The holidays seem to have crept up on us this year, the unseasonably warm weather masquerading the approach of December. Yes, there’s lots to do, between gift shopping and making travel arrangements and attending holiday parties, but I’ve been slowly learning and relearning that it’s not the doing that matters most. It’s the people we’re with and the moments we share.
Instead of rushing from mall to mall, pepperspraying each other, what if we slowed down and carved out quiet moments of reflection with the ones we love most?
I have so many great childhood memories associated with the holidays. My parents really knew how to make the holidays special. It wasn’t all toys and games. We had special rituals, decorations, foods, and traditions. One of my favorite was when my mom would read to my sister, brother, and me Barbara Helen Berger’s The Donkey’s Dream.
Later this special Christmas story tradition continued when I went to college. I had a wonderful pastor who read us Angela Elwell Hunt’s The Tale of Three Trees: A Traditional Folktale.
There are so many great Christmas stories out there for people of all ages and interests, and I truly believe that staying in with a hot cup of cocoa and a good book is more memorable than rushing out to get the latest Tamagotchi, Tickle Me Elmo, Cabbage Patch Kid, Poggs, Wii, or whatever this generation of kids is into.
Here are my Christmas book recommendations:
For the little women in your life, there’s Louisa May Alcott’s Christmas Tales and Stories
For anyone who could use a good laugh, there’s Laurie Notaro’s An Idiot Girl’s Christmas: True Tales from the Top of the Naughty List
For someone who loves twisted tales of holidays run amuck, there’s David Sedaris’ Holidays on Ice
For anyone who loves a classic, there’s Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol
For the nostalgic, there’s Dylan Thomas’ A Child’s Christmas in Wales
For those who love the South, there’s Truman Capote’s Christmas Memory
There are too many great children’s Christmas books to list. What are your favorite Christmas books?
Stephanie Nikolopoulos 
Everyone always talks about their favorite Christmas movies…..so glad to hear about reading books. I would love to hear some more suggestions for teens.
Movies, books … I LOVE ALL THINGS CHRISTMAS — And of course the top of my list is always The Night Before Christmas. … We would read that each year …. along with the Christmas Story….. There is something so cozy and exciting about late on Christmas Eve …. when nothing more can be done… you’ve bought what you bought and baked what you’ve baked … And the world is very still … because even those who know and those of us who aren’t sure if it’s all true would like it to be. For one night only it’s as if the world is waiting for Christmas morning. Then …. If you’re lucky enough to have a child in your home … you really get to do Christmas Right!!
If you like Twas the Night Before Christmas, you may be interested in reading about the annual Christmas reading of it at the Church of the Intercession in New York:
http://burnsidewriters.com/2011/09/05/church-hopping-live-church-of-the-intercession/