Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Posted in Holiday on Nov 18, 2022

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✍️ 31 stories

“Uncle” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #173

This Christmas, you are an uncle. I know you didn’t ask to take on this role – it’s kind of shitty of your sister for going on and having children without even asking you how you felt about assuming such responsibility; but once she pops them out, society says you got a new name and you can't do anything about it – so I’m going to help you out and give you some advice on how to meet your nephew and niece for the first time (because no one ever offered me any).Now, first, I want to congratulate you on managing to avoid every family holid...

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“The Wrecking Ball” by Mike Panasitti

Submitted to Contest #173

It is Christmas eve, 2052. The temperatures in a midtown Manhattan building scheduled to be demolished in a week are freezing, but the encampment of transients who reside there build bonfires to warm the space sufficiently enough for domestic comfort. Wrecking Ball, a burly transient with a cleanly shaven head and a gold incisor, is the shot caller in the illegally occupied structure. Compared to most of the dwellers in the encampment, Wrecking Ball is well-dressed, decked out in brand label outdoor winter gear.&nb...

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“It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Kittens ” by Sean McGillis

Submitted to Contest #173

Even when Ellie was little, I had a feeling she was destined to do great good in life. She was smart as a whip, responsible and her heart was always in the right place. I couldn't ask for a better daughter.It had been five years since my wife had died, leaving a great hole in our life. Although both of us still missed her greatly, we were past the devastation and moving forward.Christmas had become fun again, and it was just days away. I still hadn't shopped for her present. Work had kept me terribly busy, and I wasn't sure about what to get...

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“The Gift of Goodbye” by Ashley Brandt

Submitted to Contest #173

Uncle Don and Aunt Lynette whispered in the love seat across from mine. Cousin Charles picked at his teeth, his large form hovering in the kitchen doorway, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Rod and Finney sat to the right of the hearth, which cackled with a glowing flame.The drapes in the living room had been drawn back, revealing the picturesque snowfall beyond it. Despite the odd collection of relatives, some of whom I hadn’t seen since I was five, our little gathering made an ideal representation of Christmas morning. My parents, twice...

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“Bookshops aren't libraries ” by Jennifer Cameron

Submitted to Contest #173

Includes swearing There was something about the smell of vintage paper; worn and yellow and dog-eared corners that had been flattened out and then creased again. The ink that stained the pages with words that couldn’t become unsaid once spoken aloud. She drifted through the aisles, this wisp of a person with hair that was blacker than the nights in the depths of winter when even the silver penny of a moon is obscured by clouds. She was everything that writers would romanticize in the stories she was browsing. You wouldn’t believe me, but s...

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“Why I hate DeJa vus” by Arvin Tavakkoli

Submitted to Contest #173

It’s early Sunday morning and I can see the twilight from the small window of my room. The sky is yellow with red and orange colours at the edge of purple clouds, bleeding. It’s dark, still. I couldn’t sleep last night. I lit a candle, I don’t remember why. Maybe out of boredom or maybe I felt I needed the light. Or, maybe because I was mourning. It burns, slowly, luringly, shadows move against the white wall. The part of the wall where the paint is peeling, the moving shadows get bigger and then fade. It h...

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“Uncle Roy and the Box of Chocolates” by Michael Gygi

Submitted to Contest #173

Uncle Roy and the Box of Chocolates I love Christmas in San Francisco. As much as I loved the Christmas season and going to the city, there was one annual event that I looked forward to with greater anticipation than any other: Christmas at my grandparents’ house. Every Christmas Eve, dad and I would pack up the car with presents and overnight bags and drive out to Grandpa John’s. We would have a scrumptious turkey dinner, mingle with the other guests and relatives, attend midnight mass and stay through Christmas morning. The hour and a h...

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“Gift God” by Jim Firth

Submitted to Contest #173

‘Thank you! It’s just what I wanted’ is a commonly heard phrase at Christmas time. Families the world over use it to veil their disappointment. This creates all sorts of problems: it enshrines the gift giver in a bubble of Christmas hubris, adds to their obliviousness, and perpetuates the cycle of bad gifts. But do not fear: the cycle can be broken. You, my friend, can become a Gift God.If you’re not sure that you’re an inferior gift-giver, you most likely are one. Folk have been too polite to tell you. I’m telling you now because subpar gif...

