One of the best things about winter is curling up with a blanket and cup of hot chocolate while reading. These novels are the perfect stories to get you in the spirit of Christmas. From authors like Michael McLean and Richard Paul Evans, you won't want to miss these 10 sweet holiday stories.
Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but this year it is going to be difficult. Money is tight, and wartime rationing is taking its toll as well. Harder still, her oldest son, Glen, is on the front lines of the battle in Europe.
Glen Hayes wants nothing more than to be home for Christmas. He holds a sprig of lavender in his pocket to remind him of his mother. The memory of home may be the only thing keeping him alive and sane during the horrors of war.
Dennis Hayes is 16 and longs to see his older brother again. He also longs to have a relationship with his father, but most important, Dennis is determined to buy something special for his mother this Christmas—the one gift he feels certain she deserves.
So many families have had their hopes dashed in World War II. Will the Hayes family make it through?
Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me. . .
Her reporter's intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.
Newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the remarkable secret behind the “Christmas Jars”--glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously left for people in need. But along the way, Hope discovers much more than the origin of the jars. When some unexpected news sets off a chain reaction of kindness, Hope's greatest Christmas Eve wish comes true.
Santa Claus has been kidnapped!
Behind the plot are an evil queen, a wicked stepmother, a sorceress, a beanstalk giant, and, of course, the mischievous Rumpelstiltskin. They have a plan that will erase the term "Happily Ever After" from our storybooks forever.
But it's nearly Christmas Eve, and time is running out. Can Santa and the fairy-tale heroes save the day and bring Christmas to all the children of the world? Will anyone have a "Happily Ever After" again?
Marva Ferguson has a very personal Christmas tradition that happens every December 26. As an aging widow, the tradition means more to her now than it ever has.
Her newest neighbor, 9-year-old Charlee, loves Christmas too. But her family has fallen on hard times and things get worse when Charlee becomes critically ill.
Then, on December 12, Charlee makes a wonderful discovery. A mysterious note is delivered that promises 12 days of gifts and stories that will reveal the truth behind the beloved Christmas carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." As the days go by, the gifts hint at a possible lost lyric. Was there once a 13th day of Christmas? And if so, could its magic change—or save—a life?
At 32 Kimberly Rossetti, a finance officer at a Lexus car dealership, has had her heart broken more times than she wants to remember. After two failed engagements and a divorce, and now again alone with no prospects, she hardly seems the type to dream of being a published romance author. Dreading another holiday alone, she signs up for The Mistletoe Retreat, a nine-day writing retreat in Burlington, VT. Deep inside Kimberly knows she’s at a junction in her life and it’s time to either fulfill her dream or let it go. The other reason she decides to attend the conference is because famed romance writer, H.T. Cowell, once the best-selling romance writer in America and the author whose books instilled in her the desire to be a writer, will be speaking in public for the first time in more than a decade.
In one of her breakout sessions Kimberly meets another aspiring writer, and one of the few men at the conference, Zeke, an intelligent man with a wry wit who seems as interested in Kimberly as he is in the retreat. As Kimberly begins to open up to him about her stories and dreams, she inadvertently reveals her own troubled past. As Zeke helps her to discover why her books fail to live up to their potential she begins to wonder if he’s really talking more about her life than her literature. But as she grows closer to him, she realizes that Zeke has his own darkness, a past he’s unwilling to talk about.
In celebration of the anniversary of the birth of Charles Dickens, purchase together for the first time Jacob T. Marley and A Christmas Carol.
Just over 160 years ago, Dickens wrote his A Christmas Carol, and the story of Ebenezer Scrooge quickly became a beloved Christmas classic. Now that tradition has grown. Written in a voice delightfully reminiscent of Dickens, R. William Bennett's Jacob T. Marley has refocused the spotlight on Scrooge's miserly business partner. Why was Ebenezer given the chance to redeem himself and Jacob was not? Or was he? This masterful story is sure to become another Christmas favorite.
John Weightman wanted the best of everything. He surrounded himself with beauty and riches and was very careful with how he spent his money. “No pennies in beggars’ hats,” he liked to say. Until one night he dreamed that he died . . .
Finding himself with a group of travelers dressed in white, John joined them on their journey to the Celestial City, where each individual is rewarded with a mansion based on "treasures set aside." Thinking that his mansion will be the grandest, John quickly learns what it truly means to lay up treasures in heaven.
In The Christmas Shoes, young Nathan Andrews lost his mother to cancer, and now his deepest wish is to become a doctor. When a stranger named Robert gave him the money to buy his mother a pair of shoes for her last Christmas, both Robert and Nathan learned the deepest lessons of love and giving. Now a medical student in his third year, Nathan realizes there are still things to be learned about faith, blessings, and sacrifice. As it turns out, they are some lessons he will learn from Meghan Sullivan-—a young woman who has not let a heart defect keep her from becoming a champion runner. They are also some lessons he will learn from a courageous young boy named Charlie. Together, they will help guide Nathan through the darkest period in his life. The Christmas Blessing is an inspiring story about hope in the darkest places, and love as the greatest gift of all.
Thirteen-time #1 national bestselling author Glenn Beck realized years ago that somewhere along the way, his four children had become more focused on Santa than the meaning of Christmas. No matter how he tried, he could not redirect their attention away from presents and elves back to the manger.
Glenn didn't want to be the Grinch who spoiled the magic of Kris Kringle, so he had to find a unique way to turn his kids back toward the true meaning of Christmas. He decided the best place to start was by first turning Santa himself back toward Christ.
That was when one of America’s best storytellers began to craft a tale that would change everything his kids thought they knew about Santa—the incredible story he went on to tell them that Christmas Eve spans over 1,000 years and explains the meaning behind the immortality and generosity of the man named Claus.
Gwen Anderton is looking forward to a peaceful Christmas with her husband Edward in their beautiful home in Wales. Her bed and breakfast, Haven is usually closed for the holidays, but Gwen makes an exception when her openly hostile stepson plans a visit. Additional guests, she hopes, will make things bearable.
Justin Michaelson is delighted to return to Haven, and to bring his quirky and feisty fiancée Myrtle, but his doubts over whether he should marry her are exacerbated when she takes exception to Gwen’s LDS faith.
Fading Hollywood star Jacy Grayson is filming a movie in the rugged Welsh mountains. Desperately clinging to her former fame and glory, she almost fails to recognize the love of the man who has been with her through good times and bad.
Also among the visitors are Alan and Judy Fuller, who are trying to escape the seasonal reminders of their greatest sorrow—their inability to have children. As always, Gwen longs to help, but their heartache is one she shares.
In this atmosphere of uncertainty, sparks fly as the guests are trapped at Haven by the snow. It takes all the magic of Christmas and the faith and love of their remarkable hostess to restore the light and joy the guests long for, even as she comes to realize this Christmas at Haven may be her last.
Lead image via iStock.
