I know I’m not alone in this, but I love Christmas. I always have. And as an avid reader, I also love discovering Christmas-related stories to read during the holiday season. So I decided to share 5 of my favorite Christmas stories with you. Now, often on these sorts of lists, folks immediately go with things like A Christmas Carol or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as beloved stories to read around Christmas time. And they’re not wrong. I love those books too, but I made a deliberate decision to not include any classics or extremely well-known works in this list. No Dickens or O. Henry or Hans Christian Andersen today.
#5 - The Christmas Tree by Julie Salamon
118 pages
This is a character-driven, medium-paced story with strong character development. It’s emotional, hopeful, inspiring, and reflective. It's a very sweet Christmas story with some heart-tugging moments. It’s about the chief gardener of the Rockefeller Center in New York City. One of his main duties is to secure the huge tree that will be displayed in Rockefeller Center and is the focal point of the annual lighting event there. One year, on his hunt for the perfect tree, he meets a nun at a convent who changes the way he looks at the holiday.
There are beautiful, full-color illustrations by Jill Weber sprinkled throughout the book. It is a delight to read. I just found it this year, and I really had fun just sitting down in the evenings and reading it aloud. It's a delight.
One of my favorite lines: “I had always been a happy child. How could I not have been with a father who used to greet every morning by peering out the window and asking: ‘What lies out there for us today?’ We were almost never disappointed. We always found something I had never seen before, something new and wonderful.”
#4 - The Christmas Sweater by Glenn Beck
284 pages
Now, I know that name can be divisive, but don't let that stop you. This book is not political in any way. It's just a great holiday story. This is a character-driven, medium-paced story with strong character development and loveable but flawed characters. It’s semi-autobiographical, and it is emotional, mysterious, and even downright sad in places. It is about 12-year-old Eddie, who is growing up the child of a poor single mother, and the wishes and desires he has for Christmas, just like every other kid, but which seem to go unfulfilled. It’s heartwrenching at times, but also heartwarming, and it does have a bit of a supernatural angle that I really liked.
The design and layout of this book is top-tier. From festive borders on the pages to red ink highlights to cozy illustrations at the start of each chapter by Paul Nunn, it’s simply a beautiful little book and a complete joy to read. I've read it multiple times.
One of my favorite lines: “...no one has ever been lost to the storm, just lost in it. What most people don’t realize is that you don’t have to fight the storm, Eddie, you just have to stop feeding it—stop giving it power over you.”
#3 - The Shepherds’ Prayer by Richard M. Barry
127 pages
This is an inspiring, reflective, medium-paced book. It has a mix of character and plot focus, and our main character is very likable. It's an interesting look at the events surrounding the birth of Christ in Bethlehem from a different perspective. It is a really good biblical fiction narrative where the author takes the story of the shepherds who are there at Jesus's birth and intertwines that with the story of an orphan who is trying to find out who he is, in more ways than one. And I'm not going to spoil it, but who this guy turns out to be is really neat; he becomes a major figure later on in the New Testament. It is an amazing story, and it's a very easy read.
It’s also a well-designed book with nice gold ink accents throughout. Really well done.
One of my favorite lines: “What you saw that night in the stable in Bethlehem was the unfolding of God’s plan to reconcile men to himself. All will come to its fulfillment in God’s perfect timing.”
NOTE: The author has made the audiobook and audio dramatization versions of this book available to stream on SoundCloud.
#2 - Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
177 pages
Now, this one might be one that is a little bit more well-known because there was a film adaptation of this book several years back. But this book is funny, it's light-hearted, and it's medium-paced. It's a mix of character and plot. This is a delightful and funny read. It's got characters you love and ones you love to hate. Everyone has, or knows someone who has, neighbors like those of the Kranks, the family in this story, and I could absolutely sympathize with Luther Krank's annoyance with the busybodies in his neighborhood. There is humor, heart, and holiday fun in this novella, and it's great to revisit this every few years. I think I've read it three or four times now.
Content Note: There is some minor language and mentions of a company Christmas party that got a little out of hand, but there is nothing explicit.
One of my favorite lines: “The catch is simple. We don’t do Christmas. We save the money, spend it on ourselves for once. Not a dime on food we won’t eat or clothes we won’t wear or gifts no one needs. Not one red cent. It’s a boycott, Nora, a complete boycott of Christmas.”
#1 - The Immortal Nicholas by Glenn Beck
336 pages
This one is a little bit longer, so it might technically be novel length, but it moves very quickly. It is also a pretty easy read. It is adventurous, emotional, inspiring, and it really focuses on the characters. There is a lot of strong character development. The characters are lovable, and our main character's flaws are a main focus here. I absolutely love this book. It is such a fantastic story! One of the best biblical fiction books I've ever read. It’s actually a blend of historical and biblical fiction because it combines the Christmas story from scripture with the story of the real St Nicholas. I don’t want to say too much more for fear of spoiling anything, but it is truly a beautiful story that is at times heartbreaking, but also has some simply wonderful, moving moments as well. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
While not as decorative as some of the others on this list, it does have deckle-edge pages that offer a nice look, and the red foil text on the dust jacket is a nice touch, too.
One of my favorite lines: “Well,” Nicholas said seriously, “I think that all good gifts come ultimately from God. It wouldn’t do for the messenger to take credit for his master’s work.”
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