Good Christmas story.

I can see why this story won the Holiday Challenge. It was a very sweet and heartwarming story. At the same time, it contains the urgency and secret plots of WWII stories. All the while, a genuinely kind act is being carried out, even if there are ulterior motives involved (also for good reasons). Still, the ending was what really sealed the deal for this story. Yes, it’s your typical, cheesy, happily ever after for Christmas stories, but it is still sweet. Excellent work!

Best,
Zad

I thoroughly enjoyed this. Some neat touches of humour and engaging original characters who logically fitted into the setting.
Well done:-)

This is a great story and you should be proud of it. You have put a lot of care into your characterizations. There's not a lot to criticize here.

It is unusual that this includes two topics that HH absolutely did not do: holiday episodes or anything having to do with children. The *closest* the show actually got to a holiday ep was Schultz as Santa in "The Prisoner's Prisoner" AND the *closest* the show got to children was during a brief scene where Hogan met an Underground agent with a fake baby in a carriage.

"Unfortunately, we're not in the happy business. He'll have to wait." - this sounds like Hogan so much I can hear Bob Crane's voice saying this line

I also love LeBeau getting outraged because CARTER called him "the cockroach"

And although the girl winds up OK, I still wonder and worry about what happened to her real parents.

Well done! Please write more!

This is very sweet. It's nice to see an acknowledgment of the Battle of the Bulge and its impact on morale at Stalag 13. Kudos for explaining the care they had to take with all new prisoners as well. I've been enjoying reading your reviews, and so happy you posted. I also watched the show during its original airing.

I've given myself the pleasure of reading this through a few times. It hits all the marks for me - a solid narrative structure (problem, inspiration, solution); perfect in-character dialogue and business throughout; a likeable and convincing OC from whom the plot develops; and a real sense of the original series.

Firstly may I compliment you on a clever and amusing title!

The plot works extremely well - it's clear, uncomplicated and developed at just the right pace to keep the reader engaged. Everything happens in an order which is easy to follow, and there are no loose ends left hanging. Attaching it to a real-world historical event is an added bonus, and adds depth to the story.

Everyone is perfectly in character, from Hogan (thinking on his feet as usual, and dropping a few wisecracks along the way) to Klink (falling for that silver tongue every time). I particularly like how you used Schultz to propel the story. He is just what he should be, in his despondency over the way things are, in his kind assistance to Carter (who means well, but...) and in the simple, naïve joy he displays on seeing the signage on the truck.

You did well with young Anna. Introducing children is inclined to be challenging, but you didn't over-use the character, and you kept clear of sentimentality; she's a real, rounded personality, but her thread never interrupts the main business of the story; it's integral.

Congratulations on winning the Writers Anonymous December Holiday Flash Challenge with this story - it was very well deserved.

Congratulations on your first completed HH fic. It was really wonderful! Your descriptions were beautiful and really set the scene. I'm glad that the boys were able to enter into the happiness business for once. And how heartwarming that they credited Schultz's toy company for all the blocks. That was perfect. Probably my favorite bit of dialogue was when Carter said that they just needed a fool-proof plan, and Hogan replies with "You think?" Ha! I'm not sure Carter appreciates just how hard it is to come up with those!

One little quibble, and perhaps it can be written off as having been said in German, but Anna's explanation as to why she followed the boys didn't sound like how a six-year-old would describe it. Too formal, structured. Kids' dialogue is hard because you don't want them to sound like babies, but you also can't have them sound like they're reading from a manual. Anyway, maybe something to work on, and like I said, it's just a little quibble.

I can relate to your problems in finishing a story (I'm having the same problem), but I don't think you need to worry about this one. It's a very nice little piece, especially for the holidays. The only not quite conclusive part is the way Lawler and the girl escape in almost exactly the way you describe as impossible at the beginning. But it's just such a beautiful way; that little hitch is easily ignored. (I also have to admit that I didn't get the reference of your title without your explanation, but then I'm not that familiar with the phrase.)

I like the way, how you introduce the reader first to the whole severity of the situation (in general, but also with little details like the sorry paper tree), but then start to slip in the typical humor of the series (I totally thought it was a cat!). There are quite a few such scenes that are reminiscent of similar ones in the show (like the schnapps snatching for example; I love the dry comment to Carter about the fingers *lol*), delivered very much in character, and therefore make you feel right at home.

The story about the girl is very sad and very lovely at the same time. The circumstances under which they meet her are dire, but the picture of all those men fussing about the girl is sweet and the ending … well, Hogan wasn't the only one with a tear in their eyes. Just perfect for the occasion.

