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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...

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

“Purgatory” by David Bachman

Submitted to Contest #229

A memory of a girl’s scream echoed through my ears. My alarm brayed at me incessantly, and even pulling the pillow over my ears didn’t stop the ringing from working its way into the growing fissure in my brain. The only thing worse than the sound was the burning light that assaulted me when I opened my eyes to hit the snooze. I turned my pillow over to the cool side, and shut my eyes to adjust to the overhead light slowly, hopefully through my eyelids over the next ten minutes (which passed in approximately three seconds before the alarm scr...

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“The Spirit Of Christmas” by Anuv Ahuja

Submitted to Contest #229

The little town of New Evergreen was a haven for those who enjoyed the spirit of Christmas. Among the snowy hills and bright lights, it displayed a charm that made every day feel like a holiday. The Jackson family, known for their everlasting spirit for the Christmas season, were the heart and soul of the community. Every year, they hosted a huge Christmas party that had become the main event of New Evergreen's winter. The wait for this year's celebration was intense, as whispers of the Jacksons' plans spread through the town like a raging w...

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“Home for the Holidays ” by Jeff Kerbacher

Submitted to Contest #229

Joshua Dowd rolled into the sleepy town of Lincoln, Maine. It’s be twenty long years since he’s been back.With his father being sick, this might be the last time to say goodbye. David Dowd was never easy to live with. Maybe that’s why Joshua left home at seventeen. Joshua stopped his BMW on Main Street to gaze up at the sixty foot Christmas tree the town alway sets up with a manger scene below it. Joshua got the email from an old friend that his father was dying. Joshua never responded. Joshua drove down Maple Street to look at his childhoo...

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“A Hopeful Holiday” by KD Nason

Submitted to Contest #229

**Abortion and Mental Health Trigger Warning** “Why did she let Clara talk her into this? Thought Leslie as she stepped off the plane at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Ga. She always let her sister talk her into doing everything she didn’t want to. Coming home for Christmas, or for anything else, was not a part of her plan. She hasn’t been back to this place since she left, after high school graduation. Everyone she wanted to see, who still lived in Esom Hill, was perfectly content to come to visit her. She raked...

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“A life completey unexpected ” by David Nutt

Submitted to Contest #229

A life completely unexpected The hedgerows and fields were a seductive green color as I looked out of the train window as it trundled its way North. I had been away for four years living with a group of aboriginals people south of Ayers Rock not far from Alice Springs. I noticed the livestock, enjoying the lush spring grass. They seemed docile and tranquil so different, so different from the scorched barren lands of central Australia inhabited by wild animals. I was going home to see my mother, if I could call it that, as my home was now wit...

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“Prospecting” by M. McLellan

Submitted to Contest #229

PROSPECTING stephaniemiller@welltravalledmag.org Sent 21 January 2022 Steph, I know it's not bloody perfect. It's a draft. I’ve revised the opening paragraph. What do you think of the bones? Balancing on a ridge of slick rock just above the waterline, I can see the town's lights reflecting in the dark water of the sound. The dock cranes, Lego red and hazard-tape yellow, are lit up night and day. It's only 4 degrees, but I am dressed in nothing but neoprene. In the shadows between me and civilisation, Rhys is manoeuvring two kayak...

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“Winter Solstice” by Edaj Ram

Submitted to Contest #229

Do you ever get emotional on flights? As the plane ascended into the crisp white sky I began to think of my life from a third-person perspective. Who is this person with AirPods snoring to my left? The neighbor to my right plays Tetris on his iPad as I flick through the newly added movies. Without much thought, I selected Sleepless in Seattle, a holiday romance classic about finding love through divine coincidence.With every second New York gets further and further away. I reflect on my year. I remember waking up on January 1st next to my ex...

