25 Quick Fire Fun Festive Writing Prompts
What starts the Christmas season for you? Do you get your decorations unpacked? Do you write a letter to Santa or hang your advent calendar up?
It is rumoured that 98.7% of all successful writers start the Christmas season with a writing prompt! (We just made that rumour up, but it sounds like a good way to start the Christmas season, right?)
So that is why we are giving you our best FUN and FREE Christmas writing prompts to act as your writing advent calendar this year.
Countdown to Christmas with Derbyshire Writing School
Taking you from the 1st of December, right through to the 25th you'll have a creative writing prompt ready to start or end your day! It's perhaps the most creative way for you to countdown to Christmas Day.
Our festive prompts are a mixture of life writing, fiction prompts, and questions. These will help you ponder your writing goals and even develop your writing habits. Spend five minutes a day or an hour each evening and start the Christmas countdown with a burst of creativity on us. We’d love to know how you get on, please share your favourite prompt and your responses with us.
Stick with it until Christmas, and you'll be bursting with creativity. You will have writing resources and research ready to kick off the New Year.
How to Use the Christmas Writing Prompts
The best way to use a writing prompt is by setting a timer and undertaking freewriting. Simply, you keep writing until the timer goes off, no edits, no stopping. Allow your imagination and creativity to flow, see where the prompt takes you.
Remember you don't have to write about yourself; you can write about characters, using the prompts to tell stories from different points of view. Have fun. Break the rules. Your writing could change the world.
Your Christmas Writing Prompts
1. 1st December
Finish this sentence: “To begin,” he said, “that’s the real adventure…”
2. 2nd December
There is a little mystery in today's prompt. Secret notes. Hidden stories and the life a stranger left behind. What story do you see? You move into a new house, and the only thing the previous owner left behind was a single Christmas tree ornament. Hidden in the loft. Stored in a dusty and battered wooden box – with a note. What did the letter say?
3. 3rd December
The taste of mulled wine by the fire, watching Christmas films, or a walk in the snow. There are so many wonderful winter activities we can do, even if the days feel a little gloomy, we can have some fun. Today’s writing prompt will bring a little joy to your week…
Create a winter bucket list.
4. 4th December
We all know the song, but how would you finish this sentence? You can be serious or funny. You can write about tangible gifts or your hopes for the future…
“All I want for Christmas is…”
5. 5th December
Granma’s recipe for a happy life looks a little like this:
1 cup of patience
1 cup of hope
2 handfuls of love
1 teaspoon of kindness
1 tablespoon of trust
a dash of laughter
a sprinkle of understanding
Mix together and bake for a lifetime. Adding more when needed.
But what would a recipe for winter look like? Write a recipe for this season.
6. 6th December
We’ve spent a lot of time at home over the past few years, but what does home mean to you? Or your characters? What does home mean to you?
7. 7th December
What does winter mean to you? What does winter look like for you? How does it make you feel?
Write a poem called ‘Winter’.
8. 8th December
Asking ‘what if?’ questions can really help you develop your stories. When we ask, ‘What if?’ the possibilities are endless. Have fun with today’s prompt! What if you really did see Mommy kissing Santa Claus?
9. 9th December
This fantastic article talks about how writing can help us escape. But what about our characters? How do they escape? Where do they run to? Who do they run from? And what happens when they return? It had been twelve years since he'd last seen it, but it still looked the same…
10. 10th December
Where do you start? How do you make plans? What does an underground Christmas look like? It’s the year 2034. Christmas is outlawed. You decide to take it underground…
11. 11th December
Where was the house? Why was it cut off? Why did they like it? Who are they? So many questions with today’s prompt. When it snowed, the house was cut off completely, just how they liked it…
12. 12th December
It’s been over thirty years since the release of the classic Christmas film, Home Alone. We’ve used this film as our inspiration for today’s prompt. But where will the prompt take you?
Finish this sentence. Who’s your character? What do they want?
