Leon Hale has a well-known gift for warmth and humor, finds the ideal subject in this personal recollection of the Christmases he has known throughout his long life. Whether Hale is scrambling to put together a new toy for his children on Christmas Eve, making an unscheduled visit to his own aging parents, or reliving his family s fraught holiday on a hardscrabble sheep farm during the Great Depression, the unique sensibility that has endeared him to generations of readers shines through every word. These are stories to savor by oneself or to read out loud to loved ones of all ages during the holiday season, when we discover again in our own memories the reasons why this time of year is so special.