christmas creative writing prompts high school

Minds in Bloom

By Rachel Lynette

20 Christmas Writing Prompts

20 writing prompts for the christmas season.

The holiday season is so much fun, but of course you want your students to be engaged in meaningful work, right up till they finally go home for winter break. 

These 20 Christmas writing prompts will keep your students writing – and they will have fun too!

Download these FREE papers for the 20 Christmas prompts!

Here are the prompts!

• Pretend you are one of Santa’s elves. Write a journal entry about your day.
• Personification means giving human traits, such as feelings and thoughts, to objects. Personify your Christmas tree. Write a story from the Christmas tree’s point of view.
• Think about last Christmas. How was your life different then? How is it the same?

Random Christmas Prompt Picker (Just press play, then pause.)

• Pretend the president has passed a law banning Christmas. Write a letter to convince him that Christmas should not be banned.
• Create a Top 10 list of your favorite Christmas activities. Your favorite should be #1.
• Pretend that you can choose one gift that will be given to every child in the world. What gift to you choose? Why?
• Pretend you have been given a baby reindeer to raise. Write about what you will do to take care of it. What challenges will you have to overcome?
• Write about the perfect Christmas Day. Include plenty of details.
• Write about your favorite Christmas book or movie.
• What does Santa want for Christmas? Make a Christmas list that includes whatever you think he might want. Tell why you think each item should be on the list.

GRAB THESE PAGES TO GO WITH THE PROMPTS!

• Who would you rather have as a friend: one of Santa’s elves or a snowman that magically came to life? Explain your choice.
• What do you think Santa’s elves do on their day off? Write a story about an elf that gets into some kind of trouble on his day off.
• Finish this sentence in 10 different ways: This Christmas I hope…
• How many Christmas gifts do you think a child your age should get? Why do you think so?
• Create a new holiday tradition for your family. Write about what you would do and why it would be important.
• Do you think it is better to be a kid or an adult at Christmastime? Tell why you think so.
• Write a story about “riding in a one-horse open sleigh.”
• Pretend that you can get each person in your family any Christmas gift you want–even if it is very expensive or difficult to get. What would you give each person and why?
• Write about the best Christmas present you have ever received. Why was it so special?
• You are in charge of planning Christmas dinner. Create a menu for your perfect Christmas meal.

Need some publishing papers to go with the Christmas writing prompts?

Don’t forget to grab print or digital papers to go with the Christmas prompts!

You Might Also Like This:

This Christmas Readers’ Theater will be the highlight of the season! It’s low prep, great for distance learning, and kids love it!

Check out “Who Stole Santa’s List?

Want more?  Here are 200 prompt slides for topics for writing or discussion that you can display for the entire class.

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November 14, 2014 at 12:34 am

Awesome ideas

December 25, 2016 at 7:00 am

Thank you for posting. I’m sharing with my writer’s group and on social media. 🙂

December 28, 2016 at 11:26 am

Hey Denise! It is nice to see you! 🙂

December 29, 2016 at 3:52 am

It was a good post.

December 12, 2017 at 9:01 am

yep it was a good post!!!

December 9, 2019 at 11:34 am

I love this

December 17, 2019 at 9:33 am

I wrote about the Christmas Tree coming to life at https://www.courageouschristianfather.com/the-christmas-tree-that-came-to-life/#axzz68HhlnEjW

December 1, 2020 at 10:12 am

December 31st is New Year’s Eve. It is the last day of the year. Think back to everything that happened over the course of this last year. Choose from the following to write about:

Most exciting event Saddest event Happiest event Most surprising event Event that you wish you could change Event that you wish would have happened, but didn’t

December 17, 2020 at 9:40 am

it wont let me be able to watch the video is there a way i could make it work

December 18, 2020 at 8:39 am

I love this so much!

December 7, 2021 at 6:15 am

Thanks for good ideas

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   High School Christmas Writing Prompts

High School Christmas Writing Topics

1. Christmas Writing Prompts

Research an aspect of Christmas tradition (e.g. the Christmas tree, the star, Santa Claus, the date of the celebration, etc.) Write an essay describing the culture, figures, and beliefs that created that particular holiday aspect.

2. Christmas Hanukkah Kwanzaa Solstice Topic

Choose a winter holiday you do not know much about (Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Winter Solstice, Saturnalia, etc.) Write an essay exploring its origins and describing the modern-day celebration.

3. Christmas Creative Writing Prompt

Write a story that employs the following words: "Pine, star, candy cane, baking, cr�che, sweet, cold, crunch."

4. Santa Claus Writing Topic

Write a story that centers on a 6-year-old girl asking her father if Santa Claus is real.

