THE TRUE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS

Alexander offers a day-by-day look at popular American Christmas traditions.

The author, an actor, TV personality, and self-described lover of Christmas, here provides readers with a series of reflections on some of the season’s most familiar rituals. She relates her thoughts on such things as Christmas trees, manger Crèche scenes, wreaths, and the Christmas carol “Silent Night”—one subject for each day of the month of December, leading up to and including Christmas Day. About Charles Dickens’ ever-popular A Christmas Carol, she writes, “We can strive to live out everything the Christmas season offers, bless others with the spirit of gratitude and generosity, and fully dive into Christmas, as Ebenezer Scrooge did one life-changing Christmas morning.” Accompanying these observations are dozens of bright, colorful photos of instantly recognizable holiday staples like happy children, snowy small town Main Street shops, and stills from various productions of The Nutcracker (in addition to smiling shots of the author herself). Alexander’s project culminates on Christmas Day, about which she makes the somewhat silly declaration that “When we dig deep, we see that the Christmas season is rich in spiritual significance.” This emphasis on the spiritual is consistent throughout the text, as when the author notes that the fruit baskets that are so popular as gifts during the season “remind us of God’s abundance and blessings.” Some readers may be disappointed by the superficiality of such platitudes, as the author seldom delves past the surface of any of her topics; readers curious about, for instance, the actual publication of A Christmas Carol won’t find it here. Still, many fans of Christmas will find this enthusiastic celebration of the season precisely to their liking.

A wonderfully illustrated collection of thoughts about the wonders of Christmastime.