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“Turkey Frustration or Love?” by Theresa Fox Turner

Submitted to Contest #173

Last year Mom wanted to change things up for Thanksgiving by cooking a prime rib rather than turkey. It seemed odd, and I remember complaining to Don, my husband, about this strange change in the menu. It felt as though turkey was a non-negotiable part of dinner because Thanksgiving was a source of turkey frustration for both my parents as far back as I can remember.Most years, we went to Grandma and Grandpa Twardowski's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Dad's job was turkey carver, but carving the turkey at our Thanksgiving wasn't the picture-...

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“The anchor of my life” by Antara Srikanth

Submitted to Contest #173

I have heard this phrase often that love makes you do impossible things. Whoever said this must have had a personal experience of doing something unfeasible for that special someone. When love enters our lives, we are not even aware of it. By the time we realise, it has already taken a course of its own to overpower all our senses. The heart behaves strangely, and the hormones never cease to fluctuate! Two decades back, when I was a fresher in college and had decided that love was not meant for me, I was brought face to face with this tall, ...

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“A Tale of a Top Dude!” by Julie Grenness

Submitted to Contest #173

Somewhere, somewhen, Ronnie arrived in the world in the usual way. He was a shy, reticent, colonial boy. He was born and raised in his beachside town of "By-the-Sea." Ronnie was born to poor, but concerned, parents. This young lad toddled off to the education system, all the while hearing stories of the great whaling days of the old timers. He proceeded smoothly through his schooling, and often went down to the bays. There he swam and saw beached and stranded whales. Ronnie was learning then about the many theories why the whales were dyin...

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“Is it August?” by Gregory Day

Submitted to Contest #173

Is it August “It’s all wrong” Sheila yelled at John “Did you even look at it before you picked it up?” John had just got done shoveling the 6 inches of snow off the driveway when his wife came home. Coming back from the engravers, John decided to surprise his wife and put the pres...

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“Lunnetes Horribles” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

Submitted to Contest #173

The box arrived at eight AM, at the headquarters of “Thonx”, an up-and-coming, indie fashion magazine. The delivery robot placed the box on the floor an patiently waited for Cassie to sign the delivery. Colleen ran past the reception desk squeaking like a little girl.“Oooooooh, I’ve been waiting for this!” she said.“Are these the gowns for the photo shoot?” Laura, her friend yelled from the back of the office.“Uhuh,” Colleen replied and started cutting through the tape with a paper knife.“Careful!” said Cassie. She had to unpack dozens of bo...

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“Happy Returns” by Emily Nghiem

Submitted to Contest #173

What a joy to work in customer service after Christmas, I thought.It wasn't close to noon yet, but all the sales staff were overwhelmed and ready for a break. My line was moving fairly quickly, when a difficult customer I knew too well started a commotion. The elderly matron held up Marla's line, making sure everyone heard the drama unfold."That's 'Mrs. Buford' to you, young lady! And these towels weren't used. Can't you see they still have the tags attached?""No, ma'am. I wasn't implying that --" Marla tried to calm her."Every year my frien...

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“Destroying Angel” by Kelly Jackson

Submitted to Contest #173

We live in a world of speed and noise, bobbing around like a cork on the waves, carried by the tide of love and fortune. Entering this world in a state of pure vulnerability, the simplicity of life snowballs with layer upon layer of life’s occurrences, those in our control and those which are thrust upon us. That is, until we then travel full circle back to that weakened state of vulnerability, living a simple existence; reliant upon others. The tick, tock of our mortal clock grows ever louder as we tumble towards our so called ‘golden’ year...

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Write a story that includes the phrase “Thank you! It’s just what I wanted.”

Submissions are closed

✍️ 31 stories

“Uncle” by AnneMarie Miles

“The Wrecking Ball” by Mike Panasitti

“It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Kittens ” by Sean McGillis

“The Gift of Goodbye” by Ashley Brandt

“Bookshops aren't libraries ” by Jennifer Cameron

“Why I hate DeJa vus” by Arvin Tavakkoli

“Uncle Roy and the Box of Chocolates” by Michael Gygi

“Gift God” by Jim Firth

“Turkey Frustration or Love?” by Theresa Fox Turner

“The anchor of my life” by Antara Srikanth

“A Tale of a Top Dude!” by Julie Grenness

“Is it August?” by Gregory Day

“Lunnetes Horribles” by Agnieszka Baczkowska-Maśluszczak

“Happy Returns” by Emily Nghiem

“Destroying Angel” by Kelly Jackson

🌟 Similar prompts

Coming up with a gift idea was the easy part — getting your hands on it is another thing entirely.

End your story with a character receiving a deeply meaningful gift they weren’t expecting.

Write about a character going to great lengths to return an unwanted gift.

Write a story starring a store cashier, during the busy pre-holiday season.

Contest #173

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

168

Contest entries

79

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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