Christmas at the New Yorker

• RC 57538
  Anthology of holiday writing featured in the New Yorker magazine from 1925 to 2002. Seasonal poetry and prose highlight themes like the spirit of giving, family, Santa Claus, and Christmas carols. Contributing authors include James Thurber, H.L. Mencken, Alice Munro, E.B. White, and foreword author John Updike. 2003.

Ideals: Christmas issue

• RC 31852
  Special issue of "Ideals" magazine. Includes a selection of nostalgic, old-fashioned poems and short stories, as well as crafts and recipes. All of the selections, many of which are inspirational, are related to Christmas.

Journey into Christmas and other stories

• RC 44446
  Bess Streeter Aldrich.
  A dozen short stories that embody the traditional warmth and sentimentality of the Christmas season. In addition to the title story, includes "The Drum Goes Dead," "The Man Who Caught the Weather," and recollections of an Iowa childhood in "I Remember."

The Christmas train

• RC 55045
  David Baldacci.
  Journalist Tom Langdon takes a cross-country train from the East Coast to Los Angeles to spend Christmas with his girlfriend. On the trip he meets a host of zany characters, including one who happens to be his former lover. Sparks fly until Tom's girlfriend shows up in Chicago. Bestseller. 2002.

Once upon a Christmas : a collection

• RC 27990
  Pearl S. Buck.
  A lifetime of Christmas reminiscences along with a collection of the author's own stories reflect the joy and spirit of the holiday. Mrs. Buck's memories are first of festivals in China and later of the traditional American celebrations of snow-covered Vermont and Pennsylvania.

Tidings of comfort and joy

• RC 48425
  T. Davis Bunn.
  It was supposed to be a wonderful Christmas in Hawaii for fourteen-year-old Marissa and her family. But she has come down with a mysterious illness and must spend the holiday with Gran. As they come to terms with the change in their plans, Gran tells Marissa about a Christmas many years before.

Seven stories of Christmas love

• RC 27829
  Leo Buscaglia
  Author shares seven holiday episodes from his life and reminds us that Christmas can last more than one day. Peace, joy, and goodwill are not seasonal; they are life-sustaining, life-enhancing, hopeful words that should be spoken, sung, and practiced year-round.

Christmas in Plains: memories

• RC 53307
  Jimmy Carter.
  Carter, who served as the thirty-ninth president of the United States, reminisces about family Christmases over the years, beginning with his childhood on a Georgia farm, through his years in the U.S. Navy, the Georgia governor’s mansion, the White House, and then back to Plains. Bestseller. 2001.

Christmas: traditions, celebrations and food across Europe

• RC 55984
  Stella Ross Collins
  Discusses the observance of Christmas in more than forty European countries. Also covers Advent, Christmas Eve, Boxing Day, Epiphany, and New Year’s traditions. Provides information on decorating for the season and offers recipes from the various cultures. 1999.

Miracle on 34th Street

• RC 12986
  Valentine Davies
  Humorous twentieth-century Christmas story about an old man who says he is Santa Claus. The reindeer in the zoo eat out of his hand and the children who come to Macy's are convinced he is Santa. His sanity is questioned and the case goes to court.

A Christmas carol 

• RC 43546
  Charles Dickens
  Classic nineteenth-century Christmas story set in England describes the conversion of grasping old miser Ebenezer Scrooge when he is visited by ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.

Christmas observed: a literary selection

• RC 18830
  Owen Dudley Edwards, editor
  A small treasury of poetry, meditations, essays, mysteries, stories, and humorous sketches to celebrate the season. Well-known authors Stevenson, Doyle, Wodehouse, and Milton rub shoulders with less-celebrated writers.

The Christmas box 

• RC 43556
  Richard Paul Evans
  Richard and Keri Evans and their four-year-old daughter, Jenna, are living in a cramped one-room apartment when a unique opportunity arises. MaryAnne Parkin, an elderly woman with a large home, is looking for a live-in couple who can cook and do light housekeeping. And children are welcome. As the four become a family, Richard, who is starting his own business, learns a valuable lesson from MaryAnne and her Christmas box. Bestseller.

