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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#73: My True Love Gave to Me

In years past, we’ve themed our seasonal prompts around a favorite Christmas movie… This year, we’re going to mix things up and base them off a Christmas song! And since this week’s contest runs through December 25th, what better song to pick than The 12 Days of Christmas?

If you need a little inspiration to get you in the holiday spirit, check out the Christmas and Holiday sections in our Stories directory to see what members of your community have come up with! With all these marvelously festive tales to choose from, we know you’ll find something to get you feeling jolly in no time.

And despite the Christmas origins, our prompts work for any holiday, so feel free to celebrate in a way that's true to you! We can't wait to see your character's traditions.

This week's prompts

Write about someone who is given a bird for the holidays but doesn’t know how to take care of it.

Holiday – 200 stories

Write about someone who gets proposed to five times on Christmas Eve.

Romance – 170 stories

Write about a drummer going to a Halloween party for musicians.

Halloween – 54 stories

Write about a young nobleman whose greatest wish is to become an Olympic long jumper.

Middle School – 20 stories

Write about a backup dancer who’s on tour and just wants some peace and quiet for the holidays.

Winter – 54 stories

Stories

“Sylvia” by Huoma Nyeche

Submitted to Contest #73

Its 24th of december the christmas eve and sylvia is not as excited as her best friends to attend the party Addsion is throwing in a club house. Its been long she met most of her friends from high school. After high school everyone went their seperate ways. Most people who were as close as fuck with their friends were still in touch with one another like Sylvia, Layla and Aubrey. she had come back from work as a secretary in a semi-detached house when her girls had announced to her about the party. Of course they were going, they have been...

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“The Most Confusing Holiday of the year” by Jewel May

Submitted to Contest #73

I woke up at 6:00 am on Christmas Eve 2020. Today marks my first year living on my own, I’m 19. I didn’t have any boyfriends as a kid or teen so I didn’t have anyone to move in with. I woke up early so I could go for a run, despite the holiday I still wanted to continue the day as normal. I turned the alarm off and sat up. I went to youtube on my phone and started playing some workout tunes. I threw the device back down to my bed after I stood. I made my way to the closet and grabbed my shoes from one of the shelves, set up inside. They were...

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“Engagement Forest” by Shannon McGill

Submitted to Contest #73

Engagement Forest1034 wordsAh, my favorite night of the year, Christmas Eve. The snow dances in the air lazily, melting as it lands upon my face. It’s dark and glittery outside and the trees surrounding us wear the snowflakes like a formal gown, such an idyllic scene. I sit and let my five senses run free, always unnoticed as couples pass my hiding spot. The news named the vast, barely touched patch of land “Engagement Forest” but the real name is Theodore Roberts Park, after one of our local founders of the same name. It’s the perfect ...

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“Every Five Years” by Annie Ruhangakiza

Submitted to Contest #73

"When you get older who will slaughter the chicken for you?" My dad always asked me this every Christmas eve as they slaughtered goats and chicken for the rest of the festive season. "I will have a husband, daddy to do all that for me. I'll also be rich to hire someone to slaughter the chicken and goats" I always replied and my dad always shook his head at my arrogance. He thought it was a skill to come in handy one day and I thought it was a role for men. I pulled the African traditional society card where men did the grazing, hunting and s...

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“Love, Peace and Hope” by Gelyn Pescuela

Submitted to Contest #73

Sitting in a chair, having a vacation in this beautiful place where I am at peace and hearing the chirping of the bird’s leads to serenity which I wish far beyond what I expected to be. I long for your presence, and I’m dying to meet you soon but sadly this time isn’t the best time, not because you weren’t ready, but because I wasn’t ready and the world isn’t ready. I have so much time to improve myself because that’s the best thing I could do now. While waiting for you, I found myself dreaming on the eternal happiness and peace the world sh...

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“CHRISTMAS EVE OFFER” by Sachin Mk

Submitted to Contest #73

We all say it is the best time of year, but Christmas has now officially been chosen as the best time to get down on one knee and ask the question, and we suspect that many of these proposals will happen just after midnight. We know that many couples like to start the New Year with a small gift and a proposal, so on Christmas Eve (December 24) there will probably be the second - most marriage proposals, followed by New Year (which is technically January, but is still a holiday) and then Christmas Day itself. A proposal made just before midni...

