In that magic time between night and morning, between Christmas night and Christmas morning, the toys and ornaments came to life.


The electric angel sat on top of the Christmas tree. She was dressed in blue satins and lavender silks and she held the Christmas star high above her auburn hair. She was the most beautiful ornament on the tree. The straw angels that had hung beneath her on the Christmas tree fluttered around her playing beautiful music that only imaginary creatures could hear.


The fashion doll danced with the teddy bear. Tomorrow she would belong to the little girl and he would belong to the little boy. Their worlds would never cross again. They looked up at the statue of the Infant of Prague that sat on the mantle over the fire place.


"Come dance with us, Infant of Prague," the fashion doll called. "Tonight is the night of Christmas Real. You can be real too."

It had been a mild winter and Christmas was still a week away. There was a total eclipse of the moon predicted for tonight, but it would depend on the weather as to whether we would be able to see it. It had been a gray overcast day and the moon had risen early. There seemed to be a ring around the moon and that usually meant there was a change coming in the weather. The snow had started falling shortly after the sun went down and was gently falling from the sky and creating a true winter wonderland. The pine trees were gently swaying with the light wind that stirred the air and every now and then you could catch a glimpse of the full moon slowly being covered by the Earth�s shadow through the clouds. It might turn out to be a white Christmas after all.

When the clock strikes midnight on Christmas Eve, the animals speak. -- Old tradition


In a comfortable, warm living room decorated for the holiday, a
Christmas tree sparkled in a corner. Brightly wrapped presents were piled
beneath it. As the fire in the fireplace burned to embers, a big
black-and-tan German Shepherd and a small white terrier dozed in comfort on
the hearth rug.
On a colorfully crocheted afghan decorating the back of the sofa, a
slender black cat curled in a sleepy ball. Below her, on the sofa seat
cushion, a small, striped kitten slept with tail wrapped over nose,
snuggled against a king-sized, fat white cat sprawled on its back.
The humans all slept, too, and the house was silent until the stroke
of midnight sounded from a tall, polished-wood grandfather clock in a
corner of the living room.

Bob took one final swig from the tequila bottle before pointing the gun at the door. It wasn’t that he hated the old guy. On the contrary, he loved him. But as the clock above the door struck midnight there was a rush of movement and suddenly a voice cried out: "Merry Christmas, Merry Christmas EVERY --"

Bob pulled the trigger.

For November through December 2008 the contest topic is Spirits Of The Winter.

This doesn't have to have snow or toboggan rides, although it could. Hmm, that could be kinda creepy.

It could be a spirit of the season such as Santa Claws, Scrooge, Sprites, Fairies, Elves or some other holiday or festival such as the solstice.

It could be the winter of our discontent or the winter of your characters life as the last few years slip away to leave them with...

Or it could be simply the end of an era, the last hunt of the year, the winter of a civilization.

Well, you get the idea. As always have fun!