5. December Writing Prompt

Write a story that begins with the following sentence: "Santa Claus was passed out cold on her fireplace, and Heather was beginning to regret coming downstairs for a snack."

Download this page of writing prompts — free!

The DOC version is formatted and ready to use with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, or any other word processor that can open the .DOC file format. The PDF version can be viewed and printed on any computer with a PDF reader.

Index of Writing Prompts

12 creative writing prompts for Christmas

With snow-covered settings and family reunions, winter makes the perfect backdrop for many story writers. Let the merriment of Christmas seep into your tales, or perhaps explore a sinister side to these dark, wintery days.

These Christmas writing ideas fit perfectly with this dynamic season and are sure to add a festive spark to your writing journal .

It’s Christmas Eve and you can’t sleep. You decide to go downstairs for a glass of water. You walk into your living room just in time to find a pair of feet coming down from your chimney and landing in your fireplace.

There are a number of ways you can go with this prompt. While the above image may be a child’s dream, it could also be an adult’s nightmare. A classic start to what is sure to be an intriguing tale.

You are stuck in the world of a Christmas song. You must write a suspenseful story based on the words and concepts.

Love them or hate them, the same Christmas songs resurface each year without fail. Use these festive jingles as writing inspiration for your next Christmas story idea. Pick your favourite (or most hated) and embed it into your own fictional world.

It’s just a few minutes until Christmas Day. You forgot to leave cookies and milk out as an offering for Santa Claus. He’s not going to be happy, and it terrifies you.

Again, the direction your story takes following this prompt depends largely on your main character. ‘Offering’ suggests something peculiar, but could this just be an innocent, misguided fear? How jolly Santa turns out to be is entirely up to you.

You wake up as Santa Claus on the afternoon of Christmas Eve. The sleigh is set, the presents are wrapped, and the elves are singing around the tree. Rudolph stands over you with his nose glowing bright, and asks if it’s time to take flight.

Take on the role of Santa Claus himself in this next Christmas creative writing idea. Will the day go off without a hitch, or will you encounter some festive mishaps along the way? Play around those other mentioned Christmas characters too, for a rich and varied story.

It’s Christmas Eve on one of the coldest winters of the century. You have 24 hours to think of something to do to get you high enough on the Naughty List to get enough coal to keep your small village warm.

This short Christmas writing prompt has so many layers already, pushing the idea of what it means to be ‘nice’ for Christmas. The harsh wintery scenes will no doubt be a joy to write while thinking up various naughty acts will bring you hours of fun.

You have been invited to a Christmas party by an old friend.

This idea has been purposely left short to allow your creative mind to wander where it wishes. Is your character happy to receive the invitation? Or perhaps the note brings up feelings they would have rather left buried…

You get woken up in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve by a loud voice: “Help! I’m stuck in the chimney!”

A touch of comedy with this next Christmas writing idea. A rescue mission for Santa Claus himself, or will you be forced to help an incompetent festive intruder? A chance to experiment with your humour writing, whatever tone that takes.

One Christmas day, you wake up to find a bunch of mistletoe floating above your head. You feel as though it’s trying to lead you somewhere.

A Christmas mystery that could lead your character on a tale of love, heartbreak, or something else entirely. Choose to centre your story in the real world, or allow the supernatural element to take you into the fantasy realm.

While everyone else was getting Christmas presents, all you got was a card containing a name and a phone number.

So much for the wish list! This Christmas writing idea is thick with mystery and anticipation and has the freedom to move into a number of genres or styles. The age of your character will greatly affect their response, too.

You’re in a little coastal town pub on Christmas Eve. “What a night,” you say out loud to your drink. A salty old sea captain comes out of the darkness to tell the tale of his Night Before Christmas on the sea…

Coastal writing is always so much fun – throw in a Christmas twist, and you’ve got yourself a truly enjoyable festive tale just waiting to be penned . This dark and stormy writing prompt is the ultimate creative spark.

The Grinch is trying to steal Christmas, but things start to go wrong when he chooses to start with Kevin McCallister’s home.

A shout-out to two of the best Christmas films of all time, and plenty of opportunities to create a Christmas story idea that is already rich in character and contextual detail. The overlapping of these two worlds will be something to wrack your brain around but is sure to be a story your whole family will want to read.

A young child wished that it could be Christmas every day, and now it is – for every single person on Earth.

It’s Groundhog Day, the festive edition, for this final Christmas story writing prompt. How long will it take for society to tire of those ringing sleigh bells? Are there enough Christmas crackers to pull, day after day? And finally (perhaps most importantly), does Santa Claus have enough presents to go around?

Mariah enjoys typing articles for our blog on her laptop but she'd much rather be writing them by hand with a luxury fountain pen!