I have to say, though, what I loved most about the story was the subplot about Schultz and the toys. I can totally see his misery first, and then his contentment and joy as he is in his element, carving the doll's face and explaining it to Carter. I'm not sure exactly why, but this quiet scene struck a chord with me. It's beautiful. Nice to see, that the doll is cherished just as much as was effort put into it (even if a certain someone lacked talent :P – maybe that's why he took up wood-carving courses). And then the tribute payed to his toy company – that's probably the best gift Schultz ever got in these dark times.

Yes, a good little story. And a winner, too, with your first toss! Congratulations :).

You did a good job of following the prompt and telling a very sweet story that shows the happy spirit of the holiday season, while also showing consideration for history (and canon.) As a result, the ending was touching while still feeling plausible. This was a very well-written one-shot. Congratulations on the well-deserved win!

Ahh I’ve got the warm fuzzies with the ending. This is one of the longer stories I’ve read in the competition but the fact it didn’t feel like it is testament to your writing. It felt realistic while still having a strong holiday theme, you describe the setting well and I could picture it. I also liked both sides coming together to create a true Christmas spirit.
A well deserved Christmas competition winner

Welcome to fandom!

Christmas stories can be hard because the line of how much sweet and sappy is just enough without becoming too much is a hard one to find, but I think you managed it quite well.

Like Hogan, you had me thinking dog or cat at the beginning so the girl was a surprise. I appreciated how you keep reactions to her realistic - they want to help, but there's no question that they have to send her out of the country. Anna being an orphan means keeps that choice from becoming a dark one, and an orphan at Christmas is a well trod trope so we except in a story like this.

It was nice to see Schultz's skill at toy making take center stage as he gets to teach the boys for a change and their gift to him of giving him his company back for a few days was a touching one.

In all a sweet Christmas treat. Good job!

Congratulations on your first completed HH story, and what a delightful story to boot! You successfully combine a classic Hogan's Heroes scheme with the unprecedented (on the show, as far as I'm aware) situation of having a civilian stowaway; and having Carter carve a doll (with Schultz being a very good on-hands teacher) is a very sweet, in-character move. Love Newkirk's note at the end - a small act of clandestine kindness - such a Newkirk thing to do! Thank you for a sharing lovely story.

First, congratulations on completing your first story! If this was your first, I'm excited to see more from you! A wonderful story that could have very easily taken place on the show. Wonderful attention to detail, and I especially liked how your brought Schultz's toy making background into the plot. The wrap up at the end where we got to see Lawler and Anna was perfect! Thank you so much for sharing this with us!

Hi there, here from the Holiday Flash Challenge and fandom-blind, but I really enjoyed this story. What a sweet happy ending. I think you do a great job at creating a humorous tone even as these characters are spending Christmas doing hard work in a POW camp. Hogan mistaking Anna for a dog and convincing Klink to let the men make toys both made me lol, and the way they take care of Anna (clearly not very used to children) is so sweet. I especially love the scene of Schultz unknowingly carving the doll for Anna; it's a good show of how Christmas and children can bring enemies/opposites together. What a surprise happy ending too, and the realistic, historical context of this story make it feel more meaningful. Wonderful work.

Hi, here for the WA Holiday Challenge, and this was so much fun for me to read! I love reading well - written historical fiction.

I've also been reading a fair amount of non - fiction for WWII lately, so it was fun for me to pick out details that I recognized. I don't know how much of it's just because of the canon, but I like the references to the trouble the Allied were having at this time, the possiblity of "new" POWs actually being spies, the importance of meteorologists in intelligence work, and how many German children didn't have enough food at this time.
I also like that you had most of the "crew" be fluent in German, but a couple of there were a couple of them (in this case, Jonathan), who didn't.

The scene where Hogan mistakes the girl for a dog is funny. (Although who could blame him, when the men were comparing the girl to a poodle and a bloodhound?)
But even though they all feel sorry for the girl, it's written from Hogan's POV, so it makes her seem like "oh no, one more thing to worry about..."
At the same time, it's sweet to see the men banding together to take care of the child, and making Christmas toys for the orphans.

So sweet that the lieutenant ended up adopting the orphan girl in the end. A nice happy ending.

The only thing is, you already made it clear in the beginning that the men weren't allowed to try to escape from the camp, and even Hogan only escaped to be caught again on purpose, so why did they help Lieutenant Lawler escape in this?