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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

Write a story about someone’s first Christmas after a major life change.

Posted in Short Story on Dec 27, 2024

Submissions are closed

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✍️ 54 stories

“Christmas after 4 long years but ..... ” by Zhou Wx

Submitted to Contest #283

it goes .... .... there was a guy who wanted to get married , so he slogged long hours at work , searching for the next profitable chance to chalk up more savings ..... ... but in the end it went up in clouds .... he could not save any cash after working for 8 straight years , his loved ones was at his sight . The final straw came when he could not make any sales , he stopped working . Slowly his loved ones left him 1 by 1 , he ended up distraught .He was placed in a shelter for the homeless eventually . He spent 2 years at the shelter somet...

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“Gone” by Christina Marie

Submitted to Contest #283

The final splashes of pastel recede to the west as the harvest moon rises in the east. Its glowering face emerges over the old railroad tracks, flanked by silhouettes of the crooked barn and creaky windmill. In the brief moment that it’s tethered to the horizon, I can almost reach out and pluck it from the sky. Closer to home, mewling kittens tumble over each other in their soft nest of hay at the foot of the bales. Their mother stalks the shadows in search of her own dinner. Horses whicker, soft snorts hanging like wispy ghosts in the cool ...

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“The First Christmas” by Juliana Comstock

Submitted to Contest #283

**Trigger Warning**Mentions moments of child S/AThe story is based on my PTSD. I was sitting on the carpeted floor of my grandmother’s house and I could see all the joy on everyone’s faces. People were smiling, laughing, and enjoying each other’s company. There was wrapping paper and boxes scattered across the floor. The TV was playing soft Christmas music. Snacks were set up nicely on the kitchen table, the seals had already been broken. Vanilla-scented candles were lit. Everyone was happy. Even though everyone was happy, there was still a ...

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“Almost Perfect” by Michell Conroy

Submitted to Contest #283

Almost PerfectBy: Michell C.   The engine of her hand-me-down SUV shuttered to silence as she cranked the ignition to the off position and removed the key with a deep sigh. The holiday season had taken over the shopping mall parking lot and she knew the inside would be twice as bad.     "I can do this." She whispered to herself.     Elbowing the door open, she slid out into the chill, afternoon air, tugging her coat tight around her. She cursed the cold breeze al...

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“By reason or by force” by Dan G.

Submitted to Contest #283

It came slowly, insidiously, like a fascist spider weaving its web, planting its threads from the peaks of the Andes to the beaches of the Pacific. It slipped into our lives gently, without a sound, into a dull and corrosive routine. The lines, endless and monotonous, became the daily backdrop of our existence, constantly reminding us that we had to wait. Wait for the factories to start again, for the trains to run, for the truck drivers to deliver. Wait for there to be something to buy.Our pockets were full, it was finally our turn, the tur...

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“Whispers of the Alps: A Christmas Renewal” by Vera N

Submitted to Contest #283

Sophia stepped off the train and into the crisp December air of Cortina d’Ampezzo, a picturesque town nestled in the Italian Alps. The Dolomite peaks towered above, their jagged edges softened by a fresh blanket of snow. Her breath formed small clouds that dissolved into the endless expanse of pristine white. The station was quaint, with stone walls and a roof dusted in powder, blending seamlessly into the alpine surroundings. This was her first Christmas since the life she once knew had been turned upside down, and the quiet isolation of Co...

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“Christmas Without Dad” by Emma Quist

Submitted to Contest #283

This story contains mentions of familial death. I was twenty three when my dad died. It came as a shock to us all when he had his heart attack. We were all living in different parts of the country, or in my sister’s case the continent, going about our daily activities. My sister in Canada was taking care of her daughter, my brother in Minnesota had just gotten home from work, my sister in Illinois was working a babysitting gig, and my little brother at home was in school. I was driving to a park to read a book when my older brother called ...

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“Being reborn on Christmas” by Vadim Albukh

Submitted to Contest #283

         A criminal had broken into a bank with his gun and had ordered everyone to give him the money in the volt and all of this was happening on Christmas of all days. But as he had gotten his money and went out the front door the police were there waiting for him demanding that he put his hands in the air and drop the money. He tries to make a run for it why are you saying “You will never take me alive.” Then the police shoot him and he begins to die. As he lay down on the floor dying he coul...