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25 Christmas Writing Prompts and Activities

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BEST CHRISTMAS WRITING PROMPTS

Join (probably?) the world's largest writing contest. Flex those creative muscles with weekly writing prompts.

Showing 26 prompts reset

Night owls and early birds, write a story about a family (biological or found) coming together for christmas., write a story about two people stringing up christmas lights together for the first time., write a story about a character obsessed with nutmeg..

• In the form of Christmas wishlists over the years, write a story about a character growing up.

You are Santa Claus, and you're running late for work because you're stuck in the middle of a traffic jam caused by a Justice for Reindeer protest.

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"Excuse me," someone says to you, tapping you on the shoulder. "Are these your antlers? You dropped them."

Write a story set in a department store during the christmas sales., you volunteer at a homeless shelter. write a story about spending christmas day there., your neighbor has blasted christmas music every day of december for eight years… until one day the music stops., write a story about a white elephant party that goes terribly go wrong., subscribe to our prompts newsletter.

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Start your story with the sentence: "This is the story of how I became worse than the Grinch."

Write a story about a christmas dinner from the perspective of the family of mice that lives in the fireplace., you accidentally left cookies out on the table on christmas eve. the next morning, they're gone — and you're the only person in the house., write about a character who is returning home for christmas for the first time in a long time., write about light returning to a place that has been deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively., write a story about someone seeking a fresh start after a difficult year., write about a character reflecting on the previous year., begin or end your story with “well, that was dramatic.”.

• Write about a character who won’t (or can’t) shop for the holidays.
• Write about a character who’s stuck in a shopping mall.

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The best writing prompts for Christmas

"All I Want For Christmas Is You"? Trite. "Jingle Bells"? Boring. Miracle on 34th Street? Overplayed. "Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town"? Pass!

Instead of turning to the same old holiday traditions, why not embrace the Christmas spirit by writing about it this year? From reindeer soaring in the sky to sleighs gliding on the snow, writing prompts are a fun way to celebrate the holiday season that can help invigorate the memories of students and get kids to come up with all sorts of creative ideas about everything holiday-flavored. And sharing the stories around a Christmas tree is one of those family activities that you just can’t beat.

If you’re looking to cut to the festive chase, here are ten top Christmas writing prompts:

• Every year around Christmas, Satan accidentally gets thousands of letters from children writing to Santa. This year, however, he gets a letter that makes him sit up and take notice.
• Start your story with one character making a vow they would never have made the year before.
• The turkey is on the floor. Stuffing is stuck to the ceiling. The tree has been toppled over. The presents have been singed. What happened to cause this chaotic Christmas scene?
• Write about Christmas Day from Rudolph's perspective.
• Write about light returning to a place deprived of it for a long time, literally or figuratively.
• "Excuse me," someone says to you, tapping you on the shoulder. "Are these your antlers? You dropped them."
• You are Santa Claus, and you're running late for work because you're stuck in the middle of a traffic jam caused by a Justice for Reindeer protest.

If you have a student who’s interested in learning how to write stories beyond the holiday season, check out our free resources on the topic:

How to Write a Short Story (free course) — Short stories are one of the greatest writing forms, and it’s never too early to learn how to write them. In this free ten-day course, Laura Mae Isaacman, a full-time editor who’s worked with authors like Joyce Carol Oates, takes students through the whole process. From coming up with story ideas to writing the story itself, Larau will cover it all for writers of every age.

Ready to start writing? Check out Reedsy’s weekly short story contest for the chance of winning $250! You can also check out our list of writing contests or our directory of literary magazines for more opportunities to submit your story.

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Christmas Writing Prompts

Celebrate Christmas in your classroom and provide students with writing tasks and ideas. The packet contains narrative, informational and opinion writing prompts for teens. The prompts can be used as Writing Centers, as well as with adults during ESL lessons.

Wait! Before purchasing, check out the bundle!

What results do teachers see after using these Writing Prompts?

• "These are great prompts! I really like how they are organized into task cards and the graphics are great!"
• "Thank you for the Christmas themed writing prompts! I like the task card style. Everyone can work on a different prompt!" - Sarah
• "Wow! So many different writing prompts. Love that you provide color and black and white. Thank you."
• "These were fun! It was a great way to keep interest going during the weeks before the holidays." - Carolyn

How to use this writing packet?

The packet contains narrative , informational and opinion writing prompts for middle school and high school. Use as writing activity (paragraph practice, creative writing (a poem / short story / letter, journal writing (an article / entry), descriptive writing, etc.); as conversation starters in a pair or small group or as the basis for debates.

The resource contains 48 cards in color and black and white version. Just print, cut and laminate.

Want to wishlist this set? Pin for later.

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