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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

“A Christmas Miracle” by Randi W

Submitted to Contest #21

Toronto, Canada 1902A few days before Christmas The feather duster swept over the rows of already clean keys. Benjamin shuffled around to the other side of the desk; his shoulders hunched as he slowly made his way to the front door of his little Inn. His gnarled hand carefully gripped the brass door handle and with effort pulled the heavy oak door open; a small smile formed on his face as he watched the snowflakes gracefully fall from the night sky. The winter wonderland outsi...

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“Good Intentions” by MaKaila Knight

Submitted to Contest #21

[Content Warning: dark supernatural themes, some physical violence] Beth blew warm air over her fingers but didn’t drop her gaze. She absently rubbed her hands together, willing her fingers to stay loose and limber as she watched the store across from the alley she had taken refuge in. As much as she craved gloves in that moment, experience had quickly taught her that her bare hands worked best for this sort of thing. A sharp wind ghosted by, stirring up a fine mist of snow off the tops of the parked cars lining the street and temporarily di...

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“The Donnell Inn” by Ashley Fernandes

Submitted to Contest #21

“Thank you,” said Clara Donnell, trying not to show her disappointment in taking back her last guest’s room key. “Please come again.”The guest, a woman in her forties who had to make a mere pit-stop along the way to see a relative, left without even so much as a word. Clara took that as a sign that the service hadn’t been up to the woman’s standards - perhaps she hadn’t given her enough towels? Had the hand soap run out again? She would have to send in another order for that, but it would be difficult to find a deal that was within the inn’s...

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“Margaritaville” by Judy McIntosh

Submitted to Contest #21

I stacked the beer mugs into the freezer then hung the wineglasses above the bar.Christmas Eve, and I'm working the night shift at the Ocean Spray Restaurant. Not a bad place. Live music most weekends and a pub menu. Ouside there was a 10 slip marina and ocean as far as I can see.I didn't really mind working tonight because I had no family, no boyfriend, no big holiday plans.I heard the familiar screech of brakes as my boss Jimmy swung into the parking lot. He thought it was fun to drive his red corvette fast towards the front window, then s...

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“Bad Apples” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #21

“Kashmir” played over the house speakers. My mind drifted to the streets of Marrakesh, a place I had never been. The heat, the vendors, and the bodies there, squashed together, probably smelled worse than the bar I tended. But how would I know? I’ve never been anywhere. The Christmas lights brightened the often low lit pub. Gossamer’s wasn’t the kind of place you drank at if you wanted to be seen. With the lights out, it’s less dangerous — at least, that’s what Cobain will say over the JBLs before the night is through. I trust him. So w...

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“Spider Hole” by Daniel Brown

Submitted to Contest #21

Serving drinks on Christmas Eve is far from ideal. The bar isn’t exactly the final frontier for the holiday season and yet, everyone is itching to drown in booze whether sprinting away from problems or getting the liquid courage to stare them down. No one wants to cover a holiday shift and I’ve got no family living to spend the time with hence why I’m here providing respite to anyone who needs it unless it’s emotional. I’m tapped out or at least closed up with that. I skip the tradition of making the place seem more festive than it is. ...

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“RICH PUB” by Ishita Garg

Submitted to Contest #21

Rich Pub"There are places where an already frenzied youth comes to get more. Here, entertainment is the bread and butter of the locals and locals are so sparse that they can be counted on fingers with respect to tourists. This is goa, where rebels of the society are welcomed with open arms."For Indians, winter may not hold much festivity but Westerners' holiday had just begun. It was beginning of the December afterall. All the pubs are full, except mine. Youths spew trouble in the city, but here in the suburbs, all is quiet. But the door has...

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“THE HUNT” by Brian Warui

Submitted to Contest #21

It was my first job at the Tafaria Pub as a bartender and it being Christmas eve, the place was decorated with smoking machines, moving light beams and disco balls that reflected a beam of splashing lights on the dance floor. That aside, we were offering free drinks to customers that night. Everyone was in a jovial mood and it seemed like the best place to be. I was staring outside through a window opposite the counter and a group of people approached the entrance of the pub where I worked. They seemed to be in a pub crawl since the street t...

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“Lessons from the bar” by Calvin Friedlander

Submitted to Contest #21

Thank god it ain’t happy hour. The last customer was about to close his tab. The man stood up from the old wooden stool at the counter and staggered as he struggled to stand still. His head was weary from an extensive night of drinking. Too many beers before closing time. Three empty bottles rested at the countertop and another one lay broken on the floor after he dropped one an hour ago when he was slapped harshly by a young woman. What were they fighting about? I had no idea. All I knew is that she left soon a...

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“Neighbourhood Watch” by Barbara Eustace

Submitted to Contest #21

“Who’s that?” Tessa wondered when the doorbell went. Eric said nothing. He was deep into his paper checking the racing results. Tessa went out of their small living room and towards the front door, where Eric could hear her talking to someone. There was the sound of the door being closed, the safety chain being taken off and the door opening again. “Eric,” she said a moment later as she came back in the living room, “it’s the police. There’s been another burglary. They want to know if we’ve seen anything.”E...

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“Maya’s Christmas Eve” by Vee CJ

Submitted to Contest #21

Noah loves sitting on the chair near the window in the living room. No other kids are living in that street. He is alone all the time. Books and toys are his only friends, but this chair and the view through the window is what keeping him more active in the evenings. Maya told him once that when the sun goes down, people take rest and sleep. He then turned off the light in the living room and showed her the world outside through the window. She never realized that her son observed the world way better than her. Now there are two chairs near ...

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“Uncle Jack” by Kaileb Bryant

Submitted to Contest #21

My phone buzzer starts going off, distracting me from my last minute wrapping of Christmas presents.“Hello?”“Hello, Miss Casey? This is Oakland Regional Hospital calling. We have your uncle here with us, and it’s a good idea you come and see him.”“Why, what’s wrong with him? It’s Christmas Eve!”“I’m afraid he’s not going to be with us much longer; he might not see Christmas Day. I recommend you come down now if you want to say goodbye.”The scissors I was still holding when I answered fall to the table.“Uh… sure, I-I’ll be right there.” ...

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“The Unexpected Visitor” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #21

I can hear the warm fire crackle as flames dance in the ingle before me. I bury myself deeper into the blankets, not for warmth but for its soft and fleecy texture that makes me feel like I am wrapped in a giant hug. Feeling my eyes grow heavier by the second, I try to resist falling asleep but only find myself to be sinking further in. I am just about to succumb to my fatigue when three jaunty knocks bang on my door. Grudgingly, I ...

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“Time Gone By” by Theodor Manole

Submitted to Contest #21

Did you know that bears love Christmas too? It’s often told that all we do during winter is hibernate, but we may have some secrets kept away from the rest of the world. Ever since I was little, I always dreamt about Santa Claus and how he brings presents to kids who’ve been behaving well this year and offers coal to the ones that have been bad. As a kid, I never thought too much about it, but now, it feels more like a way of bringing people; both friends and family, together. I don’t remember how old I was exactly. It was a long time ago, ...

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“Letters to Opal from Auntie Janine” by Faith Kelly

Submitted to Contest #21

It is exactly 23 hours 56 minutes and 30 seconds after my life got altered. How my life got altered from normal to strange to crazy, and from crazy to terrifying. I did not know the situation fully, but I knew who was behind all of this madness. 15 hours 32 minutes and 5 seconds before the madness started.- I am an Environmental Science major who attends the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville to get my Ph.D. I am walking through the hallway hurriedly to get to my dorm. It is Christmas break, and I forgot to pack my bags so I can go see...

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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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