Holiday Writing Contest Entry

Below is my entry for Susanna Leonard Hill's Holiday Writing Contest. The challenge is to write a children's holiday story about a holiday treat in 250 words or less. This story was inspired by my family's love for gingerbread cookies (super special delicious family recipe). Enjoy!

gingerbread man surrounded by candy canes
Photo by annca from Pixabay


Gingerbread Family
227 words

The warm scent of ginger and cloves tickled Isabel’s nose. “Mami, the timer’s going off!”
“Okay, stand back, Isa. It’s hot.” Mami pulled the pan out. “Oh no!” 
“What’s wrong?” Isa climbed up on a stool to get a closer look. The cookie dough had spread! All the little gingerbread men were plump and lopsided.
Mami put her hand on her hip. “They’re ruined. We can’t serve these.”
“Why not?” Isa licked her lips. They still looked yummy.
“Christmastime with family is special. I want everything to be perfect.”
“Can we make new ones?” Isa asked.
Mami shook her head. “We don’t have enough ingredients.”
“Can we fix them?”
“They would probably break.”
Isa thought for a moment. “Maybe the family won’t mind that they’re crooked.”
“I don’t know.”
Isa pointed at one of the cookies. “Look! This one looks exactly like Abuela with her poofy hair.”
“I guess.”
She pointed to another with a big round belly. “And that one looks like Tío Emanuel.”
Mami laughed. “You’re right. It does.”
“This crooked one looks like Abuelo.”
“Mija, I love the way you see things.”
Isa and Mami carefully decorated their unique treats. When the family visited, they each were delighted to get a cookie that looked like them. 
Isabel felt so proud. “You were right, Mami. Christmastime with family is special.”
“Sí, Isa. Everything was perfect.”
tray with variety of gingerbread cookies
Photo by skeeze from Pixabay



View my other contest entry here.
Do you like my stories? Check out my other kid stories, flash fiction, or poetry.

Comments

  1. KellyDecember 9, 2019 at 7:30 AM

    Such a lovely story!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mary Ann CortezDecember 9, 2019 at 8:03 AM

    Love, love, love. We bake gingerbread at my house too. I could almost smell those cookies! 'This crooked one looks like Abuelo.' Oh my heart! Good luck in the contest!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nicole Miller, LCSWDecember 9, 2019 at 6:49 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Diane TullochDecember 12, 2019 at 1:42 AM

    Love how kids see the joy in something imperfect. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rebekah HoeftDecember 12, 2019 at 4:22 AM

    Love the message and tone of this--perfectly shows how it goes in so many houses! It felt like a complete story, which is so hard to do in so few words!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kalee GwarjanskiDecember 12, 2019 at 5:32 AM

    Love this story! Great job

    ReplyDelete
  7. McMarshallDecember 12, 2019 at 9:48 AM

    What a sweet story! It is all in how you look at things and family gingerbread cookies is perfect. Best of Luck!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Colleen MurphyDecember 12, 2019 at 12:14 PM

    This is very cute. I love Isa's ingenuity finding a way to save the cookies. Well done and good luck!

    ReplyDelete

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