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“The Christmas After” by Miriam Sararu

Submitted to Contest #283

I gasp as I'm startled awake. There is an old lady sitting across from me looking at me as if I'm crazy, which I must admit I seem like I am. A sixteen-year old all alone on a train, the day before Christmas. My dark blond hair is a shaggy mess that almost touches my shoulders, my face is covered with what is either dirt or food, and I’m clutching my bag as if it had my grandfather's ashes in it or something. She probably thinks I’m a homeless boy planning to rob her. I sigh and try to fix up my hair and wipe my face with the back of my lint...

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“The Light in the Silence” by VIKTORIJA ARSOVA

Submitted to Contest #283

Lina had always been fond of the principles of mathematics, which is why it wasn't just the numbers that made her enjoy math, but also the music, harmony, and rhythm that mathematics possessed. It wasn’t just a tool to help her navigate through life; it was a way to communicate, to discover the meaning of the universe. To Lina, solving problems wasn’t about coming up with the right answer; it was about the thrill of the search, about finding order out of chaos. But life, as it often does, had a way of introducing challenges that disrupt even...

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“Christmas After Nam” by James Mckinley

Submitted to Contest #283

The clock on the wall said 6am. I could hear the sound of boots outside of my barracks. I didn't want to get out of my bunk, but I couldn't sleep forever, and my head was killing me. I had one too many to drink last night at the Enlisted Mans Club. As a staff sergeant I should know better, but when your buddies want to remember the guys, you left behind, what do you do? So out of the sack and into the shower. I can't believe that I have my own shower. That is one of the privileges of being a co-company commander. I share a barracks with anot...

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“Snap Crackle Pop” by Lou Jayne

Submitted to Contest #283

Snap crackle pop This story mentions mental and physical health problems Snap, crackle, pop, went the Rice Krispies, snap crackle, pop, went her bones, especially her knees. She wondered if there was a connection? Those old adverts did used to make the statement, ‘Rice Krispies, full of snap crackle and pop’. Maybe she’d eaten far too many of them over the years? After all you are meant to be what you eat, Aren’t you?She coughed, spluttering and wheezing from laughing over her own little joke. Her health wasn’t what it used to be...

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“Wednesday” by Victoria Hillis

Submitted to Contest #283

I woke on Christmas morning to a quiet and dark house. My first thought was that I was alone, but when I got out of bed to make myself a cup of coffee, I found my roommate’s door to be cracked open with her asleep in the bed. I stared for a moment, and then my eyes went to the tree that stood in the living room. It was unplugged, and there were no presents under it. I looked back at my roommate; though she was there, at home for now, I knew it would soon be just me. I tried my best to move silently around the kitchen, so I would not wake he...

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“Christmas Trees” by Julian Hickman

Submitted to Contest #283

For all the worry, our cobbled together family started well. Every weekend, my sons and I went out to Cindy's house, with its creek, hillside of brambles, a massive hemlock tree, and across the county road, woods, and a maze of abandoned Christmas trees smothered in honeysuckle. The boys, Peter, 13, Ian, 12, and Brendan, 9, built forts in the woods, dammed up the creek, and chased our dog, Marley, through the house. Steven, Cindy's son 5, wanted to be in their mayhem, but they weren't sure about Steven. He cried a lot. Cindy's cat, Cody, hid...

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“A Different Type of Christmas” by Rachel Ermutlu

Submitted to Contest #283

Laura was sitting on the couch at 2 a.m. Christmas morning, snuggling her newborn baby and hoping he didn’t wake up again. She was parched so she grabbed her water bottle to take a drink. Yuck! She thought. She was so exhausted she accidentally drank her baby’s bottle instead of her water.  She was struggling to get in the Christmas spirit. Laura, her husband, Chris, and their baby, Remy, were supposed to visit family later in the day. But if Laura was being honest, she didn’t feel like being with anyone.&n...

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