top 5 Christmas stories

Continuing with the top 5 Christmas theme here are my favorite Christmas stories:

5. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
I remember our teacher reading this to us in the fourth grade and I think I have read it every year since. It is irreverent, funny, and heartwarming. And what little girl hasn't tried Vaseline on her eyelids--a classic!

4. A Time to Keep: Tasha Tudor's Book of Holidays
True, it is not a book solely about Christmas, but I associate it with the Christmas season. I actually have an autographed copy (tucked safely away at my Grandmother's house), and nothing says Christmas to me like this book.

3. The Gift of the Magi
Spare and beautiful, O'Henry captures the magic of Christmas in his amazing story of a young married couple willing to sacrifice their dearest treasures in order to give.

2. The Santa Land Diaries
David Sedaris has a biting humor that is just right for the holiday season. True to his form this story manages to be hilarious and poignant all at once.

1. John Henry Faulk's Christmas Story
I clearly remember the first time I hear this: It was early Christmas morning and Big J and I were gathering our things to drive to his parent's home to celebrate. We were in the kitchen drinking coffee when this story came on NPR. People who listen to NPR talk about "driveway moments" and this was the ultimate one for me. It was a combination of Faulk's voice and the story itself that had me sitting quietly, hardly daring to breathe lest I miss a word. At the end, I found tears running down my cheeks, I looked over at Big J who had experienced it much the same way. To me it truly isn't Christmas morning unless I hear this story about a barefooted boy and his visit from Ol' Santy Clause.