by Naomi L. | December 22, 2017 | J.C. Wolfe's Writing, Poetry |
Dad and I hang the last of the lights on the tree and plug them in. I step back and smile at the colored display before us. Mom and my sisters have finished decorating the rest of the house to match the festive tree, just in time for the family’s arrival! Our guests arrive later in the day, and my parents, sisters, and I make sure to give them the warmest welcome. We spend the evening talking and laughing, until at last we all sit down to Mom’s delicious feast. When we’re all sure we couldn’t eat another bite, we gather round the tree to exchange the gifts wrapped beneath it. The evening passes in delight and peace, and I find I can’t stop smiling. I couldn’t have asked for a merrier Christmas!
Tidings of good cheer
Share the joy with family
Christmastime is here!
May your day be warm and bright
Have a happy holiday!
Merry Christmas to all my family, friends, and readers who are celebrating! May you all have a blessed holiday season!
by Naomi L. | December 20, 2017 | Blog, Creative Writing |
Christmas is almost here, which means it’s a great time to share some more forms of art related to holiday cheer! I’ve already written about my favorite Christmas stories and songs (twice) in the past, so this year I thought it would be fun to share a short post about my favorite Christmas specials! Of course, there are several to choose from, so maybe I’ll feature more in a future Christmas blog post!
So to celebrate the holiday season, here are three of my favorite Christmas specials! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
1) “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965)
I know, everyone adds this one to their list of favorite Christmas specials, but why wouldn’t they? It’s a classic! First broadcast in 1965, “A Charlie Brown Christmas” has been a holiday favorite for decades, and will probably continue to be one for generations to come.
Charlie Brown’s quest to understand the true meaning of Christmas communicates a timeless message of how the holiday spirit can easily be lost in materialism but still overcome it in the end. Linus’ speech about the story of Christmas and the heartwarming ending scene with Charlie Brown’s tiny Christmas tree have cemented this holiday special on my list of all-time favorites. Not to mention it has a phenomenal soundtrack! I now make it a point to listen to it every December. It’s the perfect music to get into the holiday spirit!
2) “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” (1966)
Dr. Seuss was a huge part of my childhood, so of course a classic Christmas special based on one of his books had to be on my list! Continuing on the same theme as “Charlie Brown”, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is another great story that criticizes the commercialization of Christmas and reminds us that the holiday season should be about so much more than presents and feasts.
For as long as I’ve been watching this special, the Grinch has always made me laugh with his antics, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I get a little choked up every time his heart grows three sizes and he embraces the true meaning of Christmas. With its fantastic story, animation, narration, and music, “How The Grinch Stole Christmas” is another holiday special for the ages!
3) “Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean” (1992)
Hey, I never said anything about listing my favorite American Christmas specials! I have so many fond memories of watching Mr. Bean with my sisters, and “Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean” was always one of our favorite episodes. From playing with a nativity scene to conducting a Christmas band to getting a turkey stuck on his head, Mr. Bean never failed to keep us laughing from beginning to end. Definitely a Christmas special worth watching!
What about you? What are some of your favorite Christmas specials?
by Naomi L. | December 15, 2017 | Flash Fiction, J.C. Wolfe's Writing |
My family and I decorate the tree with colored lights.
Outside, the snow falls as carolers sing sweet music.
Come evening, we enjoy a delicious meal together.
Then we all gather around the tree.
We spend the night exchanging gifts.
At midnight, the bells ring.
I grin with joy.
The holiday’s here!
My favorite!
Christmas!
This piece is based on What If? Exercise 93: “Ten to One”. The exercise is to write a 55-word story in which the first sentence has ten words, the second has nine, etc., until the last sentence has only one word. The objective is to show that precision and thrift in writing can produce surprisingly powerful results. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written. Thanks for reading!
by Naomi L. | December 6, 2017 | Blog, Creative Writing, What If? Writing Prompts |
December is here! Another year has come and gone, and with the holiday season about to shift into high gear, it’s a great time for some more “What If?” Writing Prompts! This week’s batch of prompts once again centers around the theme of the holidays. See what holiday stories you can write from these ideas! Enjoy!
What if… instead of giving presents, Christmas centered around a tradition of doing good deeds?
What if… your family only celebrated a made-up non-commercial holiday like Festivus in December?
What if… you received a mysterious Christmas present from a relative who had passed away?
What if… one Hanukkah, you and your family played a mystery game in which you’d get one new clue every night until someone won?
What if… every year, at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, you had the power to make it January 1st of any year in history, but had to live that entire year until the following New Year’s Eve?
Good luck writing more stories about the holidays!
If you have any “What If?” writing prompt suggestions (for any theme), please feel free to share them in the comments below. Ideas I like may be featured in future “What If?” posts, with full credit and a link to your blog (if you have one)! Also, if you’ve written a piece based on an idea you’ve found here, be sure to link back to the respective “What If?” post. I would love to see what you’ve done with the prompt! Thank you!
by Naomi L. | December 23, 2016 | J.C. Wolfe's Writing, Poetry |
‘Tis the season that ends another year,
A time we celebrate the Lord above.
The air is filled with warm holiday cheer
As families rejoice and share their love.
Evergreen trees are dressed in colored light
As door to door, the caroling choirs roam.
Outside, the falling snow paints the world white
While presents are exchanged in every home.
Children rush to the frosty windows quick
To try to see the magic reindeer fly,
Pulling the sleigh of Jolly Old Saint Nick,
Making his yearly trip across the sky.
God bless us all with peace in every way.
I wish you all a Merry Christmas Day!
Merry Christmas to all my family, friends, and readers who are celebrating! May you all have a blessed weekend and a wonderful holiday season!
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