I'm not doing a traditional blog post this week because it's a holiday. But, for those of you looking to spend some time writing and away from all the people in your house, I'll give you some ideas.
Fiction Prompts:
Write a job description for a reindeer at the North Pole. Now imagine you're a reindeer applying for the job. Include a cover letter and resume.
If Christmas trees were illegal, what would people hang ornaments on and put presents under? Write a series of advertisements for non-tree Christmas trees. Write a news article about why trees became illegal to go with it.
Write a story that has the sentence "she didn't know what to do with 30 pounds of play-doh" in it.
Write a story inspired by the 12 Days of Christmas in which someone receives each gift mentioned in the song. Be creative with what they look like. Maybe the 11 pipers is actually a bar with a lot of guys smoking pipes. Are the 7 swans rubber ducks? Are the 5 golden rings onion rings?
Write a short story from the POV of the presents under the tree. What can they see? Are they looking forward to Christmas morning or terrified by it?
Non-Fiction/Creative Non-fiction Prompts:
What is your favorite or least favorite family tradition? Write about it using an experimental format like an instructional booklet, warning sign, recipe, Christmas card, or Christmas wish list. Play around! The only wrong answer is a normal format.
Think about the best present you ever received. Who gave it to you? Why was it your favorite? What are some memories associated with it? Write it all in a letter to the person who gave it to you. Give them the letter if you'd like.
Think back to a Christmas from your childhood and write about it from the POV of your younger self.
What is the worst present you've ever received? Using the POV of the person who gave you that present, write a journal entry about why they thought you'd like it. (This is arguably fiction, but I think it fits better here).
Did you ever give someone a gift you later regretted? Or a gift you're really proud of? Write about why without directly saying what the gift was.
Poetry Prompts:
Using mainly adjectives, write a poem about building a snowman. Don't use any verbs!
Using a classic Christmas song as the format, write about the environmental impact of wrapping paper. Make it festive. Good luck.
Write a poem in the form of a Christmas list. Make it rhyme and tell a story.
Describe the feeling of Christmas without saying anything that directly shows you're talking about Christmas. As in, don't mention presents or Santa or Christmas or holidays. Create a tone that feels like Christmas.
Write a series of haikus about a personal holiday tradition.
I'd love to hear if you tried any of these! Comment or shoot me a message if you did.