Yes, that’s right! Today I am announcing the winners of the ‘Tis the Season Christmas Snippet Competition! If you submitted a snippet, then stayed tuned to see if you won a $10 Amazon gift card!

Before I announce the winners, I’m going to refresh your memory of the writing prompts. This year I had 10 Christmas-vibed photos and YOU all got to choose which and how many of them inspired your snippet.

Now, are you ready to see the winners?

The first winner is………

GRACELYNN TAYLOR!

She won with her snippet, The Night Before Christmas and I gotta say: I loved it. The Christmas vibes, the romance vibes, and also the friends-to-lovers kind of romance?! Perfection. Gracelynn used the fourth prompt.

Be sure to check out Gracelynn’s blog, xoxo, gracelynn—she has great content and fun posts that I really love!

The Night Before Christmas 

The sky is bright outside, the moon’s light reflected off the fresh fallen snow. I hold a glass in my hand, and stare out of the window. The red, velvet drapes frame the glass and make it obvious to anyone outside that this house is decorated in wealth. 

I place my hand on the window pane. It’s cold against my fingertips. I wish I could be out there. 

Not posing for a crowd of rich people in a satin dress. 

“Why do you look so unhappy?” Father’s deep voice startles me, and I glance at him. He’s standing a few steps down the stairs, with one hand on the marble railing. He looks neat and tidy. But his eyes are dull and formal.

I sigh and set my glass down on a small table. “It’s snowing.” I say softly. When I lean close to the window, I can feel a cool whisper coming off the glass. It must be freezing outside. 

Father crosses to stand beside me. “You’d catch a chill outside in that dress.” 

“I could wear a coat.” 

“I won’t let a young lady like you step outside alone. You should enjoy being in such luxury as this! Look at the men and women around you! Royalty, officials, and yet you long to be out of here?” My father places his hand on my shoulder. “Come now, Eloise. Enjoy your evening.” 

I sigh, but nod my head. “I will try, Father.” 

“Thank you, dear.” He turns to stride away. 

I take a seat on a fancy blue velvet chair. My back naturally straightens. People always told me that I act like a princess. Elegant, soft, sweet, graceful, beautiful. 

But those people never saw the young me. The me who was full of energy. The me who was always ready to go on an adventure. The me who had a father ready to follow me outside for a snowball fight. 

But ever since we lost Mother, Father has never been the same. He chases after the approval of important people, even down to putting me through etiquette skill from the fourth grade. After years of practice and training, I have become the woman I am today. An adventurous soul trapped in a princess’s body.  

“You don’t look like you’re having nearly as much fun as you should be.” a voice says from behind me. I turn to look at my best friend, Henry. 

“You look miserable.” I snap. His formal face melts into a smirk.

“Sorry, but I enjoy the party.” I can tell he’s joking. The collar of his shirt is pressing into his neck, his chocolate brown hair is just a little too gelled, his clothes are ironed too straight. His eyes are exhausted. 

He’s just as tired of keeping up the facade as I am. 

“Here, follow me.” I take his hand, and pull him down the stairs, through the crowd of people, down a hall. I pause in front of a giant set of carved doors. He pushes them open. 

It’s quiet inside, the lights twinkling quietly all around. This room is smaller than the rest. It’s the family room. But my father has all but forgotten this place since Mother died. Every year, the housekeepers come through and make this place magical, but father doesn’t really care. So it’s my dreamyland getaway spot. 

There’s a fire snapping friendly at the other side of the room. A garland and sparkling lights frame it. In the corner, giant and decorated with ribbons and glass ornaments, is our Christmas tree. My favorite part. 

“Wow,” Henry breathes. And in the dim room, only lit by the little string lights, it really is stunning. “This is the kinda place I actually wanna spend time in.” 

“Good, I totally agree.” I walk over to the christmas tree and Henry follows. 

“Has this Christmas been everything you dreamed?” he inquires, tracing the ribbons with his eyes till he makes it to the top of the tree, where the star glows. 

“No,” I admit. “It never really is, so I’ve gotten used to it.” 

His fingers entwine with mine. Henry’s always been my closest friend. Always there for me when things are tough. We stand together in comfortable silence. 

Henry steps back, then holds his hand out for mine. “Care to dance?” 

I smile and step closer to him. 

Our hands find each other, and we melt into the dance. We both know the waltz by heart, and soon, we’re both lost in the enchantment of it. We move as one. So natural together, as if someone divine destined us for each other.

And, for a moment, dancing along to a silent tune, everything seems perfect. 

Twinkling lights spill across the floor, the fire crackles softly. 

When we finish the dance, we’re again standing before the Christmas tree. We step away from each other, but Henry keeps hold of my right hand. 

“I hope, maybe, that made up for a little of what you’ve lost this Christmas.” he says, before leaning down and kissing me on the cheek. I look into his deep green eyes and smile. 

“Did I ever tell you that you look like a princess when you smile?” he whispers. I throw my arms around his neck and kiss him. 

Though I wish we could stay there forever, Henry soon leans back, a smile showing his dimples even in the dim light. “I have a gift for you.” 

He pulls a little box out of his pocket and hands it to me. I lift the lid, smiling when I see the small heart pendant sitting in a bed of velvet. He lifts the necklace out of the box and gently clasps it around my neck. 

“I love it,” I say softly, glancing at myself in a nearby mirror. “Thank you.” 

He nods, and I hug him. We stay there and watch the lights in silence. The clock chimes midnight. The perfect end to a perfect night. 

~ ~ ~

Now, are you ready to see our second winner?

It’s the one and only……..

