A Look at Favorite Christmas/Holiday Books

Okay, so I've read them lots of times before.

In fact, every Christmas.

They still make me laugh, bring a tear to my eye, and remind me of what the season is really all about.

As a middle school librarian, I loved reading picture books to the fifth graders each day.

They would run in, sit in the kiva, and I'd read a book before they went to look for their own books to read.

One of my all-time favorite picture books to read to the fifth graders during the Christmas/Hanukkah season is this delightful book. In our small Idaho town, there was only one family that I knew of who celebrated Hanukkah, but I wanted to expose the students to other cultures, religions, so it was fun to tell the students about Hanukkah, what it meant, and how important it was to the Jewish people, just as Christmas is important to the Christian.

I hadn't actually thought about this book for a long time, but my daughter is friends with a person who celebrates Hanukkah, so I was reminded of this delightful book.

(Kristi, it's coming soon in the mail to a mailbox near you.)

A Christmas Remembered

Time to go shopping with mom. Just for a little while, just a day or two before Christmas. At night. That was strange. We didn't usually go shopping at night.

Coming home, as we drove into the driveway of our home, where all the lights were out, we could see a strange glow through the front room window.

Could it be?

My brother and I didn't dare expect or hope...

We dashed into our front room.

Dad was sitting there nonchalantly in his reading chair. He was sitting there as if this happened every night.

He was sitting there watching.....

Was it real? Could it be so? Did we really have one of those new-fangled inventions?

Yes, Virginia, it was for real. My dad was sitting there watching our very first television set.

The perfect Christmas gift of the fifties.

Speaking of Christmas

"Hey, Oscar," I said over the phone. "We loved playing the Wii Fit at your home so much, that Grandpa and I just went out and bought one.

For me. For Christmas."

Brief pause, then this...

" You bought your own Christmas present?" The voice was incredulous. "WEIRD!"

I smiled all day long.