Five Festive Writing Prompts to Warm Up Your Holiday Stories

Every December, I pull out a fresh notebook and give myself one gift: permission to write badly. Not for publication. Not for anyone else. Just for me. It's the best writing habit I've ever built, and it starts with a single prompt.

Here are five of my favorites — the ones I return to year after year when the well feels dry and the holiday noise gets too loud.

Prompt One: The Mistletoe You Didn't See

Write a scene where two people end up under the mistletoe by accident — but neither of them notices. What are they talking about? What are they avoiding? What would change if one of them looked up? This prompt works for romance, but it also works for estranged siblings, old friends, or coworkers who've been quietly orbiting each other for years. The mistletoe is just an excuse. The real story is in what they're not saying.

Prompt Two: The Gift That Wasn't Bought

Someone receives a gift that wasn't purchased — something found, made, or borrowed. Write the scene of the giving. Then write the scene ten years later, when the recipient still has it. What does it mean now that it didn't mean then? This prompt is about the afterlife of objects, the way a small thing can carry a whole relationship.

Prompt Three: The Carol That Won't Stop

A character hears the same Christmas song everywhere they go — in the grocery store, on the radio, in their own head. Write the moment they finally understand why. Is it a message? A memory? A person they've been trying not to think about? Let the song be the thread that pulls the story together.

Prompt Four: The Empty Chair

Write a holiday dinner scene where one chair is empty. Who's missing? Why? And how does the absence shape everything — the conversation, the food, the way people look at each other? You don't have to explain the absence. You just have to let it sit there, taking up space.

Prompt Five: The Letter You Never Sent

Your character finds a Christmas letter they wrote years ago but never mailed. Write the letter. Then write what happens when they decide — or don't decide — to send it now. This one is a gift to yourself. You might be surprised what comes out.

How to Use These Prompts

Set a timer for twenty minutes. Write without stopping. Don't edit. Don't judge. Don't worry about whether it's good. The goal isn't a finished story. The goal is to get the words moving, to warm up the muscle that makes stories possible.

When you're done, close the notebook. Come back tomorrow. Write again. Somewhere in those messy pages, a real story is waiting — one that only you can tell. Happy writing, and happy holidays.