December — January Monthly Challenge

Sharing Your December Challenge Stories and Heartfelt Memories

Revisiting our December Challenge and proposing a new challenge for January

Just like all the years before it, 2023 just seemed to pick itself up and scatter itself to the wind. And here we go with 2024 already!

The older I get the more I just look around in confusion like, perhaps, everything is just one big illusion or some kind of magic trick or joke… until it’s time to get out of bed, brush my teeth and hair, and my tummy rumbles with hunger… then everything comes flooding back to reality! Right?

Oh yes, a New Year is here. Wipe the haze away from the eyes. Bright eyed and bushy tailed!

Let’s get down to business. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to December’s photo story writing challenge, Bright Lights or Snowy White. As I put together this list of eighteen stories from the festive month of December, I went back and reread each one and was astounded. It really floored me that so many of you shared so much of yourselves… stories of beloved pets, various Christmas traditions, walks in the forest, explorations of cities and towns, beaches, theme parks, shopping malls, Christmas markets, lantern festivals, ports, and even old Nazi bunkers… and such an array of photos to go along with it.

What a wonderful world we do live in! I feel so incredibly lucky, along with fellow editor Allisonn Church, to provide this amazing place to write, share, and read so many photo stories from all walks of life! What else can we do but love it all!

A New Fun Challenge for January

Before getting to the challenge stories, I want to propose a new challenge for January… although luckily enough all the essential groundwork has been laid for this one.

Barb Dalton offered this interesting look back at her past twelve months of photos with a photo from each month. What a great way to sum up the year!:

And what a year it was!

Editor Allisonn thought this was a great idea and quickly followed up with her own lovely offering:

Serhii Onkov offered a slightly different way to approach revisiting 2023 by showcasing his top 50 photos of the year… including photos of cute cats😻:

Earlier still, Carol Labuzzetta, MS Natural Resources, MS Nursing offered this glimpse back at her travels of 2023 in this story:

And then just this morning we received this delightful offering from Melissa Rach:

Wow, too fab! Well now, I guess we will just have to make this an official challenge here on In Living Color this month since these stories have turned out to be so fun and engaging to read: revisiting 2023, in photos.

Great for me, too, as I’ve been busy getting used to my new life as a single person and a traveling house/pet sitter. Such a happy/sad/confusing transition, but so far I’m loving it!

Of course, please make sure you are still following pub guidelines with your stories: Submission Guidelines For In Living Color.

✨ Oh yes, and don’t forget to use the tag ‘monthly challenge’ for these stories.

December Challenge Story Submissions

Okie smokes, so here are the stories from December. The best belated Christmas present you could give me, and to each other, is to read and engage with each other’s work. No, this doesn’t mean you need to kill yourself by reading everything… unless you have the time and you want to of course!

Julia A. Keirns shares what, in my opinion, is the best way to spend Christmas… in a warm climate and preferably at the beach:

In a similar manner, Rhonda Carrier shares what passes as a white Christmas in Florida… this is definitely my kind of Christmas!:

…and this story of a great way to enjoy the Christmas season in The Sunshine State and the Tampa area:

Barb Dalton offered beautiful snowy white photos after a significant dump of the white stuff in Montréal:

Mark Tulin shares delightful photos and tidbits from Christmas in Southern California:

Visiting Christmas markets in Austria, as described by Christina Daniels, sounds just divine:

Daphsam demonstrates why NYC has the best Christmas lights of anywhere:

Snow in Texas? It can happen. Cute paw prints in the snow can happen as well in this fun story by L Burton:

… and beautiful lights and decor:

Tim Ward, Mature Flâneur writes a delightfully lovely and humorous story of Christmas in Philly:

Christine Morris Ph.D. offers Christmas light photos and memories from a lovely port in Germany:

Anne Bonfert enjoys celebrating Christmas in New Zealand and manages to snap some beautiful snowy photos even though it is summer in NZ right now:

Melissa Rach writes about Christmas in Arizona and Wisconsin… both amazingly lovely states in their own way:

My fellow editor Allisonn Church offered this story of her time in Russia… too cool… looks beautiful and crazy cold!:

Jody Lynn McBrien shares photos and memories from beloved trips to Europe:

Loved Brad Yonaka’s bright and colorful light photos from a Chinese lantern festival:

Erie Astin tells this lovely poignant story of snow, struggling with mental health issues (been there myself!), and her beloved dog Casey:

Dan Carlson offers beautiful snowy photos that capture a darker side of history in Germany:

Thank you so much for a great month of challenge stories. Looking forward to more in 2024!

I do hope you are doing well, wherever you are!