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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#229: Mistletoe and Meet-Cutes

As someone who loves getting in the festive mood once winter arrives, you’ll likely find me curled up on my couch on cold December nights — with a cheesy holiday film on the go. What can I say? There’s just something about so-bad-they’re-actually-good movies that I can’t get enough of this time of the year (much to my family’s dismay).

This week, let’s pull out all the stops and write stories that play with the common tropes in popular holiday films, from secret royals and sudden cases of amnesia, to disastrous celebrations salvaged by some last-minute magic. Whether you lean in to the warm fuzzies in earnest, or subvert your trope entirely, is up to you...

🥇 Winner

“The Gingerbread Cookies” by Aaron Chin

🏆 Winner of Contest #229

The Gingerbread Cookies Let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. The warm smell sits right at home in your nostrils, invading them like wild ax-murderers hacking and slashing their way through endless miles of human bodies that stand in the way of their inhumane, carnal desires. Shhh, shhh, but that’s too dark. It’s Christmas after all. So let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. One step… then two… Ooooohhhh, isn’t this great? You’ve never baked gingerbread cookies before, oh no, b...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“All I Want For Christmas” by Elisa Skoett

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

It was a long way to Ezra’s parents’ vacation home. The road was narrow and winding, the switchbacks crawling up the snow-laden mountains. Darkness seeped over the horizon and the shadows of trees stretched and receded as the car’s headlights cut through the inky blackness. The falling snow was reflected in the sickly yellow beams, the tunnel of white reminding Ezra of the opening of a Star Wars movie. All I Want For Christmas Is You was playing and Ezra sang along, his voice high and off-key. He put his feet on the dash despite the n...

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“Stargazy Pie” by J. I. MumfoRD

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

With rumblings of war rolling along the coastline, the knock startled Cecil. His grip tightened on the pewter plates as a sense of foreboding took hold. Opening the door revealed a handsome stranger, with refined features as if carved from marble. He had jet black hair and eyes that glinted like cold steel. “Good evening, and happy Christmas” said the stranger in a rich baritone. “My apologies for the intrusion, but it seems my carriage has lost a wheel just up the road. Might I trouble you for some shelter from the cold while my man f...

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“The Delicate Straw Hut” by Bhargav Venu Shastry

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

Dawn. Tara walks to the well outside the village, a pot in her hand. Two years into adulthood, her green bangles clink as the pot bounces against the side of her thigh. Her saree is crudely worn, and a sliver of sunlight illuminates her tired eyes, which she promptly covers with her hand. Her toe rings, a sign of marriage, click against the hard, barren earth. She reaches the well, and puts the pot down. A metal bucket tied to a string sits on the edge of the well. Tara knocks it over with her elbow, and it tumbles down until there’s...

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“Did Jesus Eat Bacon For Christmas? ” by Clara 'CC' Carlyle

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

A bombshell revelation from the man formerly known as Jesus. It took many years, but he has reinvented himself- yet again. Josh, as he is known today, has a worldwide base of followers who call themselves Joshers. Few others can say they have two million followers. Josh the influencer. Josh the activist. Josh the criminal. Josh the great polarizing figure. Exactly who is Josh? ________ Clara Carlyle: Good to see you. Josh Christmas: Thank you for having me. Hey everyone out there. CC: I thought we'd start with you intro...

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“Lovepugs” by Caro Robson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

Montgomery's chubby little body trembles with excited grunts as Poppy pushes open the door. Noticing the stylish reception area, she shushes him, feeling foolish for bringing a pug to a lawyer’s office. Still - she needs him here. He is her only remaining family and she cannot face the reading of her mother’s will without him by her side. A familiar voice rings out from the reception desk, immediately putting her at ease. “This must be the famous Montgomery! The whole town is talking about this handsome fellow.” Poppy had...

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This week's prompts

Write about a festive party gone wrong that’s saved by some holiday magic.

Holiday – 24 stories

Write a story in which a cynical character gets amnesia on Christmas Eve.

Christmas – 28 stories

Write about a character who visits their hometown for the holidays and reconnects with a former love interest.

Holiday – 65 stories

Start or end your story with a character finding out the love of their life is actually royalty.

