10 Story Ideas for December, 2025
Dave Davis, director of the ASB Workshop, advised a high school newsmagazine for 34 years. Here are 10 story ideas your school news show can produce this month.
Word Gamers: They are addicting, and they just might be educational. Those daily, online word games many are enjoying. Are teenagers taking part? Find out what games they are playing…Wordle? How about “Swiftle” (yes, for Taylor fans)? Or maybe “Star Wordle” (for Star Wars enthusiasts). Find a bunch of them listed here: https://listdle.com/ And for sports nerds, there is the always-challenging, daily Immaculate Grid…pick your sport and make sure you go 9 for 9, which is how you achieve “immaculate” status. Here’s an example of the grid: https://www.sports-reference.com/immaculate-grid/grid-948
Social Jet Lag: That’s one of the terms used to describe the risk of getting headaches on Saturday morning because you sleep in. It can be an issue for teens, who love to sleep late on the weekend, disrupting their circadian rhythm. It also alters caffeine habits. If you are used to drinking coffee or a caffeinate beverage at 7 a.m., and you sleep until 10 a.m., your body misses the caffeine it expects. Oversleeping can trigger headaches, and blood sugar fluctuations. It may not be that hard to find a teen who has experienced the “social jet lag” from too much sleep. It happens.
What to Eat Before a Big Exam: There are foods that help your brain and body as you begin a big test, like the ACT or the SAT. Or that semester final you have been dreading. Check out the best way to “feed your brain” here: https://www.scoreatthetop.com/blog/brain-food-5-best-foods-to-eat-before-a-test
Christmas and Hanukkah: Some people think these two holidays are equal in importance to those who observe them. A story clarifying how they differ might serve many of your viewers. For example, Christmas happens on the same date, December 25, every year. Hanukkah follows the Hebrew calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar, so the date of Hanukkah shifts each year in relation to the Gregorian calendar, and falls between late November and late December. While there is gift-giving in both, it is not the central focus of Hanukkah the way it often is for Christmas. Do some digging. This one could be very informative. The visuals are pretty easy as well.
Top Toy 25 Years Ago: The “Toy of the Year” came out in time for Christmas in 2000. It was Tekno the Robotic Puppy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tekno_the_Robotic_Puppy Maybe someone you know had one. So what about this year? Which toys are flying off the shelves? Do some digging. Stories about toys always resonate with teens, who are not that far removed from childhood and memories of their favorite toy.
The Never-Ending Debate: Is “Die Hard” a Christmas movie? This has been the subject of a light-hearted debate for years. You hear people arguing about it with great passion. While many young people have probably not seen the original 1988 film yet—warning, it does have a lot of violent action--and language—many have. Maybe a quick man-on-the-street approach, with your roving reporter asking which side people come down on? Most likely teachers will have thoughts because many will have seen it (maybe some are old enough to have seen it in an actual theater).
Making an App, Making a Fortune? You know anyone making an app they plan to make available, and get rich from? It’s not easy. There is a process. For Apple apps, you start by enrolling in the “Apple Developer Program.” https://developer.apple.com/programs/enroll/ How do you profit from an app? Not from downloads. Your profits come from in-app purchases, subscriptions and ads, after Apple takes a cut. On the bright side, the top 800 apps earn about $3,500 a day.
Weight Loss Drugs: Fifteen million children and teenagers have obesity, tripling over the last three decades. Weight loss drugs are being prescribed more than ever for teens. According to data from health care analytics platform PurpleLab, in 2023, about 4,000 prescriptions of semaglutide, sold under the brand names Wegovy and Ozempic, were written for children ages 12 to 17. What do teens think of using drugs to reduce weight? What are the risks? Do the research because many in your audience will find this interesting. Note: We know 80% of obese teenagers will eventually become obese adults. It is a huge health issue in the U.S.
Taking It Indoors: In cold-weather states, winter will arrive and force everyone indoors for a few months. What are some non-team sports young people enjoy when cold weather arrives? Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the U.S. lately, and it can be played indoors. But what about rock-climbing? Warrior sports? Archery? Tennis? Lots of great visuals when you are talking sports and recreation under a roof.
One Day Vlog: Nobody wants homework over the winter break. BUT…students do get bored. That’s where utilizing a cell phone and getting creative can give you some great content. What if you picked one day—maybe December 29th—and asked some of your broadcast kids to each create a vlog about that one day during their break. Maybe it’s “a day in my life during the last week of 2025.” Come up with your own hook/theme. When you get back to school, you can take the highlights and create a show from them. Something casual/fun/different. You could even do it as an Instagram series and post a couple every day when school resumes.
