Everything Christmas

by David Bordon and Tom Winters

      The first surprise upon getting this book was its small compact size. At 7.4 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches, it is the perfect size for bedside reading, to tuck in a purse, or to take along to read during your rapid transit commute. Authors Bordon and Winters are experienced at packaging wonderful books; their titles include 101 Things you Should Do Before Going to Heaven.

This book gives us a bit of everything, and a lot of ideas. From great Christmas quotes to recipes to charming Christmas stories, this book provides some fantastic reading. The first quote in the book expresses what so many of us feel – “I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.” (Harlan Miller.) This book is indeed a potpourri of Christmas. It is divided up so as to be easily shared; in daily chapters, it can be used as an Advent calendar with your family, counting down the days of Advent until Christmas Day arrives, beginning with December First.

Offering us a dab of everything Christmas – poetry, history of different elements of the holiday, craft ideas, recipes, the words of a favorite Christmas Carol, and even complete menus from around the world.

It is the perfect gift for a teacher or a church group – but will be equally at home in your family bookcase. Are these recipes, poems and ideas available elsewhere? Of course. Yet the charm and joy of this book was not only in its compactness, but in its conciseness It is a joy to be able to turn to one book for the words to Silent Night, as well as a complete authentic Greek Christmas dinner. Christmas gift ideas abound, and the book encourages family togetherness. Baking together, reading together, and sharing together the meaning and the spirit of Christmas.

Admittedly, it is focused on the Christian aspect of the holiday season; there is no real mention or recognition of other religious beliefs here. However, it is marketed to a niche readership, and as such, does a superb job of presenting Christmas, both the old and new. The historical elements are carefully presented – and well researched. It is not offered as, nor meant to be, a deep philosophical treatise, but a way of sharing Christmas and Christian beliefs to family and friends. Taken as the authors intended, it is a great way to have both a reference guide and a family guide to Christmas.

I can’t wait to try the Christmas Breakfast Casserole, or to share the Scented Applesauce-Cinnamon Ornaments with my grandsons. The Index is superb – divided into “Christmas Crafts and Decorations,” “Christmas Dinners” (from around the world) “Christmas Gifts,” “Christmas Memories, Letters and reflections,” “Christmas Poems” and much more. It is a book you can sit down and read from cover to cover, in one sitting, and/or read day by day, absorbing the beauty and message of Christmas.

As Bob Hope is quoted as saying in the book, on page 160,

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”

Enjoy!