A redbird Christmas : a novel 

• RC 58836
  Fannie Flagg.
  Terminally ill Oswald Campbell leaves Chicago to spend his last Christmas in a small Alabama town. The single women there want his attention, and an abandoned young girl who is lame needs a Christmas miracle. 2004.

The Saturday evening post Christmas book

• RC 22175
  Starkey Flythe, Jr., editor
  A holiday feast of stories, carols, poems, and recipes for family enjoyment. Includes excerpts from Matthew and Luke and pieces by Billy Graham, Arthur C. Clarke, Charles Dickens, Laura Ingalls Wilder, and many others.

A Literary Christmas : great contemporary Christmas stories

• RC 38274
  Lilly Golden.
  In one story, a poor child's last thread of hope snaps. Another tale reveals the tension that builds up when some families gather. The ubiquitous Christmas play includes a part for a small girl with a big voice, who happens to be Jewish. In all, twenty-seven stories explore the spirit of Christmas and what it means in cultural, psychological, secular, religious, and emotional terms. Some strong language.

A magical Christmas 

• RC 47384
  Heather Graham
  Even though she is contemplating divorce, Julie Radcliff reluctantly agrees to spend Christmas with her husband, Jon, and their three kids at a country inn in Virginia. Once there, the family finds the hosts dressed in Civil War costumes. Regaling in the peaceful environment, the couple soon regain their mutual love. Meanwhile, strange old-fashioned characters appear.

Christmas in Harmony 

• RC 60043
  Philip Gulley
  As Quaker minister Sam Gardner and other Harmony citizens prepare to celebrate Christmas, eccentric church elder Dale Hinshaw devises an unusual nativity scene involving the whole town. Despite his unconventional congregation and an argument with his wife, Sam reflects on family and the meaning of the holidays. 2002.

A cup of Christmas tea 

• RC 40835
  Tom Hegg
  Shortly before Christmas a young man receives a letter from a great-aunt asking that he stop in for a cup of Christmas tea. Although he doesn't want to replace his childhood memories of her with what she might be like now, he reluctantly accepts. For senior high and older readers.

The physics of Christmas: from the aerodynamics of reindeer to the thermodynamics of turkey

• RC 48443
  Roger Highfield
  A British scientist probes the origins of Christmas and its trappings. Discusses icons and rituals. Topics range from "who was Santa?" to a history of gift giving, to an analysis of chocolate addiction, to an explanation of snowflakes’ individuality. Speculates about future possibilities in "Christmas 2020."

Esther's gift : a Mitford Christmas story

• RC 55329
  Jan Karon
  Christmas Eve. Esther Bolick bakes special orange marmalade cakes for gifts but wonders what they really cost. When her husband calculates forty-three dollars per cake, Esther decides to shorten her list. But the words of a Christmas song change her mind. Includes recipe. Bestseller. 2002.

The Christmas book

• RC 23766
  Alice Slaikeu Lawhead
  Discusses the tensions that many people experience when they try to create a traditional or an ideal Christmas in the face of family divisions, financial problems, or the pressure of work or lack of time. The author describes how to revise one’s expectations and, whenever possible, make changes that can lead to a physically and spiritually satisfying holiday.

The Christmas basket 

• RC 56364
  Debbie Macomber
  Noelle McDowell hasn't been home for the holidays in Rose,Oregon, in ten years because she didn't want to risk running into Thom Sutton. Once she had planned to elope with him, but Thom jilted her. Now she is home, it's Christmas, and miracles do happen. 2002.

Starry, starry night : three holiday stories 

• RC 47854
  Lurlene McDaniel
  Three short stories taking place at Christmas time. In "Christmas Child" a teenager confronts the death of her newborn sister. In "Last Dance" Brenda is confused by a cancer patient's love for her. In "Kathy's Life" Ellie learns to reject high school pettiness. For senior high and older readers.

Family blessings 

• RC 59319
  Fern Michaels
  Matriarch Loretta Cisco from No Place like Home (RC 55943) loses her house in a tornado. While the townspeople help her rebuild, she learns her triplet grandchildren--all newlyweds--have run into marital difficulties. The family members rally around one another to try to restore togetherness in time for Christmas. 2004.