LUCA!

Now, I’m not a huge Star Wars/sci-fi fan, but I loved Luca’s snippet! It was so creative and cool and I loved all the sci-fi vibes and how he integrated it with Christmas. He used the second picture prompt.

Christmas with a Lightsaber

D’Teddy sat on the snow covered fence of his dad’s farm one Christmas eve. He held a mug of hot chocolate and a bag of gingersnaps. Snow flakes drifted down, dawdling through the frozen air creating a mirage of eternal beauty to D’Teddy. The stars twinkled, like Christmas lights that God made, D’Teddy thought.

He looked up to the heavens. A big light slowly crossed the sky, shining in colors that looked eerie and weird next to the stars. The object neared and now D’Teddy could see that it was round and gray as if it were some ship from ET. Its lights outshone the stars like a wave washing away a million grains of sand.

D’Teddy’s attention was so glued to the aircraft that he did not notice a peculiar and out-of-place aircraft headed in the same direction. The two ships came closer and closer headed for each other in a head on collision. Now D’Teddy saw the second ship and the second ship saw the first one, who saw the second one, but it was too late. In a crash of screaming lights, sirens and snow, the two crafts came plummeting to the earth in a blanket of sickly smoke.

D’Teddy finished his hot chocolate and stuffed the gingersnaps into his pockets. The two wrecked crafts were near and he would want to get to them. The calm Christmas eve night had suddenly taken a quite different path. This night was like a book in a bookstore hidden away, with the most ridiculous stories you ever read, all claiming to be true to the facts. Well anyway this one was.

Through the snow bound pine trees D’Teddy rushed to a little brick hut he had built for occasions like these. At the moment it was covered in Christmas lights that bounced merrily on the snow unobservant of the wreck just a few yards away. D’Teddy ducked inside and returned with a purple lightsaber. A toy to everyone else but very real to him.

He ran on ducking under low limbs burdened with snow, until he came upon a clearing where smoke rose from the wreck in the middle. There was no animal, no life save himself. He gripped the lightsaber in two hands and slowly crept towards the mess of an aesthetic Christmas card and a horror sci-fi movie. As he neared he observed that both ships were round and metal, like flying saucers. However one of them was painted red and in candy cane swirls. The other was more imposing like the sci-fi horror movie.

A door in the side of the grey ship banged.

D’Teddy froze. It banged again, he pointed his lightsaber at the moving door. Slowly it opened. Not sideways but up. It slid up like in Star Wars, and a grey, phosphorus hand poked out. Then an arm then a body and then a head. The creature (an alien as D’Teddy realized) was one armed and its body was a stick. Its leg was also skinny but its head was a massive glob. It blinked its big black eye at D’Teddy. Then it swiveled its head to the other ship, whose door was also opening. A fat man in red with a white beard and a Santa Claus hat stepped out. He looked like a retired santa in a heavy metal band– until D’Teddy noticed a prime patch on his breast pocket.

“A nice fine crash is all I needed,” he muttered. Looking about he noticed D’Teddy and the Alien, both with drooping bodies, and faces painted in disappointment.

“Ha, ha… Ho!” He laughed nervously like a sickly opossum from Ice Age. “Merry Christmas my dear little boy.” He backed away trying to avoid the alien but be kind to the alien’s friend. “Let me congratulate you as the first mortal to see Santa Claus!”

“And I’m Mace Windu,” said D’Teddy. “ You’re a sap who works for prime and flies a big airship home to avoid being a happy hobo. Bro get a life. Google, ‘I forgot how to live’.”

The man’s face got red.

“Well kid, Now you’re coming with me now. No secrets can be leaked about my position.”

He took a menacing step towards D’Teddy. D’Teddy brandished his lightsaber.

“Make this easy lil boy.”

But instead D’Teddy ran forward, ducked under the fat sap’s arms and leapt onto his aircraft. “It’s over counterfeit Santa Claus. I have higher ground.”

“Don’t underestimate me just because I’m a bit fat.”

“Don’t try it, your stupidity is only crescendoing.” But it was too late. ‘Santa Claus’ jumped up and fell down, banging hard onto his aircraft.

“I loved you,” said D’Teddy. “Wait, nah… did I?”

The old fat man lay unconscious at his feet. The alien that had stood watching the scene with apparent confusion, picked him up and carried him inside his airship. D’Teddy followed with a hunch of something fun. The Alien lay Primes Santa in a cot and said, in the tongue of D’Teddy, much broken.

“It’s over. I take him, I love him, take him to Gazorga.” From which D’Teddy observed that he had picked up on the dialogue he had had. He flashed a thumbs up.

The Alien said, “Give blade.” D’Teddy gave him his lightsaber. Then he had an idea. He rushed out of the ship to the little hut he owned. He took out the Christmas tree, all decorated with Christmas lights, and with great care made his way back through the deep snow. But he found no ships, no wreck. Disappointed, he let the tree fall into the blanket of snow. He walked to where the aliens ship had been. But it was gone. Yet there he found something. Not just white snow. No, he found a lightsaber hilt. He pressed a button, immediately a purple ray of light sprang out. It glistened on the snow. Not plastic, no, It was the magic of Christmas.

~ ~ ~

Well, congrats to Gracelynn and Luca! I hope you guys use your gift cards well and y’all did a great job!

Autumn, Jade Green, S.J. Sobie, Journey Bloomfield, Gabrielle Newman, Bella, and Diana Rose—I loved reading your snippets and I hope to see everybody participate in future competitions!

Thanks for reading and I hope y’all have a great day!
~Willow