A New Holiday Favorite

This is one of the best Christmas books I have seen in stores in a long time. Where did I find it you ask? At none other than the local Wal-mart. I was toe tapping in one of the notoriously long lines, when I happened upon this Christmas classic. Granted, it looks a bit cheesy on the outside with the plastic gold ring on the cover and the crystal on the spine, but I'm a sucker for Christmas books and I dug deeper. I am glad I did. It is the classic story, "The Night Before Christmas". My gripe about most Christmas books is the illustrations, they never can depict Santa Claus like I picture him in my head. Not so in this book, the illustrations are eye candy. Each page has extra little tidbits. For instance, page one: there is a fold out naughty and nice list, a little slit with a removable folded fact sheet about Santa, a card that opens with a letter from Virginia to the editor asking "Is there a Santa Claus?", the editor's answer from the newspaper. and that is just page one! Each page has a part of the original story, and then something extra. A envelope with a letter to read, a recipe for Santa's favorite cookies, fun Christmas activity ideas, historical facts about Christmas all over the world, answers to how Santa could possibly reach each child in one night, or where he gets his flying reindeer, real websites that follow Santa sightings on Christmas eve, Santa humor (jokes), even Santa's passport. My kids absolutely died over this book. Their ages range from 3-12, and all of them just pour over it. Of course, if you have very small children, you would want to put it up high, as it also has one page that pops out. This book was a little on the pricey side, I paid 17.96 for it, but I did find it cheaper online at Barnes and Noble. I knew all that time in Wal-mart would pay off. Happy Reading!