Crystal Writes A Blog

Recipe for a Fun Christmas Story Game 🎄✍🏼🗒️🎄

Can you believe Christmas music is already playing on the airwaves? Of course, it is some of the best music, so it’s as good a time as any, right? (And hubby is nodding and saying yes while listening to our clocks that play Christmas tunes 365 days a year—and 366 in Leap Year.

So one of my most downloaded documents is the Christmas story I wrote back in December of 2013 called Three Wandering Kings where I inserted the titles of Christmas songs and carols as part of the story. It’s fun to read at family dinner gatherings from Thanksgiving forward, and of course for Christmas. Here’s just a little piece of it:

We three kings knew we had a long journey ahead. We started on a silent night, but it turned out that many joined us along the way. We happened upon Good King Wenceslas, who asked us where we were
going. Since we weren’t exactly sure yet (at this point we were just following the yonder star), I just hem-hawed around and finally answered, “Oh…little town of Bethlehem, I reckon.”

Click on the title above to see the original blog post and find the PDF to download for yourself if you like.

But then…

I want to see y’all write your own stories inserting titles like I did. I’m actually assigning myself to create another one this season, but I want to see yours first. The 2-ingredient recipe is simple:

• Look at the words in the titles and decide how they can be used in a sentence.
• And then, string a bunch of the sentences together and present your message.

Note: Many of the songs are in the public domain (no copyright), but you can’t copyright a title anyway, so you’re safe to create and share these stories. Just don’t use any of the other lyrics from the songs that are still actively copyrighted. Though these stories are parody, so you’re actually protected there as well, but there’s no sense pushing it unless you really can’t make your point without adding the extra lyrics.

🎄 Need Inspiration? Here’s a quick preview of the A-Z list:

• I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
• Up on the Housetop
• Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
• Christmas in Dixie
• White Christmas

…and dozens more covering every single letter from A to Z! (Really, my search even found songs for Q, X, and Z which will be really helpful if you use Christmas songs for the travel game recipe. 😁)

Click here to view the full A-Z Christmas Song List

A
A Babe is Born in Bethlehem
A Baby Changes Everything
A Baby Just Like You
All Alone on Christmas
All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth
All I Really Want for Christmas
All I Want for Christmas Is You
Angels from the Realms of Glory
Angels We Have Heard on High
Another Lonely Christmas
As I Lay Upon a Night
Away in a Manger
Auld Lang Syne
Ave Maria

B
Baby it’s Cold Outside
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
Blue Christmas
Breath of Heaven
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella

C
Carol of the Bells
Candy Cane Christmas
Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire (aka The Christmas Song)
Child of Winter
Children Go Where I Send Thee
Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
Christmas Carols by the Old Corral
Christmas in Dixie
Christmas in Hollis
Christmas in Killarney
Christmas in My Hometown
Christmas Lights
Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)

D
Deck the Halls
Ding Dong Merrily on High
Do You Hear What I Hear
Dominick the Donkey
Don’t Save it All for Christmas Day

E
Emmanuel
Everyone’s a Child at Christmas

F
Feliz Navidad
The First Noel
Frosty the Snowman
For Unto Us a Child is Born
From Bethlehem to Calvary

G
Go Tell it On the Mountain
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer
Grown up Christmas List

H
Happy Xmas (War is Over)
Happy Birthday Baby Jesus
Hard Candy Christmas
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Here Comes Santa Claus
A Holly Jolly Christmas
Home for the Holidays

I
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
I Saw Three Ships
I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

J
Jingle Bells
Jingle Bell Rock
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Joy to the World

K
Keep Me Warm This Christmas

L
Last Christmas
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Little St Nick
Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming

M
Mary Did You Know
Mary’s Boy Child
Mele Kalikimaka
Mistletoe and Holly
Must be Santa
My Favorite Things

N
New Year’s Hymn
Nuttin’ For Christmas
Noel (Carmen)

O
O Christmas Tree
O Come All Ye Faithful
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Holy Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Over the River and Through the Wood

P
Pat-a-Pan
Peace on Earth (Mercy on Earth)
Please Come Home for Christmas

Q
Quem Pastores Laudavere

R
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Run Rudolph, Run

S
Santa Baby
Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Silent Night
Silver Bells
Sleigh Ride
Step Into Christmas

T
The Christmas Shoes
The Friendly Beasts
The Holly and the Ivy
The Little Drummer Boy
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Time for Me to Come Home for Christmas
Toyland
Twas the Night Before Christmas

U
Up On the Housetop

V
Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy

W
We Need a Little Christmas
We Three Kings
We Wish You a Merry Christmas
What Child is This
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night
White Christmas
Winter Wonderland
Wonderful Christmastime

X
Xmas Time (Sure is Here Again)

Y
You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch
You’re All I Want for Christmas

Z
Zat You, Santa Claus?

And in case you don’t want to take time to copy and paste, here’s a downloadable PDF of the song title list:

And just in case you want one more example for following this challenge, Gemini decided it would try to write a story as well. It’s not too bad for a computer that’s never actually experienced Christmas the way those of us know The Reason for the Season, but it followed the rules and made a sensible story. So, yes, you can do it, too. 🖊️✏️🖍️✒️

November 9, 2026 - Posted by Crystal A Murray (aka CrystalWriter) | AI, Christmas Season, Creative Image Editing, Creative Writing, Creativity, Gemini (by Google), Photo Studio Pro app | a to z, challenge, Christmas, Christmas songs, Creative Writing, fun, recipe, writing