“Finally, home alone…”
13. 13th December
Are we all strangers waiting to become friends? Or is stranger danger real? How do you know if you can trust someone? What if the stranger knew who you were all along? Lots of questions about today’s writing prompt. Where does the story take you?
It's midnight on Christmas Eve, and you're stuck at the airport with a stranger. How does the evening unfold?
14. 14th December
Letters are a fantastic way to engage in creative writing, there are many benefits to writing a letter too. You can write letters to real people, to characters or you can even write letters to innate objects! Give an old chair a voice or let the walls in your house talk…
Write a letter sharing a happy memory or story.
15. 15th December
Sometimes the best presents can’t be wrapped. What’s the best present you’ve ever received?
16. 16th December
Folk law? Magic? Vandalism? Scandal?
The tree had been in the middle of the village for years. The locals adorning it with lights at Christmas and hanging bunting in the summer. But no one knew how much it meant until the day it disappeared.
17. 17th December
There is something about a fire that feels a little magical, a little dangerous, a little mysterious. Fires can keep us warm and safe, but they can cause harm and suggest danger. See which answers you lean towards with today’s prompt. The fire crackled as he stoked it, the flames licked higher and higher as he added more wood. He was desperate to get the fire big enough, so they be might found, but he knew he had to be careful…
18. 18th December
We can bring our writing to life when we all five senses to create our descriptions. Play around with smells, sights, sounds, tastes and the feel of a place or a person. You'll be amazed at how much it brings your words to life…
What does December smell like?
19. 19th December
Writing prompts are an excellent tool for discovering new characters. You'll find they show up when you least expect it! You'll hear their voice, and then you'll be able to flesh them out, bringing them to life. Creating a backstory, a physical description and a goal. Continue this prompt, you just don't know who you might meet.
There was only one thing she wanted for Christmas this year, and it certainly wouldn't fit under the tree…
20. 20th December
Whether you write for fun, freedom or for money, it's vital to set writing goals. Goals can help us keep on track, motivating us to continue even when we don’t feel like it. What are your writing goals for 2021?
21. 21st December
A good story never goes to plan. Try and make things really hard for your characters, make them work for their goals and dreams. Have fun putting blocks in their way. It’s what hooks your readers, and it makes your story believable.
You can have fun with this too, it doesn’t always have to be serious.
“Well, this year’s work Christmas party didn’t go as planned…”
22. 22nd December
Document your life and save some of your memories by writing them down. Research shows it helps us feel more gratitude and joy. Try to look for the small things, the detail is what makes life beautiful. Write about three beautiful things that have happened to you this year.
23. 23rd December
Sometimes putting a twist on old stories can bring new ideas. Let your imagination go wild and see what tales you can start with today’s prompt. But if you fancy the original version, you can read it here for free.
There is a knock at the door. Is it the ghost of Christmas past, present or future? What message do they bring?
24. 24th December
We've made it. Christmas Eve! What a fun, festive and creative way to countdown to Christmas. We hope you've enjoyed these writing prompts, and we hope they've filled you with creativity and Christmas cheer.
In this busy time, make sure you keep finding time for your words. Your writing matters, it's essential, and the world needs your stories.
Let this prompt take you back to the joy of Christmas as a child. Do you remember hearing those reindeer hooves on the roof? What about the missing mince pies?
Finish this sentence with memories and stories from your childhood. Or bring a bit of magic and imagination to the age-old phrase…
‘Twas the night before Christmas…
25. 25th December! Merry Christmas from the team at Derbyshire Writing School!
We hope you have a day filled with joy. Don’t forget to write down all of the wonderful things you did on this Christmas Day!
We hope you enjoyed these prompts. We’d love to know how you’ve got on, please get in touch, and let us know. If you enjoyed these prompts, you’ll like our 15 Quick Fire Character Prompts.
Sending you our best wishes for the New Year. Let the next year be filled with writing, creativity, and stories!
Use the email box below and tell which prompt was your favourite.
