December 01, 2014

What Christmas Story Will You Write? by Sandi Somers


Prompt: Think of all the inspirational Christmas stories you’ve read over your lifetime, maybe the ones you read in a Chicken Soup book. Now write one of your own. Share your special stories about the holiday season, from inspirational and joyous, to heartwarming and humorous, from childhood or adulthood, from family times or alone times. Your story can be fiction or non-fiction, with a word count up to 950 words.

Even if you don’t write for our InScribe blog, you can prepare a true story for Chicken Soup (some InScribe members have already had a Chicken Soup Christmas story accepted or published).


Chicken Soup compiles a Christmas edition every other year, and here below is the invitation and next call for submissions from their “Possible Book Topics.”


Chicken Soup Stories about the Christmas Season


“Our holiday books are very popular. We do a new edition every other year and so we are now collecting stories for our Christmas 2015 book. Share your special stories about the holiday season… from inspirational and joyous, to heartwarming and humorous… The deadline for story and poem submissions is January 31, 2015.”


Meanwhile, a Story about my Treasured Moments

Last Christmas as my friend Jeanie and I walked her dog, she told me how she remembers each Christmas. She buys bought an ornament each year and writes a note about that Christmas. For example, the year she was lonely and walked into a fabric store and was mesmerized by giant snowflakes suspended from the ceiling, gently swaying in the breezes as people entered and left the store. The year Christmas was +15 degrees in Calgary. The Christmas of the Great Tsunami. The year she married Victor.

Her tradition began during a lonely year before she and Victor met and before she became a Christian. To compensate for receiving no presents, she wrapped up a small empty box, put an ornament inside and wrote out a memory of that year.

Now each Christmas as Jeanie decorates her tree and adds a festive air to her house, she adds a new box and ornament and reflects on those past Christmases.

What a great idea! I thought. A memorial. Why don’t I write my memories from Christmases past?

It’s an idea that had crossed my mind before, and so I began.  I listed highlights from a number of past Christmases, and began adding treasured stories.

I decided to make this project long-term; each year I would gradually fill in anecdotes and comments from past years, in addition to writing the memories from the current year.

I realized that in reviewing past years, God had given me the gift of His presence in many of those experiences.

Now over to you. What Christmas memories come to mind for you? What Christmas story will you write? What meaning does it have for you?

6 comments:

  1. Thanks, Sandi. I always look forward to your first-of-the-month blog, because it gets me thinking for my entry on the 10th. During our house-moving/downsizing, I misplaced my writer's guidelines, so I rely on you. I know I could have asked someone for a copy of them, but I always appreciate your setting the pace for us.

    May God bless you this Christmas season as you seek out the blessings and thoughts from Christmases Past.

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  2. I liked your friend's idea. thanks for sharing it

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  3. Thanks, Sharon, for commenting on my "first of the month" blogs. I've found this project stimulating. Sandi

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  4. Tracy, often others give us our ideas. I'll let Jeanie know how much you enjoyed it.

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  5. Hmmm.... I'm thinking this would be a wonderful tradition for a family to begin. Their children could write or tell a memory to their parents to add to the tree.

    Or... our company runs a foster care agency. I wonder what it would be like for foster parents to have the children in their home write a memory, so that years from now the foster parents would be able to remember those children they provided safe passage to during a hard time in their young lives.

    Lots of directions this idea can go. Thanks Sandi!

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  6. Wonderful idea, Sandi. I think my kids would like me to write those kinds of memories. Maybe I'll have to try this.

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