"CANDY CANES AND CHRISTMASTIME: Enhancing the Holidays in the Real World," compiled by Linda Hoffman Kimball, $12.99, 176 pages (nf)
Aimed at women who stress out about Christmas, “Candy Canes and Christmastime” is similar to the “Chicken Soup for the Soul" books. A variety of women who are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints tell personal stories about their Christmas traditions and how they deal with holiday demands. Most of the authors conclude that family, love and fun triumph over having a “perfect” Christmas.
Some of the stories, such as "Christmas Cards: Weltschmerz, Sehnsucht, Heimweh," are from past entries on blogs, and all of the stories are blog-entry length. Utah author Linda Hoffman Kimball saves readers from wading through insipid clickbait articles and curates the best of the bloggernacle as well as new stories.
While the brevity ensures that stories do not become tiresome, some of them feel disorganized or shallow. One author explains that since her family worked in retail, they started their Christmas celebrations on Thanksgiving. Then she discusses an ornament bought for a sibling who died at birth. It’s personal and touching, but decorating for Christmas on Thanksgiving seems unrelated to remembering a child who died at birth.
Despite its pithiness, the collection is an enjoyable reminder that the most important ingredients of Christmas celebrations are family, love and gratitude for Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. The stories contain no sex, violence, or swearing, but there is some discussion of who really does all of Santa’s work.
Rachel Helps is a grad school dropout with a bachelor's in psychology. Her gaming articles are online at thepretentiousgamer.blogspot.com.