Christmas Short Stories Anthology

A stay-at-home mom, Ruth has been busy steering her family toward Christmas. All of this comes to a screeching halt, though, when she hears words she would never have thought possible coming over her phone.

Judging a chocolate-making competition for the women’s shelter’s annual fundraiser should be an easy, even pleasurable, assignment for Maise, new food critic for the Bloomingfield Daily Dispatch. Too bad just the smell of chocolate makes her stomach roil. By the time she reaches the last table, she hopes her face isn’t as green as her holiday sweater. But the tall, square-jawed man behind piles of fudge makes her want to linger, even savor the moment along with his chocolate-coffee-flavored confection.

This year, Ali and Stephen are both just trying to make it through the holidays. Stephen is fresh out of a relationship and dreading the prospect of Christmas alone. Ali, on the other hand, can't celebrate with friends or family. The most important man in her life is dying - decorating cookies and hanging tinsel aren't even on her radar. When the two meet during a chance encounter, Stephen's instant attraction to Ali spurs him into action.

Dr. Lauren Spencer is having a hard time finding the Christmas spirit, but when a terrible accident necessitates the need to try to save a woman's life, she and the members of a small community will come to learn the true meaning of the holiday spirit.

Out on the prairie, the Joseph family is all astir with concealing their Christmas gifts for one another. But will Santa come this year? After all, the crops had failed this summer and they were on short commons. When their town neighbors, the Ralstons ask to take refuge overnight at the Joseph's on Christmas Eve, they make a shakedown bed in front of the fire. But what will become of the big bundle of gifts they carried in with them?

Here are five spooky stories to listen to near the fireplace. Sit back and relax with the Shiver and Fears first Christmas short tales!

Children aren't the same as kittens, as Miss Mary Mason is reminded when she volunteers to keep two orphans in her home through Christmas. Ragged and dirty, their manners leave much to be desired. Still, Mary perseveres, not willing to return them to a system that will certainly not meet their needs.

One year after the Shattering and the great collapse, survivors in Columbus, Ohio, are barely holding things together. Then, on December 24, when all seemed lost, a new hero appears, and he is determined to protect all the children of the Earth.

Die Adventszeit hat begonnen und alle Kinder aus seiner Klasse freuen sich, nur Fritz ist traurig. Aber warum und kann ihm geholfen werden? Fräulein Glücklich ist eine Klassenlehrerin mit Leidenschaft zum Beruf. Jeder mag sie und was hat sie sich dieses Mal zum letzten Schultag überlegt?

Wenn wie ein Wunder beim Schneeschaufeln ein Kälbchen auftaucht, wenn Katz und Hund sich diesmal nichts zu Weihnachten schenken und Heiligabend statt Gans Heringssalat auf den Teller kommt... dann ist tierisch schöne Weihnachtszeit. Enthält die Geschichten: Ein Kalb fällt vom Himmel von Astrid Lindgren, Weihnachten bei Hund und Katz von Timo Parvela, Gans in Not von Sabine Ludwig. Vorgelesen von Gabriele Blum, Ursula Illert und Jens Wawrczeck, untermalt mit weihnachtlicher Musik.

Born on Christmas Day, Gander the Elf wants to work in Santa's Workshop. But, he breaks toys, spills paint everywhere, and makes a mess of the glue among other things. Isn't there any job that he can do without being so clumsy?

Ten-year-old Effie lives the life most children dream of - with every day filled with delicious treats and wonderful toys. One night she experiences a dream that will forever change the meaning of Christmas for her. In it, she meets a group of under privileged children and she is inspired to create a Christmas they will never forget.

Tradition is just another ritual, and rituals are written to be remembered. Be careful which rituals you practice, my friend, for they call out to things well hidden...to horrors best left unknown.

No one wants to celebrate Christmas this year. Not Ella McKendrick, who, on the cusp of success as a potter, is tasked with her husband's company party on too-short notice. She gives up her first pottery sale to pitch in, but the joy of the season is diminished. Not Gertie Wycliffe, Ella's mom, a new widow who is doing everything she can to avoid her first Christmas alone. No one understands the grief and terror she feels - maybe because the craziness of a 74-year-old woman signing up for skydiving lessons is all she lets them see....

This yuletide celebration includes: The Nativity, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" by Clement Moore, "The Birds' Christmas Carol" by Kate Wiggin, "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, "Christmas Everywhere" by Phillips Brooks, and excerpts from: A Christmas Carol and The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, The Peterkin Papers by Lucretia P. Hale, The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy, Bracebridge Hall by Washington Irving, and The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle.

The classic and heart warming tale which captures the zeitgeist of the mid-Victorian revival of the Christmas holiday. Dickens follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a curmudgeonly old man of business about whom a warm word is never said nor given back. One chilly Christmas eve, Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his old business partner who bears a dire warning, and a final chance to change his miserly ways.

At Christmas time department stores overflow with color and festivity, their halls bedecked with the trimmings of the season. In these 7 charming, memorable, and even magical Christmas tales retiree Tom Cavanaugh wanders the aisles of just such a store. Tom has made a tradition out of observing the marvels the Christmas spirit brings to each department and the people in them, from a jolly old maintenance man to testy last-minute shoppers to an exhausted salesclerk.

This audiobook includes two short stories from celebrated Russian author Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (1821 - 1881). "White Nights" (1848) features a nameless and lonely narrator who, though he resides in a big city, lives largely in his own head. In "The Heavenly Christmas Tree", an orphaned boy who is shunned by society is surprised to awaken before a beautiful Christmas tree; however, the scene is not what it seems. Please note: This audiobook is in Russian.

A collection of three Christmas classics by a cherished American writer, to warm the soul and intrigue the listener with satisfyingly unexpected plot twists.

This collection of short stories by notable Australian author Mary Grant Bruce (1878-1958) reflects on Australian experiences of summertime. Infused with the smells, sounds, and textures of Australian life during the Christmas season, these stories also highlight the strengths and yearnings of their characters.