Christmas time is an inspiring time for most authors. Having a few Christmas writing prompts can help inspire your creativity to get writing.
The cooler temperatures make writers want to retreat to cabins, pull out an old typewriter, and spend time thinking of plot twists near the closest fireplace.
It’s also a dreamy time to sit around thinking about the past year and the year ahead.
So, grab your favorite pen and your favorite notebook (or digital writing tool). Scroll through all of the prompts below and see if any of them spark some creativity and get writing.
Table of Contents
Christmas writing prompts
Keep in mind, some of these are enough to just create short prompts. Others are enough for you to make an entire story worth from a single idea.
Some are religious based, some are focus on the fun traditions of Christmas, and some are just prompts to get you thinking about your life and the next year ahead.
If some of them really resonate for you, add them to a list you check in with more often. It doesn’t always have to be just at Christmas time.
The list of Christmas writing prompts:
#1 – Favorite Christmas memories. write about your favorite Christmas memories in your childhood
#2 – Your dream Christmas. What would your dream Christmas look like? Who would be there? Where would you go? How long would you celebrate?
#3 – Rewrite a famous Christmas story. If you could put your own spin on a Christmas classic, which one would you pick and what would happen?
#4 – Did you believe in Santa? If not, do you believe in anything similar to Santa?
#5 – How have you changed over this year? Whether it was for the better or not, reflect on what you’ve learned over the last year and how all of the things you’ve gone through have changed you.
#6 – Do you find Christmas relaxing or stressful? Or a mixture of both? What would make it a better celebration for you?
#7 – What was the hardest lesson to learn in the last year? Sometimes taking the time to reflect on the last year and what you learned can help bring your life into perspective.
#8 – Is winter your favorite season? Why or why not? Not everyone loves the cold weather, and it could make for an interesting starting off point to a longer story.
#9 – If you’re religious, how do you feel about Christmas? Do you think it’s gotten away from its roots or do you love it?
#10 – Do you think Christmas is too commercialized? Or not enough? What would be the right balance for you?
#11 – If Christmas didn’t exist, what would you be doing with the last few weeks of the year? Would you be sitting around a fireplace and reflecting or would you be out celebrating the end of the year? Some mix of both?
#12 – Where is your dream place to celebrate Christmas? Lots of people dream of a New York City Christmas, would something like that be appealing to you?
#13 – What’s your dream gift?
#14 – If you had a million dollars that you had to spend before the year was over, how would you spend it? What would everyone in your life get for gifts?
#15 – How could you surprise and delight the people in your life this Christmas season?
#16 – Would you prefer to spend Christmas away on a cruise? Or do you enjoy being home?
#17 – Who are your dream people to spend Christmas with? Even if they’re alive or dead, who would you want at your holiday party?
#18 – How can you deepen your connection to other people in your life this Christmas season?
#19 – What are your favorite Christmas traditions? Do you plan to pass them onto future generations?
#20 – Are there any traditions you’d love to start in your family?
#21 – How can you give back to your neighborhood this Christmas?
#22 – If you were Santa, would you still want milk and cookies or would your dream meal that was left for you be something else?
#23 – Do you like getting gifts or giving them? Think of the best gift you’ve ever given someone, whether it was a physical item or an experience. What was it like?
#24 – What are your favorite charities to donate to? What about their mission inspires you so much?
#25 – Could you ever spend the holidays alone? And if you already do, what do you enjoy about the solitude?
#26 – If you were an angel, what would you do or focus on? Who would you help? What would be the cause you would champion?
#27 – Do you like surprise gifts or would you rather know exactly what you’re getting?
#28 – If Santa didn’t have reindeer, what animals should he have?
#29 – How can you be more generous in your life?
#30 – If you were Santa, would you change anything about Christmas? Or delivering gifts?
#31 – What goals do you have for the year ahead? Describe them in detail! Give your brain a chance to day dream and imagine new possibilities.
#32 – If next year was the best year of your life, what would that year entail?
#33 – Write thank you notes to the people in your life. Think of ways they helped or inspired you this year.
#34 – If Christmas was in another month, which month would you prefer and why? If you like this prompt, imagine if you could control all of the holidays and move them around.
#35 – What is your favorite winter activity? Do you prefer to do it by yourself or with other people?
#36 – If you could only celebrate Christmas with three people, who would you pick? Why would you pick them?
#37 – If humans lived on another planet with a whole different atmosphere, what would Christmas look like?
#38 – Imagine if there was a Christmas every other month, what would that look like?
#39 – Are real Christmas trees better than fake trees? Explain why you think so!
#40 – What is your favorite Christmas story and why? Bonus points for writing yourself into a story!
#41 – How can you spread holiday cheer to the people in your life?
#42 – Write a cover letter as if you were applying to work with Santa.
#43 – Write a letter to your younger self that you would have opened on Christmas as a child.
#44 – Write a letter to Santa.
#45 – How do you hope you’re celebrating the Christmas season ten years from now?
#46 – What is the most overrated Christmas celebration? Underrated?
#47 – If Frosty the Snowman was in your yard, what would you do?
#48 – What is the best Christmas drink and why?
#49 – What do you think Santa would want for Christmas?
#50 – Who are the people in your life and what do you appreciate most about them?
#51 – Write a creepy Christmas story. What would be your biggest fear on that day?
#52 – Would you want to work at Santa’s workshop? Or would it be stressful from the amount of work needing to be done?
#53 – Do you prefer handmade gifts or store bought gifts?
#54 – What does Christmas mean to you? What does it mean to your family and loved ones?
#55 – What would be the most romantic Christmas you could imagine?
What to do next
Take one of the prompts and work on it! Flesh it out into a short story or even a full novel.
And if you’ve got a budding young writer in the family, check out this list of writing prompts for children to make writing time a fun family Christmas activity!
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