Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of christmas short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

1220+ Christmas Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Grab your stocking and set out the milk and cookies! These Christmas short stories will warm your heart and have you whistling Christmas carols before you know it.

🏆 Winning stories

⭐️ Recommended stories

Introducing Prompted, a new magazine written by you!

🏆 Featuring 12 prize-winning stories from our community. Download it now for FREE.

✍️ All stories

The Best Christmas Short Stories

Looking for a little holiday cheer? For that perfect dose of Christmas spirit, there’s nothing more satisfying than a mug of hot chocolate and an evening wrapped in the warmth of Christmas short stories.

From humorous tales of elves and reindeer, to heartwarming accounts of families coming together for the holidays, Christmas stories have the power to grow even the Grinchiest of hearts. There’s no shortage of ways the holidays can cheer and inspire, and we’ve got short stories that cover every Christmas mood you can think of.

The elves behind the magic

The stories you’ll find here may not have been crafted at the North Pole, but they’re certainly the next best thing! Pulled from Reedsy’s weekly writing competition, our Christmas short stories have been penned by writers all across the world. We highlight our favorites at the top of the page, but each story in our collection has more than enough holiday cheer to delight.

So curl up with a mug of hot cocoa and settle in by the fire — it’s time to get into the holiday spirit! After a few of these Christmas stories, you’re sure to be whistling carols. And if you're in the mood for another holiday gift, check out our new literary magazine, Prompted — it's made up of winning stories for our contest, and you can download your digital copy for free!

RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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