Romance – 19 stories

Write a story in which a character is stuck reliving their worst Christmas ever, over and over again.

Christmas – 35 stories

Stories

“The Gingerbread Cookies” by Aaron Chin

🏆 Winner of Contest #229

The Gingerbread Cookies Let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. The warm smell sits right at home in your nostrils, invading them like wild ax-murderers hacking and slashing their way through endless miles of human bodies that stand in the way of their inhumane, carnal desires. Shhh, shhh, but that’s too dark. It’s Christmas after all. So let’s go downstairs and bake some cookies, like mother used to make. One step… then two… Ooooohhhh, isn’t this great? You’ve never baked gingerbread cookies before, oh no, b...

Read story

“All I Want For Christmas” by Elisa Skoett

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

It was a long way to Ezra’s parents’ vacation home. The road was narrow and winding, the switchbacks crawling up the snow-laden mountains. Darkness seeped over the horizon and the shadows of trees stretched and receded as the car’s headlights cut through the inky blackness. The falling snow was reflected in the sickly yellow beams, the tunnel of white reminding Ezra of the opening of a Star Wars movie. All I Want For Christmas Is You was playing and Ezra sang along, his voice high and off-key. He put his feet on the dash despite the n...

Read story

“Mrs. Fezziwig” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #229

Christmas is ruined. Ruined, once again. Last year it was the debacle with the nutmeg wine, and this year it’s the ghosts from the future showing up to terrorize everyone with some grumpy looking gentleman in old pajamas. Didn’t I tell you as soon as we saw that specter in the window that you needed to go outside and scare her off? Now, I don’t know how one goes about scaring a ghost, that is true, but we’re trying to have a party, and who feels like making merry when there’s demons floating about? I don’t care if she was a very pretty...

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“The Christmas Queen” by Daniel R. Hayes

Submitted to Contest #229

(CW: Violence, Language, crude humor, blood, comic mischief) A frozen blanket of ice glazed the roads on Fern Street as the Wallace family headed home from a busy day of shopping. The houses were adorned with multi-colored lights, and blow-up decorations were as far as the eye could see. Every door had a festive wreath to showcase the spirit of the season, and carolers sang songs of merry for all to hear. Yes, my friends, it was Christmas Eve once again. A time when boys and girls dream of toys and candy, and parents wish for peace ...

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“The Anamnesis Before Christmas” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #229

“Hey, can we call it a night after Europe?” said one of the two who could speak in the party of ten, as they bumped and rocked and skittered across the sky. “That’s like 70% of the world and I’ve been reading about this 70-30 rule, which advocates allocating 70% of your time to taking action and leaving 30% aside for having fun. I’m really into this. I say we’ve worked hard enough and deserve a break. The Bahamas would be nice. It’s a straight run when we drop this load, what do you say?”“I say the same thing I always say when you make this ...

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“A Letter to Darlene: c/o Franklin County Jail” by Aeris Walker

Submitted to Contest #229

Darlene,It’s a crying shame you’re still incarcerated, Sis, otherwise, I would have dragged you with me to the Wheatville Baptist Church Christmas party last night, because it was surely a night I won’t forget.You remember Miss Beverly, right? The one who always wore her hair in that big swoopy up-do? She’d been directing the children’s play every year for the last thirty years, but she passed away in June, God rest her soul, and so they needed somebody to take her place. Well, Elvira Mumford got wind of it and said she might be interested i...

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“Too-Cute Meet” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #229

Too-Cute MeetThe explosive excitement of Chrissy's fifth grade class was peaking as the much anticipated holiday party approached. The final afternoon before the traditional winter two-week break was officially kicked off with festivities pointing to Christmas Day. But, of course, no one could call it Christmas Vacation. It just happened to coincide with the religious reason for the season.The coming of Jesus or the coming of Santa rivaled each other but if she was a betting person the ten-year-olds in her classroom were hyped-up on thoughts...

