The Family Christmas Story

Contains craft and recipe suggestions for family craft activities at Christmas.

A beloved, bestselling classic of humorous and nostalgic Americana—the book that inspired the equally classic Yuletide film and the live musical on Fox. The holiday film A Christmas Story, first released in 1983, has become a bona fide Christmas perennial, gaining in stature and fame with each succeeding year. Its affectionate, wacky, and wryly realistic portrayal of an American family’s typical Christmas joys and travails in small-town Depression-era Indiana has entered our imagination and our hearts with a force equal to It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street. This edition of A Christmas Story gathers together in one hilarious volume the gems of autobiographical humor that Jean Shepherd drew upon to create this enduring film. Here is young Ralphie Parker’s shocking discovery that his decoder ring is really a device to promote Ovaltine; his mother and father’s pitched battle over the fate of a lascivious leg lamp; the unleashed and unnerving savagery of Ralphie’s duel in the show with the odious bullies Scut Farkas and Grover Dill; and, most crucially, Ralphie’s unstoppable campaign to get Santa—or anyone else—to give him a Red Ryder carbine action 200-shot range model air rifle. Who cares that the whole adult world is telling him, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid”? The pieces that comprise A Christmas Story, previously published in the larger collections In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash and Wanda Hickey’s Night of Golden Memories, coalesce in a magical fashion to become an irresistible piece of Americana, quite the equal of the film in its ability to warm the heart and tickle the funny bone.

Share the true meaning of Christmas with your children this holiday season. This simple but poetic text brings to life the story of Jesus' birth in a stable in Bethlehem. First published in 1952, this Little Golden Book adaption of the Christmas story was illustrated by beloved artist Eloise Wilkin. This classic picture book retelling of the Christmas story is a perfect gift for the holidays.

Give the gift of holiday spirit with this classic picture book that celebrates how one Christmas tree brings joy to a whole forest of critters! Christmas is here and Mr. Willowby's tree has arrived. There's just one big problem: The tree is too tall for his parlor! He cuts off the top so it will fit, and soon the top of that tree is passed along again and again to bring holiday cheer to all the animals in the forest. Kids will love watching the tree move from home to home, and families will appreciate the subtle message of conservation and recycling, as the tree top spreads joy to all. This heartwarming story is the perfect way to start the yuletide season, and a warm addition to any family's festive holiday traditions.

A fun time with family celebrating Christmas in both the spiritual and physical sense. A great bedtime and Christmas read.

Five tales explore the meaning of Christmas. Included are "The King's Donkey," "The Christmas Santa Didn't Come," "The Gift," "Santa's Gift," and "Joey."

I want everyone to enjoy this book and to learn about God's grace, love, and understanding for us all. I'm showing how a family who loves and walks in God's spirit, is a family who has their ups and downs just like everyone. By being strong in the spirit of the Lord, that no matter what happens in life we can cope.