When eight-year-old Charlee and ninety-year-old Marva are both diagnosed with cancer, the prospects of having a merry Christmas seem bleak. That is, until a series of letters and gifts that coincide with the 12 days of Christmas begin appearing. And the last letter--for the 13th day of Christmas--might just be the most important one of all.
Every day can be Christmas. After the unexpected death of her husband, Joanne Huist Smith had no idea how she would keep herself together and be strong for her three children - especially with the holidays approaching. The cheerfulness of the season made her feel more alone than ever, no matter how much she wanted to reach out to her children and find some way to comfort them. But thirteen days before Christmas, a poinsettia appeared on the Smiths' doorstep. The next day, another gift arrived … then another, and another. Each present was accompanied by a note with lyrics to the carol ''The Twelve Days of Christmas'' rewritten to fit the gift and and signed, ''Your true friends.'' Although Jo resisted the intrusion at first, the gifts began to work a kind of magic on her and the kids. As they puzzled over the mystery together - who were the true friends? when would the next delivery arrive? could anyone catch the gift givers in the act? - their grieving hearts began to heal. The 13th Gift is a true story about the everyday miracles that can occur during the holiday season. It is a heartwarming reminder that with love, community, and family, even the most broken of hearts can be mended.
Dr. Christopher Ringle is the last person you'd expect to find moonlighting as Santa Claus at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving. But it is there that he meets a young man named Molar Alan, who desperately needs a new perspective on the underlying value of Christmas. Dr. Ringle recruits Mo and his older brother as volunteers at a nearby children's hospital for the holiday season. At the hospital, Mo is tasked to help bring holiday cheer to the young cancer patients on the fifth floor. His biggest challenge is befriending a decidedly angry girl who is so embarrassed by her scarred appearance that she hides her face behind the safety of a paper bag. Almost in spite of himself, Mo finds that Christmas joy emanates from a source far greater than the North Pole, while the young girl learns that she is more beautiful than she had ever imagined.
Noah writes a letter home each of the twelve days he spends exploring the state of Indiana at Christmastime, as his cousin Darcy shows him everything from the world's largest Christmas tree to the Indanapolis Motor Speedway. Includes facts about Indiana.
The perfect gift this Christmas season: a generous selection of some of the greatest festive stories of all time This is a collection of the most magical, moving, chilling and surprising Christmas stories from around the world, taking us from frozen Nordic woods to glittering Paris, a New York speakeasy to an English country house, bustling Lagos to midnight mass in Rio, and even outer space. Here are classic tales from writers including Truman Capote, Shirley Jackson, Dylan Thomas, Saki and Chekhov, as well as little-known treasures such as Italo Calvino's wry sideways look at Christmas consumerism, Wolfdietrich Schnurre's story of festive ingenuity in Berlin, Selma Lagerlof's enchanted forest in Sweden, and Irène Nemerovsky's dark family portrait. Featuring santas, ghosts, trolls, unexpected guests, curmudgeons and miracles, here is Christmas as imagined by some of the greatest short story writers of all time.
Host of NBC's The Tonight Show and three-time #1 New York Times-bestselling author Jimmy Fallon returns with this sweet and spirited Christmas picture book. Just 5 more sleeps 'til Christmas! Can you believe it's here? I know that Santa's coming soon 'cause I've been good all year. Everyone who grew up celebrating Christmas remembers the excitement that built up to the most magical day of the year. But why not make the last week until Christmas more fun by counting how many sleeps until the arrival of Santa and his reindeer? Accompanied by the beautiful and energetic artwork of Rich Deas, enjoy the humor of Jimmy Fallon as he prepares readers for the most exciting week of the year in this new holiday tradition for your family—5 More Sleeps 'til Christmas.
This inspirational Christmas novella ("Publishers Weekly") and follow-up to the "New York Times"-bestselling book "Christmas Jars" continues the story about the power of giving.
Among the rows and rows of little trees growing on Brown's Christmas Tree Farm, there is one tree that is not like the others. This little spruce asks the same two questions of every creature he meets: "What is Christmas? What is a Christmas tree?" The little tree hears no response until one day he shelters a white dove from a storm. Through this friendship, the little tree learns the meaning of love, sacrifice and Christmas. Since its fi rst publication in 1990, the book has become a Christmas favourite. The new edition features a sparkly foil cover, redesigned artwork and an extended page count. A must-have for the holidays!