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“Christmas with Paisley” by Michael Moran

Submitted to Contest #229

“Enjoy the holidays,” My wife told me. “I am trying.” I added we should have gone to her parents. We’d had this discussion before, but we were now actually landing at San Francisco International Airport. I tried to remain positive as we made our way through the airport to collect our luggage. Overhead Christmas songs played and were routinely interrupted by PSAs wishing us all a safe, happy, and enjoyable holiday season as we waded through a sea of people. The packed tram to the car rental area deposited us and about one hundred other h...

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“Christmas Parade ” by Ann Valdez

Submitted to Contest #229

At the Christmas parade, the beating was so harmonious and enchanting, and I don’t mean the drums from the marching band. The sparkle was so bright, brighter than all the Christmas lights combined. I felt as tall as the clouds in the sky. While we embraced it, made art like the golden hour color palette that glows in the evening twilight. Filled with pinks, oranges, and blues melting together like my body. I embraced him for as long as I could. “It’s been so long Jainey, how good it is to have you in my arms.” James said in a buttery tone. “...

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“"Christmas Love"” by Tina Lynn

Submitted to Contest #229

“Christmas Love” By Tina Lynn It all began with my grand return to Manhattan, New York. Here I am, back home after two years being gone and I felt the Christmas cheer while I saw the snow covering the ground. When I got off the plane and saw the ground covered in snow. I close my eyes as the snow is falling on my face and I wish, “I wish I fall in love again.” I stayed with my parents at their house with their three cats. My parents are in their late 60s and they were in full Christmas mode. When my parents picked me up, it was nothin...

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“Home for Christmas” by Bettina Karpathian

Submitted to Contest #229

Nina rolled her eyes as Lakshmi asked her yet again to stop so that she could take photos. The vistas of the mountains and trees were indeed spectacular, but Lakshmi seemed oblivious to the run-down trailers, the roadside trash, the pot-holed road and the shot-up traffic signs. The road wound upwards and Nina held her breath as her old car shuddered and wheezed. It was late afternoon, and the sky had a steely grey look that spoke of impending snow. She did not want to get stranded by the roadside here. Cell phone reception was spotty, traffi...

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“Old Friends” by Julie Wylie

Submitted to Contest #229

Nervous with anticipation, I was grateful to be riding shotgun instead of maneuvering the car through holiday traffic. It seems like forever since I’d seen JoAnn and her son Keith. They represent a rare, solid connection to my childhood. Keith left for the army straight out of high school, so no telling how those years changed him. Yes, nervousness and excitement! With my best friend Debbie at the wheel, I was free to savor familiar landmarks all decked out in Christmas decorations passi...

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“The Heart Always Knows” by Barbara Nosek

Submitted to Contest #229

My best friend Lorelei and I are both writers, for me food editor of a city magazine, for her contributor of short stories to many outlets. We always have lots of writerly things to share but for this get-together, as always at Pearlie’s Corner Pub, I had something entirely different to tell her.“Well I got some news today, actually in the form of an invitation,” I said as we slid into our usual booth. “My little friend Tanya back home has gotten married. And here I am already married and divorced. "It was just a small ceremony at the courth...

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“No Place Like Home for the Holidays” by Grace Pierce

Submitted to Contest #229

I take a deep breath in when I step out of my car. It’s the first time I’ve been home for the holidays since I graduated college, so I haven't had the chance to smell that familiar hometown air in a long time. It’s crisp and smells kinda like pinecones. I look around while walking up to my parents’ front door. This is the house I grew up in, and everything looks almost the same. Of course, there are some slight differences, but the house and its surrounding property are so familiar and warm. It welcomes me with open arms when I lightly knock...

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“Picture Perfect” by Miles Gray

Submitted to Contest #229

PICTURE PERFECT. Twinkling lights, staining the wallpaper like stars breaking through the building. She held my hand while she whispered she ‘had something for me,’ and my heartbeat sped up like an engine roaring until I couldn’t breathe. “Waylon?” You shake me awake. I sit up so fast I nearly slam our heads together, so you place a hand on my shoulder with worry in your changing eyes. “You okay?” “Fine,” I breathe. “Merry Christmas.” Bitter taste on my tongue. I smile. “Merry Christmas.” We had moved throu...

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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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