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![Party Cracker](https://res.cloudinary.com/hpiynhbhq/image/upload/v1517364944/duiun1lmx0bnl2ahnm7p.png)

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Daina had never cared for her parents' parties.  There were no games or colorful balloons, and certainly no magicians or fun activities.  They were mostly just gossip and long conversations the adults all had while sipping their fancy drinks and snacking on their hor d'oeuvres.  

*Perhaps*, she thought, *I'll understand why they love it so much when I grow up.*

Today, however, was different.  Each year her parents held a special holiday party and it was the event that Daina looked forward to the most.  The downstairs was decorated with sparkling snowflakes and red, velvety ribbons.  The usual, boring hor d'oeuvres were replaced with delightful little cakes and cookies.  And, most importantly, silver and gold holiday crackers were neatly arranged at the center of the table.

Daina plucked one of the crackers from the pile and carried it to a quiet corner of the family room.  She had selected a silver cracker this year and her mind raced as she tried to guess what would be inside.

She closed her eyes tightly, held the cracker out as far as she could, and pulled the ends with all her might.  With a loud POP! and a sprinkle of confetti, the cracker broke open and a small silver charm spilled onto the skirt of her green dress.

Daina held the tiny silver bell in the palm of her hand, her eyes shining with delight, and wished that every party could be as magical as this.

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As always, thanks go to [@mariannewest](/@mariannewest) for providing the freewrite prompt.  Today's can be found [here](/freewrite/@mariannewest/day-102-5-minute-freewrite-tuesday-prompt-cracker).

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Image sourced from [Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/en/abstract-celebration-christmas-83081/).