits behind them - only rituals are abound. Rituals without involvement of the performer are mere show off. I am not for such fanfare. First of all, who told you birthdays ha...

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“Olive’s Victory” by Lily Lavender

Submitted to Contest #21

December 21. Winter Solstice.The winter solstice, hiemal solstice or hibernal solstice, also known as midwinter, occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt away from the Sun.I don’t know why this comes to mind because I’m locked in a cell the size of a closet. Maybe it is because I’m a sucker for science or maybe it is because Christmas used to be my favorite time of the year.Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day. None of that crap mean anything anymore. In here I’m just a number.There are days I wake up in a mist of confusion. I...

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“Royals and Cousins” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #21

It all started the day my dad said he couldn’t pick me up after school. He said I had to walk home because he was out of town. It was all fine with me. I loved walking and listening to music, and that’s exactly what I was planning to do, from the second I walked out the school doors. I forgot to mention, it was the last day before the Christmas break. So I plugged in my earphones, turned on my music, and started the twenty minute walk home. I had just walked on to the main sidewalk when I noticed something white that didn’t really look like ...

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“Stranger at the Door” by Linda Peterson

Submitted to Contest #21

Just as I was putting the finishing touches on my Christmas decorations, I heard the doorbell ring. Who would be coming at this time of day?, I mused. It wasnearly seven o'clock on a Friday night. I didn't expect com-pany for at least another hour or two. It seemed to me there were always fewer hours to accomp-lish the holiday shopping, baking, cleaning and other tasks accu-mulating than there were hours to do them, especially, now thatthis year,it was our turn to host the O'Brien family Christmas. My husband, Harold, was in another...

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“The Christmas Party” by Laura Todd

Submitted to Contest #21

The 2019 Christmas staff party, thus far, had been an absolute disaster. Despite paying £50 a head all 26 of us were crammed into the small function room at the back of a grubby pub that had an overall rating of 2 stars. It didn’t look festive in the slightest, apart from a small, barely decorated Christmas tree in the corner and a few crackers that, when pulled had nothing in them, sat on the table. A buffet of sausage rolls, triangle-shaped sandwiches and a selection of crisps in bowls had been laid out like we were children. Fa...

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“All I want for Christmas... ” by Nathan Agustin

Submitted to Contest #21

“Father! Father!” a little boy called. He scampered his little feet across the hall and into his father’s office. Once he opened the door, he found no one but a string of holly, garland, and a beautiful deer statue and could only hear the distant tolling of Christmas bells. No sign of his dad anywhere inside. He pouted and walked away. Before his tiny little toes could hit the ground once more, a massive red-figure snatched him up and whisked him away. “Happy Birthday, Percy!” the figure exclaimed, swinging him around. “Father, there y...

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“Bored for the Holidays” by William Lee

Submitted to Contest #21

I never hated Christmas. I never liked Christmas either, but if you don’t love Christmas people just assume that you must hate it, so it’s easier to open by dispelling that idea. Not that this is often a problem, after all Christmas is only one day out of the year, and people generally mind their business well enough to not bother you about it until the holiday actually arrives. Today, however, was that day. Or rather, the day preceding it, Christmas Eve. Everyone’s at home on Christmas day anyways, so there’s no one to wish you a happy holi...

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“Bud Lights, Ketchup, and Cereal Killers” by Taylor Crosby

Submitted to Contest #21

"Alright guys, I got the beers so we can turn this sad, pathetic joint into–what the hell?" I frown as I look around the darkened room. No one's in sight. I glance at my watch. 4:30. I'm right on time, so where the hell is everybody? I didn't get the time wrong, did I? I whip out my phone, swipe right past the news alert about a serial killer on the loose and to the office feed where all events are posted. Yep, the party is scheduled for 4:30 exactly. So where the hell is everybody? Then I think back to what I saw on my phone a few moments ...

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“The Last Christmas” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #21

Evie pushed the bolt close on the pub door as the last of the merrymakers made their drunken way home and gave a deep sigh.’ Nick came over from behind the bar pulling her into a hug, ‘Come here you. You deserve a bloody medal for all the hours you’ve put in during the run up to Christmas.’ ‘So do you…’ ‘Hey, what’s the matter?’ he asked noticing that she was about to tear up. ‘It’s nothing,’ ‘It’s Christmas Eve. I have a rule that nobody should be sad on Christmas Eve, especially not my beautiful girlfriend, okay? So, grab a drink and...

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“Waiting for the Unknown” by Mike Jackson

Submitted to Contest #21

Martin Harrison had operated his little Inn for over twenty years. Over the years he had enjoyed much success, that was until the new Interstate was built that bypassed the small his small town. He had already witnessed a couple of businesses close shop and had close friends move to the city in search of work. Mr. Harrison had no idea what he was going to do if he had to close his Inn which had been in his family for generations. As Mr. Harrison sat pondering what his future would be, he heard the front door open. He watched as the first vis...

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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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