A New Christmas treasury

• RC 34232
  Jack Newcombe, editor
  Eighty-seven old-fashioned and contemporary poems, stories, and essays that celebrate the joys of the Christmas season. In addition to many traditional tales such as Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Fir Tree," O. Henry’s "Gifts of the Magi," and Clement C. Moore’s "A Visit from Saint Nicholas," there are stories by Cleveland Amory, Willa Cather, Eugene Field, Arthur C. Clarke, Thomas Hardy, George Plimpton, and Queen Victoria.

Winter in Thrush Green 

• RC 30166
  Miss Read
  The Christmas season in an English village is captured in this novel about the lives of the town's inhabitants. Plans for a suitable memorial to a respected citizen, weddings, births, and a robbery take place amid Christmas preparations.

Where did Christmas come from?

• RC 44006
  Al Remson.
  Remson looks at various Christmas traditions such as trees, yule logs, hanging stockings, caroling, Christmas dinners, and gift giving, and explains how they began.

The gift 

• RC 59472
  Nora Roberts
  Holiday stories of love and romance. In Home for Christmas a young man returns to his hometown after a ten-year absence. In All I Want for Christmas twin boys ask Santa for a mom. Includes three holiday recipes. Some descriptions of sex and some strong language. 1986.

Historical Christmas stories 1990 

• RC 33997
  Nora Roberts, Patricia Potter and Ruth Langan.
  Roberts reintroduces the MacGregor family, when a young widow falls for wounded minuteman Ian MacGregor. Another story explores the conflicting emotions of relatives and sweethearts divided by the Civil War. Lastly, a rancher's daughter and a former town troublemaker are reunited. Some descriptions of sex.

A child's Christmas 

• RC 50739
  Eva Rutland
  Eric Archer, ten, attends boarding school because his father is too busy to care for him. Eric's uncle, who lives nearby, is supposed to keep an eye on him but seems to forget--until the school counselor calls. Before long, Eric is at the center of an expanding circle of love and friendship. 1997.

The Christmas tree

• RC 43548
  Julie Salamon
  Inspired by the New Jersey nuns who in 1995 donated a large Norway spruce to Rockefeller Center for its official Christmas tree. The Center's chief gardener tells this tale of his yearly search for the perfect Christmas tree and of what happens when the one he wants is the best friend of an elderly nun. Bestseller.

The Christmas wish 

• RC 48102
  Richard Siddoway
  Will Martin has returned to his childhood home during the holidays to settle his grandfather's estate. When Will asks his grandmother her Christmas wish, she shows him her husband's journals, which include notes of a yearly visit to Lillian. Will's efforts to identify Lillian result in a surprising discovery.

The frugal gourmet celebrates Christmas

• RC 34746
  Jeff Smith
  More than just a cookbook, this collection offers a celebration of Christmas--and for good measure Smith adds stories and recipes for Chanukah and dishes for some European Christmas Eve feasts. As he tells the Christmas story, Smith provides foods appropriate for members of the manger scene--milk and honey for Jesus, honey cake for the angels, and lamb meatballs for the three wise men. Holiday recipes follow.

The Christmas blessing

• RC 58707
  Donna VanLiere
  In this sequel to The Christmas Shoes (RC 58657), Nathan is in his third year of medical school but questions his ability to be a doctor. He also realizes he still has much to learn about life, faith, and blessings. And he will learn from heart patient Meghan Sullivan. 2003.

The Christmas shoes 

• RC 58657
  Donna VanLiere
  Robert Layton has become focused on material things, and his marriage is in jeopardy. But when on Christmas Eve 1985 he crosses paths with a young boy whose mother is dying, the impact has a positive effect on both families for years to come. 2001.

Tidings 

• RC 28186
  William Wharton
  Christmas Eve heartwarmer built around the celebration of the holiday. Will and Loretta, both Americans, live in Paris, where Will is a philosophy professor. They eagerly anticipate spending Christmas with their four children in a 300-year-old mill that serves as their spartan retreat. Beneath the surface of this idyllic reunion, however, lies the mess and muddle of human relationships. Explicit descriptions of sex.

A Foxfire Christmas

• RC 59352
  Eliot Wigginton, editor
  Appalachian high school students of the Foxfire learning tradition assemble holiday memories from the mountains of northeast Georgia. Based on interviews with neighbors and family members. Includes instructions for recreating simple ornaments, gifts and toys, and recipes and menus. 1996 preface. 1989.