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Most wonderful time of the year?
REVIEWS BY ABBY PLESSER
In The Worst Noel: Hellish Holiday Tales, writers from Neal Pollack to Marian Keyes to Ann Patchett tell their tales of holiday woe. Comical, spot-on, and above all, reassuring, these stories are sure to make you thankful to have your own wacky family and strange holiday traditions. Cynthia Kaplan describes the holiday horror of hitting a deer (or a reindeer, as her young son presumes) in "Donner is Dead," while Mike Albo shares his tale of a romantic Parisian holiday with his boyfriend . . . and his boyfriend's boyfriend in "Christmas and Paris." Neal Pollack delights in baking his first Smithfield ham (despite being Jewish) with his very Southern (and very Christian) in-laws in "The Jew Who Cooked Ham for Christmas" and Stanley Bing chronicles the unexpected joy in spending the holidays alone in "'Twas the Bite Before Christmas." The stories are as different and funny as their authors, and the collection is a real holiday treat.
By Neal Pollack HarperCollins, $14.95 224 pages ISBN 0060838116
Party guest lists become even more delicate around the holidays, when you don't want to exclude anyone. But what if you simplified the guest list issue, and just invited every person on Earth? New Yorker cartoonist and all-around funnyman Bruce Eric Kaplan answers this question in his entertaining, original and witty Every Person on the Planet: An Only Somewhat Anxiety-filled Tale for the Holidays. Rosemary and Edmund are an average couple who decide to have a holiday party for friends and family. But their guest lists just keeps growing as they think of friends-of-friends and distant relatives in need of invites. Frustrated by trying to include everyone, Rosemary and Edmund decide to just invite every person on the planet. What results is a party unlike any you've ever been to, yet the universal truths remain the same: only eight of the billions of guests who attended RSVPed, no one knew if they should eat before coming or if dinner would be served, and as always, everyone ended up in the kitchen, despite a living room full of space. No matter the size of your holiday party, Kaplan's wise little book will have you laughing—and more than anything—patting yourself on the back for not inviting every person on the planet.
By Bruce Eric Kaplan Simon & Schuster, $11.95 128 pages ISBN 0743274709
For most of us, Christmas isn't Christmas without strings of bright lights adorning the houses and trees of our neighborhood blocks and city streets. No matter how tasteful or tacky, there's magic in those holiday lights. Georja Skinner thoughtfully tells the story of how this decorating tradition got started in her charming and heartwarming The Christmas House: How One Man's Dream Changed the Way We Celebrate Christmas. Skinner introduces her father, George Skinner, who was stricken with polio in his early 20s and told he would never walk again. Determined to overcome his disease, Skinner thought back to his fond memories of the Christmas season and vowed that once he regained his strength, he would make Christmas memorable for every person in his town, despite the Great Depression sweeping the nation. Thus, the Christmas House was born. Skinner and his father spent months decorating the inside and outside of their Los Angeles home with beautiful lights, artificial snow and garland, and their Christmas spectacle became a legend, attracting 80,000 people each year and receiving national media attention. The Christmas House is the story of dreams come true, triumph over adversity and the true meaning of the holiday season. To make it even more special, Skinner's book is leather bound, with lovely family photos throughout: a gift to be treasured.
By Georja Skinner New World Library, $19.95 128 pages ISBN 1577314743 Abby Plesser lives and works in New York City. She can't wait to go home for the holidays.
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The holidays are finally upon us! But is that always a good thing? As perfect as they are in theory, the holidays can be a recipe for disaster. Hectic travel schedules, forced quality time with the family and long, drawn-out meals can bring more pain than joy before the New Year. But no one really talks about these less-than-perfect holiday experiences—or do they?
And then there's the party
Lighting up the sky