Write down a phrase that encapsulates your lyrical Christmas tale. Keep the phrase simple and no longer than one sentence. Tell a story about a Christmas experience or event with meaning to you. Begin with a partial sentence if that is what comes to you. Write, for example, "A wintry Christmas morning." Use the phrase as the focal point of your ballad.
Fill in the story details using Christmas imagery and symbols. Add characters, such as Santa Claus or the three wise men doing something on Christmas Eve or morning. Include family as characters. Give the characters something to do to create action. Write, perhaps, about a little brother catching sight of Santa in the glow of twinkling Christmas lights.
Write dialogue for the characters as they proceed through the tale. Use comments and replies to move the dialogue forward. Let the characters describe the story behind the ballad. Write dialogue about what little brother might say to Santa and how Santa might reply.
Incorporate simple rhyme scheme and verses, such as alternating tetrameter and trimester lines, which comprise traditional ballad form, according to Fractal Myth. Use a common ballad rhyming pattern, such as a-b-c-b or a-b-a-b. Employ key words or images in the initial phrase, suggests StudyGuide.org. (See References 2)
Use repetition to continue the ballad form. Write a single line or a four-line stanza -- a quatrain -- that repeats the poem's rhyming pattern. Incorporate an image or a line of dialogue, for example, in the refrain. Use the refrain to punctuate the end of each verse or intersperse the lines throughout the ballad.