Christmas Short Stories Anthology

The last man on Earth is depressed and the robots charged with his care are at a loss as to how to shake him out of it. They concoct an elaborate scheme to have Christmas in May. After all, at the end of history, who cares if the dates are a little off? This story was a Hugo Award finalist in 2004.

Born on Christmas Day, Gander the Elf wants to work in Santa's Workshop. But, he breaks toys, spills paint everywhere, and makes a mess of the glue among other things. Isn't there any job that he can do without being so clumsy?

The stories about Santa's helpers! Sammy and Tammy (Santa's special Christmas elves) have the toughest job in all the North Pole, besides Santa's job of course. They are Santa's executive helper elves. When children ask for special gifts that can't be made by Santa or the elves, it's their job to find a way to make their wish come true!

Fire helt nye julefortellinger og tre klassikere i denne nyinnspillingen fra Grieg Audio. Fortalt med varme og humor som gir den rette julestemningen for hele familien.

Una colección de leyendas navideñas para confortar el alma. Si usted siente lo mismo que yo, entonces ama la época navideña: el ambiente festivo, el árbol decorado, los obsequios, la cena, los villancicos. Las personas se comportan como niños. Hay encuentros familiares y reuniones con los amigos.

Very much in the style of L. Frank Baum ( The Wizard of Oz), this story shows that Harry Potter was not the first remarkably popular world hit in junior literature. A Kidnapped Santa Claus, a fun fantasy, is actually a continuation of the first novel Baum wrote in this vein, The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus. In it, he charts his hero's life from a foundling in the forest to becoming all children's favorite uncle. This story, though, has the advantage of brevity.

The following tale is one of Christmas. Santiago has lived for years far away from his birth homeland. He knew what he was called to do. He was determined to accomplish his undertaking, no matter who it was that stood in his way. In the end, his task was completed, and he could rest easily as he returned into his long-departed mother's arms...and the home that he had been gone from for so many years. Find out what Santiago came to the tropics to do, what his obstacles were, and how his saga related to Christmas.

Out on the prairie, the Joseph family is all astir with concealing their Christmas gifts for one another. But will Santa come this year? After all, the crops had failed this summer and they were on short commons. When their town neighbors, the Ralstons ask to take refuge overnight at the Joseph's on Christmas Eve, they make a shakedown bed in front of the fire. But what will become of the big bundle of gifts they carried in with them?

Siblings Alexina and Stephen are down on their luck this year and resign themselves to not having a Christmas dinner. But when their wealthy, gourmand uncle James invites himself to their house for Christmas, the pair scramble to lay out a sumptuous feast, including his favorite, Mince pie. But 10 minutes before the turkey is done, an unforeseeable disaster occurs that threatens to ruin everything.

Few winter stories are more affecting than Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Written in 1848, and strictly speaking a New Year's Eve story, it showed so clearly then, as it does now, that the Christmas holidays do not represent fireside, food, and presents for all. This story never fails to move, yet it somehow avoids serious sentimentality.

Tempers run high, and patience stretches thin as personalities clash over the current year's Christmas pageant. A new director, a conflicted pastor, and a star who can't remember her lines all conspire to make a successful production more difficult, until an unexpected participant offers a solution that showcases for all those involved the true meaning of Christmas.

"A New Way to Spend Christmas" describes a Christmas visit to Randall's Island in the East River, where orphaned and sick children are looked after. A charitable woman brings gifts and spreads "sunshine in that shady place" to the unfortunate children who live there.

In "A Hospital Christmas" a Civil War-era hospital is the setting for a Christmas story about caring for others, thinking positively, and how sharing can make Christmas meaningful for those who have little.

Left to rot in the king's jail, and nearly forgotten, Captain Rob and his crew seize an offer to deliver Yuletide cargo to the Town of Dryden by Christmas Eve, in exchange for their release. But to reach their destination in time, earn the king's pardon, and ensure their freedom, they will have to chart a course straight through pirate-infested waters - a fool's errand while sailing under the king's colors.

It's a typical Christmas Eve. All except for the hot weather. And the head.

If Beth can't figure out a way to seduce her love's picky appetite, she fears her relationship is toast-burnt. She cooks up a plan only to have it boil over. What's a terrible cook to do? Can Beth brave a winter storm in search of a Christmas dish to save her relationship - or will the holidays be a distasteful disaster?

In 'Rumpole and the Boy', Rumpole has recently concluded a blackmail case when he finds himself babysitting a small boy. Edmund turns out to have a keen interest in criminal cases and he throws some unexpected light on the case Rumpole has just tried. Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

'Rumpole and the Old Familiar Faces' finds the claret-loving barrister spending Christmas in chilly Coldsands, staying with an old school friend of Hilda. When he is introduced to the new owner of the Old Manor House, he is surprised to realize that they've met before in more unsavoury circumstances. And Donald Compton's is by no means the only familiar face Rumpole will encounter during this particular festive period.

In 'Rumpole and the Millennium Bug', the loveable barrister is regretting the advent of the 21st century, and the arrival of a new, computer-literate clerk. But as Christmas approaches, can Bernard 'the Millennium Bug' prove to Rumpole that technology can be useful after all? Bill Wallis reads this special seasonal story starring Horace Rumpole, scourge of all QCs and friend of the criminal classes.

After Joel splashes mud from his utility truck on a pretty woman who works at the mall, he wonders how he can ever make it up to her. Holli Segal can't wait for her first big break to design the Christmas display window for Schroder Toys. But when a circuit breaker blows, she's sunk. Will Joel be able to light up Holli's Christmas in more ways than one