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“The Man in the Lobster Mask” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #229

Nick was certain the yellow bungalow was the right place, but he checked his crumpled note again – and then again – and swallowed a lump. It had only been a week since he last saw Darlene, but it felt like a lifetime ago. He straightened his tie, sniffed his bouquet of roses, and patted his box of chocolates. Then he walked up to the drain pipe, scampered onto the roof, and dove down the chimney. He rolled out the fireplace and right into the living room, where with a practiced kick and tuck, he somersaulted to standing, right in front of a ...

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“The Christmas Santa Forgot” by Timothy Rennels

Submitted to Contest #229

The Christmas Santa Forgot Sometimes it was stressful being Santa Claus’ wife. She loved what he did but she wanted a life. So, on Thursday afternoons she went out with the girls, Had an eggnog or two and shook loose her curls. She would tell Santa stories and the girls all would laugh. She waved her gloved hand and said, “You don’t know the half! You may not believe it but once we were young. This giving presents thing had just begun. Santa was an athlete when he was younger, He missed competing because he still had that hunger. But as ...

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“Elf Off the Shelf” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #229

From the beginning, there had only ever been one rule: Don’t let anyone see you move. But after what I saw tonight, I was afraid I was going to have to break that rule.The Dunken’s house was full of people. From inside Mrs. Mitchell’s purse, I carefully peeked out through the open zipper and saw dozens of recognizable faces, people who had come over to pick up Oliver and Sklyer’s friends over the years. They were all laughing and eating and drinking merrily. Despite Christmas having already passed – this I knew because Mrs. Mitchell had alre...

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“A Christmas Carrot” by Chris Campbell

Submitted to Contest #229

“Morning, Robbie.” “Morning, Jen.” “Thanks for last night.” “Last night is a bit foggy. Did we…?” “It was a long-awaited Christmas present - after you quickly left town so many years ago.” “I must be feeling the aftereffects of that Sambuca last night. What time is it?” “It’s early afternoon on Christmas Day. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw your still handsome-looking face in our local pub last night. So many memories and emotions came pouring back out. Remember those quickies behind the local gym before I had to go home to Graha...

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“The Delicate Straw Hut” by Bhargav Venu Shastry

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

Dawn. Tara walks to the well outside the village, a pot in her hand. Two years into adulthood, her green bangles clink as the pot bounces against the side of her thigh. Her saree is crudely worn, and a sliver of sunlight illuminates her tired eyes, which she promptly covers with her hand. Her toe rings, a sign of marriage, click against the hard, barren earth. She reaches the well, and puts the pot down. A metal bucket tied to a string sits on the edge of the well. Tara knocks it over with her elbow, and it tumbles down until there’s...

Read story

“Stargazy Pie” by J. I. MumfoRD

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #229

With rumblings of war rolling along the coastline, the knock startled Cecil. His grip tightened on the pewter plates as a sense of foreboding took hold. Opening the door revealed a handsome stranger, with refined features as if carved from marble. He had jet black hair and eyes that glinted like cold steel. “Good evening, and happy Christmas” said the stranger in a rich baritone. “My apologies for the intrusion, but it seems my carriage has lost a wheel just up the road. Might I trouble you for some shelter from the cold while my man f...

Read story

“A period in time ” by Rebecca Detti

Submitted to Contest #229

It was Christmas Day, 1990 at 'Mount Farm' in North Cornwall and thirteen-year-old Jemima was sure she had heard her parents stir from their slumber. She always knew it was her dad going into the bathroom because he had a knack of letting the whole household know. He couldn't do anything quietly including lock the door. He was a champion wrestler taking on ‘The Lock’. He had a multitude of other opponents including furniture which hadn't done anything to him, gadgets, even DIY projects usually lost the fight. Then the familiar sounds of fart...

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“Skinwalker” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #229

Gather around me if you wish to hear my tale, for I am a shaman king from the old country. My world is not yours, my words are not the ones spoken today. I am a wanderer of the path that separates men from beasts, and on certain nights preys upon other men. I do not do this because I dislike them or because I have no control over my actions, those are the motives of a criminal. I do it because I am a relic from a time when human predation was both normal and understood. &nb...

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$250

Prize money

171

Contest entries

64

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 22, 2023 EST

Won by Aaron Chin 🏆

Title: The Gingerbread Cookies

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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