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“proposal times 5” by C Alexis McGregor

Submitted to Contest #73

Hello everyone, I'm Verdie Feldt. I am so pleased to be speaking with your today via Zoom about one of the most joyous yet tremulous events of my recent life. This afternoon, I will share with you the intricacies that encompassed my engagement proposal for Christmas 2020. I now wonder at my surprise, given the erratic rhythm of this past year. I invite you to close your eyes, picture a tree full of garland, blinking with white lights, boughs bursting with bobbles of every shape, sheen, all in tints, tones of currant, crimson, cherry. My mo...

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“Merry Little Drummer Girl” by Pamela Harju

Submitted to Contest #73

“I think I made a mistake. I was wrong to break up with you. I miss you.” Mike put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. “Would you marry me?” She looked at his for once sincere face and wondered why she had ever thought him handsome. She suppressed a sigh. “No, Mike, you were right. You dumped me because you were bored of me. I don’t want to marry you.” His expression told her he hadn’t expected this. “Why not?” She wriggled away from his grip. “I’m seeing someone else.” She walked away, hoping she could unsee the pain...

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“Help Me God Pick The Right One!!” by Judith Buskohl

Submitted to Contest #73

Tomorrow was Christmas Day and she was still shopping for the perfect gift for one special man in her life, her Dad. Since mom passed on two years before from a heart issue, he needed something in his life; he would just go out to buy it. Her parents had always been on the soft side of easy street, so her dad was well off and didn’t have to work one day more in his golden years. She always chuckled as she watched the look of greed come over hopefully young woman that saw a man with one foot in the grave and then watched as th...

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“Marry Me” by A Mehendale

Submitted to Contest #73

A thud. The mattress wobbles.“Hey. Marry me.”Anoushka groans, and burrows further into the pillow.______________________________________________________Some unknowable number of hours later, Anoushka is finally feeling once more capable of being alive, though not without some bitterness. She finds Jade in the kitchen, sat cross-legged on a chair and hunched over a book. She looks up as Anoushka comes in, smiles at her, soft and warm.“Merry Almost Christmas.”“Back at ya.” She pauses on her way to the kettle, hand coming to rest on the back of...

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“The Little Drummer Boy” by Emma Harris

Submitted to Contest #73

Doseok has always been a music person. Ever since he was a little boy he loved everything about music. He loved to dance and he loved to play instruments. He's what you could call a musical prodigy. He wasn't famous though. He did many different gigs for people. He was often in the background of some of the most famous music videos and musicals. Doseok was a talented dancer, instrument player and he could even sing and rap very well. He played so many instruments, it's hard to name them all. He played the violin, guitar, piano, saxop...

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“One More Verse” by Kylia Castello

Submitted to Contest #73

I paced outside the brick building, trying to push away the nausea that was making it hard to breathe. Behind me, I could barely hear the pounding music coming from inside the building over Elle, who was yelling at her phone when Evan didn’t pick up. “WHAT IS HAPPENING?! He's never not answered me,” she raged. I snorted and tried to laugh through the sickness that was starting to overwhelm me, but it only made it worse. “Girl, you look pale,” Elle whispered. I just nodded. “What happened, did y...

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“Gifted Hands” by Gudy Remo

Submitted to Contest #73

Gifted Hands What do you think will be more exciting about a drummer going to a holiday party for musicians? Until you read this story from the beginning, you will never find out that life's drama happens at any moment. it's 06:00 AM, his mother wakes him up as she does every day. “Tikboy” as he is known in the poor neighborhood of Tondo Manila, Philippines, has to go to school. A growing teenager at 17 years of age, Angelito Sanchez, his Christian name, is a struggling student because of poverty, but with a passion to play d...

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“The Beat Goes On” by Lavinia Hughes

Submitted to Contest #73

THE BEAT GOES ON By Lavinia M. Hughes Reed zipped up his wool coat to his neck to keep out the arctic winds blowing off of Boylston Street. His insulated gloves were at least doing the trick, keeping his hands warm. He always took good care of his hands, since he was a drummer and played several other instruments. He raced into his school, the Berklee College of Music, in downtown Boston and just made it to class before the professor started. The Ear Training class was helpful in his perc...

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“Paradiddles & Whiskey” by Rena Mistinguett

Submitted to Contest #73

I have two things on my mind. Leaving and whiskey. The party's so loud the only thing I can hear is my heart pounding. The only thing I can focus on is not having a panic attack on the way to the kitchen. I promised Serena I’d come tonight. We had a show the other night and she timed the invitation just right-- I was three sheets to the wind and feeling loose having just kicked ass on my kit for 3 hours straight. So of course I said yes to her Christmas party. Outside of playing our shows and recording in the s...

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$50

Prize money

498

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 25, 2020 EST

Won by Shawn Forno 🏆

Title: Burt Brain

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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