New York Times best seller Ever since Gabrielle Stanley Blair became a parent, she’s believed that a thoughtfully designed home is one of the greatest gifts we can give our families, and that the objects and decor we choose to surround ourselves with tell our family’s story. In this, her first book, Blair offers a room-by-room guide to keeping things sane, organized, creative, and stylish. She provides advice on getting the most out of even the smallest spaces; simple fixes that make it easy for little ones to help out around the house; ingenious storage solutions for the never-ending stream of kid stuff; rainy-day DIY projects; and much, much more.
Following the success of her nostalgic "A Christmas to Remember, " artist D. Morgan spreads more good cheer with the release of "The Gift of Father Christmas." Sentimental prose accompanies inspirational paintings, Scriptures, quotations and the story of the "real" St. Nicholas. (June)
Every December an envelope bearing a stamp from the North Pole would arrive for J.R.R. Tolkien’s children. Inside would be a letter in a strange, spidery handwriting and a beautiful colored drawing or painting. The letters were from Father Christmas. They told wonderful tales of life at the North Pole: how the reindeer got loose and scattered presents all over the place; how the accident-prone North Polar Bear climbed the North Pole and fell through the roof of Father Christmas’s house into the dining room; how he broke the Moon into four pieces and made the Man in it fall into the back garden; how there were wars with the troublesome horde of goblins who lived in the caves beneath the house, and many more. No reader, young or old, can fail to be charmed by Tolkien’s inventiveness in this classic holiday treat.
When two men dressed up as Father Christmas rob a London jewellery store and one of them ends up dead on the floor, shot by his own accomplice, it’s certainly one of the more unusual cases for Detective Inspector Helen Shepherd and her team. But as Helen begins to investigate, it turns out that the case is even more bizarre than she suspected. This is a holiday mystery novelette of 9300 words or approx. 30 print pages in the Helen Shepherd Mysteries series, but may be read as a standalone.
Its Christmas Eve. A boy and girl set out on a cold night to do a favour for a neighbour. One of the children thinks Santa can help. But the other is far too smart to be taken in by all that kids stuff......
Join Topsy and Tim on a new adventure as they meet Father Christmas in this Ladybird festive ebook. Topsy and Tim are just like you! Their adventures are the perfect stories to reassure young children as they go through similar experiences themselves. In Topsy and Tim Meet Father Christmas the family are off to the local garden centre to choose a Christmas tree, and while they are there the twins meet a very special person. Inside Santa's Grotto is none other than Father Christmas himself! Topsy and Tim promise that they have been good all year, so Father Christmas gives them both a special present to take home. A trusted and well-loved pair who can help guide parents and children through 'first experiences', Topsy and Tim's stories have been beautifully updated with contemporary artwork. Topsy & Tim remain instantly recognisable to parents while in a fresh style that will appeal to a new generation of fans. Other titles are Topsy and Tim The New Baby, Topsy and Tim Have a Birthday party, Topsy and Tim Go on an Aeroplane, Topsy and Tim Play football, Topsy and Tim Go on a train, Topsy and Tim Learn to swim, Topsy and Tim Start school, Topsy and Tim Go camping, Topsy and Tim Go to hospital, Topsy and Tim Go to the zoo, Topsy and Tim Go to the dentist, Topsy and Tim At the farm, Topsy and Tim Go to the doctor, Topsy and Tim Have itchy heads, Topsy and Tim Meet the firefighters, Topsy and Tim Meet the police, Topsy and Tim Safety First, Topsy and Tim Go for gold, Topsy and Tim Visit London
It’s the fourth Wednesday of November, and Patrick Guthrie is giving thanks. He’s giving thanks that his eight-year-old son, Braden, will finally have a procedure on his heart that will cure him of the same life-threatening condition that took Patrick’s wife several years earlier. But when Patrick suddenly loses his job teaching drama at a New York City high school, his already desperate financial situation becomes dire. Rebecca Brody, a social worker, shows up at his door with a judge’s order for him to appear before the city’s family court to determine if Patrick is financially fit, and Patrick realizes he is in danger of losing his son. Patrick knows that he must somehow make it through the holiday season to a new job waiting for him in the new year. He also knows that Ted Cake, his former father-in-law, blames Patrick so much for the death of his daughter that he, a rich and disagreeable man, is the one pushing the city to call the custody hearing and give the boy over to him. Now Patrick has only three weeks before Christmas to somehow make enough money to pay his bills, present himself to the family court as a fit father, and keep Braden in his life. It’s when Patrick sees a charming beggar on the subway dressed up as a crazy alien that he gets an idea. In true Dickensian holiday spirit, Patrick makes use of his old acting skills and his love of A Christmas Carol and takes to the streets in the guise of the Ghost of Christmas Present. Making a midtown corner his performing stage, he begins to touch and change the lives of all those who come his way, including Rebecca Brody and the bitter and heartbroken Ted Cake. *** The train stopped at a station where the signs read Thirty-fourth Street. The doors opened and Patrick waited for the commuters to disembark before he got off. He walked to the stairs as the morning light from the street shone and the sounds of Broadway bounced down into the station in echoing waves. He caught sight of himself in the plastic window of the token booth, where the transit workers shook their heads at his appearance. Perhaps he had gone too far with the costume. Perhaps he had gone too far thinking he should even attempt this madness. Perhaps what was worst of all was thinking he could save the semblance of a life that he could carve for himself with Braden. Maybe Braden would be better off without him in his daily life. Maybe . . . Patrick shook off the thought as the noise of Broadway waited for him above. He drew in a breath and exhaled. “Into the breach, dear friends.” He began to climb the stairs.
Santa Claus is coming to town! No matter your religion, if you live somewhere other than the depths of the Amazon rainforest, you have heard of a jolly older gentleman named Santa Claus (although it is possible that Santa Claus has reached those sultry depths by now). Or perhaps you know him by his aliases, Saint Nicholas or Father Christmas. You may also know that Santa (he’s on first name basis with his friends) lives at the North Pole with his wife, Mrs. Claus, and countless elves who build toys year-round to deliver to good children all over the world via reindeer-pulled sleigh. (If you’ve been bad, you’ll be lucky to receive a lump of coal rather than a birch switch...) You can probably pick Santa out in a crowd: a bright red suit trimmed with white fur, impressive physical bulk (although considering all the treats and tipples he consumes, he’s practically svelte), an splendid white mustache-beard combination that strikes a nostalgic chord. But Santa’s image, cherished for years, is actually a composite of several traditions from different regions of the world. Look, we’re not saying that Santa isn’t real (what is “real,” anyway?), but he certainly did not spring fully-formed from the ice packs in the North Pole, intent on bestowing upon you the latest iPad (you have been very good this year). Santa has had quite a history and boasts quite the résumé: representing modern drink companies, living in medieval Italian cities, collecting funds for charity, and fulfilling the inventory for the wish lists of millions of children. He has been at the forefront of the so-called “War on Christmas” and served as a symbol of peace and goodwill, both domestically and overseas.
