Our winner jespah has handed us this fitting challenge:

This time of year, family becomes a very, very big deal. Those who are gone, those who are invited wherever, those who are annoying, etc. And for those who don't have genetic family, there's also the substitute family of friends, many of whom are loved no less (and perhaps are loved even more). Hence let's make the challenge stories about families, in all their messy, dysfunctional, loving, inside-jokey glory.

So there you. Have at it and remember that we have given this challenge an extended deadline so that it will cover the holiday period - allowing people to have time with their families! So we'll end the challenge at the end of December and open polling thereafter for the submitted stories.

Any comments, questions, suggestions, cross pollination of ideas and if you even want to brainstorm your submission you can do it all here in this thread. Good luck to one and all and bless your families and your character's families.

Challenge closed - VOTING THREAD WAS HERE

The winner was ... Jean-Luc Picard.