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Regular news and insight from our many poets, writers, educators and facilitators

07 December 2024

Posted by Susan L. Edser

It's Christmas!

Ali Sparkes is a children’s author who leads writing sessions for Junior and Young Writers every Saturday morning at MAST Mayflower Studios. To learn more about her, visit her website: https://www.alisparkes.com.

Susan L. Edser, MA graduate in Creative Writing and Publishing and winner of Bournemouth University’s prestigious Vice Chancellor Award 2024, is Ali’s assistant and writes the weekly blog. 


Christmas has arrived! Ali and Sue prepared the room for our lucky writers. Crackers adorned the table, tinsel hung from anything protruding, and lights twinkled in a twinkly, sparkly way. All the children wore Christmas hats and channelled their inner elves.

Christmas consequences kicked us off, which everyone loved. Eating Brussels sprouts made a perfect consequence. The writers then opened their crackers and wrote a story based on the contents. The first line had to be:

‘I opened the Christmas cracker and out fell a…[insert what was inside their cracker]. I knew it was a message.’

The Junior Writers came up with brilliant Christmas ideas. The first pairing performed their story, acting out snowball fighting. Another person had a bomb, which became a commentary on the American elections. Someone else told an imaginative tale about an elf on a Christmas present production line. The Young Writers told stories of rings falling from a cracker that helped their character grow wings, tweezers being a code for an undercover agent, and lots of commentary on the quality of Asda crackers (other crackers are available).

Ali slipped in a Creepy Christmas exercise for the older group. The brief was to write a short story about Sue and Ali clearing the Barova room and leaving some tinsel in it. What happened next? They told scary stories, even including one about Mariah Carey!

As a Christmas treat, some parents joined us and were invited to help their children write a ‘word and question’ poem. The poem had to include one of the chosen words and answer the question, ‘Tinsel, cheese, or holly,’ and ‘What happened to your nose?’ The groups devised the poems and shared them with lots of laughter.

Finally, our writers showed their families the best of the term’s writing, displayed on the wall. It was lovely to see their work and the pride on their faces. 

By the end of the session, everyone had pulled a cracker, shared Christmas stories, and consumed numerous sweets. We hope this got everyone in the festive spirit and ready for the forthcoming holidays. One writer said, ‘This might actually be the best day of Christmas!’ 

Result. Happy Christmas, everyone.

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