Christmas reads..."Tis the Season!

I'm a sucker for seasonal advertising/products of all sorts. My husband says that all such advertising was created especially for me (and personalities like mine). It usually starts with the acquisition of all things pumpkin and cider and now we're on to gingerbread, cinnamon, and cocoa.

My kids make fun of me because my most commonly used phrase for food and activities is “'Tis the Season!” We soak, savor, and roll in the season.

I also love Christmas movies, books and novellas. I've already overdosed my husband on Hallmark Channel Christmas movies. He tries unsuccessfully to avoid rolling his eyes and mocking said movies that he graciously agrees to watch with me. For example, to quote my sweet and tolerant husband, it goes something like this: “Wait, are they going to get together? No way. I didn't see that coming. Oh, but first she has to realize that the guy she is with is not so great, and that she wants something more than success. But she'll make a choice to go back to her old life, but reconsider quickly...” And it goes on. Sometimes I indulge him and we mock them together. He's always on guard when I start a sentence with, “Did I ever make you watch...?” Make being the key word.

Movies will be saved for another day, but here are books I enjoy each season:

Finding Father Christmas and Engaging Father Christmas by Robin Jones Gunn—I love all books by Robin Jones Gunn and I enjoy this duo each season. A young woman's search for her father, an English village at Christmas time, a story best enjoyed with scones and a pot of tea.

A Redbird Christmas: A Novel by Fannie Flagg—I can't recall who pointed me to this read several years ago, but I enjoyed it so much I bought it. Quirky, captivating, hilarious, and heart-warming, this book features Mr. Oswald T. Campbell who upon hearing that he had only months to live, heads from Chicago to a small town “...deep in the southernmost part of Alabama.” It's fabulous, that's all I can say.

The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury—It all starts at a bookstore in Nashville--a couple ministering through books, a man losing hope, and a friendship torn apart through deception. I love this read because I believe there is magnificent beauty in an ordinary life lived for relationship. We can change the world, one interaction, one word, one moment at a time. It matters. I have also seen in my life how powerful a good book can be...for wisdom, empathy, strength, comfort, so many things.

A Wreath of Snow: A Victorian Christmas Novella by Liz Curtis Higgs—Liz Curtis Higgs does historical fiction so very well and this novella is no exception. A wounded, hurting family and a man desperately seeking forgiveness are thrown together on Christmas Eve, 1894 in Stirling, Scotland. Best enjoyed on a gray and snowy evening with a steaming pot of Scottish breakfast tea and a piece of Scottish shortbread (sneak a peak in the back of the book for a recipe).

A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry and Gary D. Chapman—No disguise here, a couple headed for divorce is given the gift of seeing their past, present, and future.

The Christmas Bride by Grace Livingston Hill—I wasn't sure when I started this book. Being an old book (published in 1934) the style is different than what I'm used to. On the other hand, only the best books survive 80 years after being published. Set in Chicago in the 1920's, Gregory Sterling is a man of character and you can't help but like him. I was smiling and laughing and yes, even crying in spite of myself.

I have also enjoyed Christmas books from the “Love Finds You...” series including Love Finds You in the City at Christmas, Love Finds You in Frost, Minnesota, and Love Finds You at Home for Christmas. The titles are such that you might be tempted to hide a copy you are reading under a pillow, but I thought they were well-written, sweet Christmas reads. If it bothers you to be able to guess what might happen, then they might irritate you. I love watching the journey characters take, and with all that we see in the news every day, I can sure use a God-honoring story with a happy ending.

Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John—If you want a FANTABULOUS read-aloud for your family this Christmas season, this is the one. Written in 1948, set in Switzerland, the author felt that her country needed a story to illustrate the power of forgiveness after the horrors of World War II. I recommend making “gingerbread bears” decorated with white icing to eat while you read this soul-stirring book.

Happy, happy reading!