By way of disclaimer, this is my forcing myself to write extemporaneously daily. Don't expect a) quality b) coherence c) originality.

What makes a Christmas story?

As some readers may know, I like stories that leave an emotional payload, be it sadness or elation. Christmas stories often strive for the same, with themes of redemption, innocence, salvation, and sacrifice. It makes sense, given that the Nativity story is one that lays the groundwork for the story of the eventual redemption of mankind.

With those admittedly trope-y and treacle-ish themes, I want to do something in the same genre, but not a simple re-skinning of a tale already in the public domain. This is tougher than it seems.

While sophomoric and trope-y, here goes some random thoughts:

A runaway boy.

A hardened fence/fixer.

An absolutist family.

All right, let's go with it.