We’ve all been there: It’s cold, snowy, and miserable outside—and you’re not much happier inside, either. When the winter blues hit, they hit hard and fast. But not to worry! We’ve gathered a few Christmas-saving titles to help the Grinch in your life—or the Scrooge in you—get into the holiday spirit, starting with perhaps the most iconic Christmas story of all time:
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. It’s a chaotic crew, certainly, but perhaps one of the most iconic in literary history. Supernatural specters and prophetic predictions aside, the novella is best remembered for its cranky main character, Scrooge. The name has, since the character’s conception in 1843, become synonymous with holiday haters and Christmas cynics the world ‘round.
If you’re looking for a solution for the “humbug” in your life, look no further. Dickens’ didactic classic is a tale of miserable selfishness and deep greed, but also of growth and transformation. Haunted first by a chain-covered, tortured apparition and then a series of light-filled ghosts who show him the truth of his life, as well as its eventual, unceremonious end, Scrooge learns compassion and goodwill overnight.
Sure, the lesson comes at swordpoint, and Scrooge must look death in the face before even considering changing for the better (or even, you know, treating people with basic human decency), but it’s a classic for a reason. The disturbing questions it raises about the afterlife aside, no story has shown readers how to “keep Christmas well” quite like A Christmas Carol.
For more on the famously cantankerous narrator, check out our character studies of Scrooge and the bevy of ghosts that ensure his Christmas Eve is as unpleasant as Scrooge himself.
Skipping Christmas by John Grisham
As an acclaimed author of dozens of best-selling and much beloved legal thrillers, John Grisham might not be the first name that comes to mind when considering the best seasonal novels. However, his 2001 work, Skipping Christmas, fits the bill exactly (even if it was—and remains—an unconventional choice for an author such as Grisham).
Luther Krank, one-half of a middle-aged Floridian couple known for their extravagant annual Christmas bash, has had enough. His daughter, Blair, has left home and joined the Peace Corps, and without her, the demands of the holiday season just feel like too much. Though his decision to cancel their annual party makes waves throughout the neighborhood, Luther stands firm: He and Nora, his wife, will be jetting off on a Christmas cruise, leaving the Christmas chores behind.
That is until Blair calls on Christmas Eve. Her impromptu promise to be home for the party propels Luther into panic-stricken preparations, throwing together a party of outlandish proportions on a day’s notice. And, despite his complaints, it wasn’t even hard—it was almost sort of fun. Skipping Christmas is Grisham at his most sentimental; even though there’s no legal drama in sight, it’s more than worth the read.
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote
Buddy, now an adult, reflects on the Christmas traditions of his youth. He spends the story lingering in the bittersweet memories of the years he spent celebrating the holiday with his sixty-year-old cousin and her dog, Queenie. Their ritual was simple: Forage for wild pecans, buy a bottle of whiskey from Mr. Haha Jones, bake fruitcake upon fruitcake for neighbors and famous politicians alike (though those were never really delivered to their intended recipients), then share the remnants of the leftover whiskey.
Tipsily delivering homemade fruitcake to their neighbors, Buddy and his kooky, perpetually whimsical cousin make for an amusing scene. Yet, readers know that the scene, which the now-grown-up Buddy recalls with such tragic fondness, is not made to last.
Through the beauty and tragedy of seven-year-old Buddy’s unknowing final Christmas with his cousin, Capote illustrates the fleeting sweetness of the holiday traditions we take for granted. They are as magical as they are brief and should be savored before they are, inevitably, lost to time. It’s a compelling message that plays well with Grisham’s—our traditions are vitally important, even when we can’t seem to see it just then.
A Child’s Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas
This last suggestion—an extended work of prose published in 1954—offers a deceptively simple glance at the holidays as experienced by a young Welsh boy, likely modeled after Thomas himself. In this collection of deeply sensory and decidedly silly Christmas-time stories, Thomas reminds readers of the whimsy and magic that so imbues the season. Through the mouth of a child, he demands that we remember the joy of the holidays, replacing last-minute shopping stress with memories of warmth and comfort.
Despite the antics of the narrator and his neighbors—one who, upon nearly setting his house alight, merely fans the smoke billowing out of his home with a passive hand—Thomas is careful to stay true to Christmas. The narrative spirals out from this central holiday, following marrying winter mischief, neighborly spats, and holiday cheer in a multi-faceted and remarkably true portrait of Christmas at its finest: through the eyes of one who may still see its magic.
Whether you’re listening to Mariah Carey while stringing lights atop a tree or just can’t find the Christmas spirit this year, we recommend diving into one of these titles, if only to remind you what the season is really about!