Book picks similar to
Gathering Christmas by Larry R. Laycock


christmas
fiction
christmas-books
short-stories

Finding Father Christmas


Robin Jones Gunn - 2007
    Unexpectedly welcomed into a family that doesn't recognize her, and whom she's quickly coming to love, she faces a terrible decision. Should she reveal her true identity and destroy their idyllic image of her father? Or should she carry the truth home with her to San Francisco and remain alone in this world? Whatever choice she makes during this London Christmas will forever change the future for both herself and the family she can't bear to leave. Robin Jones Gunn brilliantly combines lyrical writing and unforgettable characters to craft a story of longing and belonging that will stay with readers long after they close the pages of this book.

The Promise: A Christmas Tale


Ted Dekker - 2005
    It's beautiful. It's perfect proof of an eternal truth and light. . . . This is not the usual story. This is the tale of a mute boy who is born and abandoned in the shadows of life. He carries with him two things-his dead mother's shawl and her promise that someday he will find a king who will give him a voice. Like Reuben in The Promise, may you sing of Light, even when no one else can hear.

The Santa Suit


Mary Kay Andrews - 2021
    The Four Roses, as the farmhouse is called, is a labor of love—but Ivy didn't bargain on just how much labor. The previous family left so much furniture and so much junk, that it's a full-time job sorting through all of it. At the top of a closet, Ivy finds an old Santa suit—beautifully made and decades old. In the pocket of a suit she finds a note written in a childish hand: it's from a little girl who has one Christmas wish, and that is for her father to return home from the war. This discovery sets Ivy off on a mission. Who wrote the note? Did the man ever come home? What mysteries did the Rose family hold?Ivy's quest brings her into the community, at a time when all she wanted to do was be left alone and nurse her wounds. But the magic of Christmas makes miracles happen, and Ivy just might find more than she ever thought possible: a welcoming town, a family reunited, a mystery solved, and a second chance at love.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe


Abby Clements - 2012
    Laurie is living in London and dedicated to her career, keeping track of her friends on Facebook. Rachel is seemingly living the family idyll in a cottage in Yorkshire - except she worries her marriage is starting to show cracks. When Rachel's mother in law falls ill and needs treatment in London, and Laurie decides she needs to get away for a break, a house swap falls into place. Soon Rachel is braving the mean streets of London while trying to keep her family together, while Laurie tries to figure out how to work an Aga and befriend the locals - and forget the man who seems intent on breaking her heart. Will their relationships survive this test? And will they make it home in time for Christmas?

Bespoke: A Tiny Christmas Tale


Amanda Dykes - 2014
    A Secret. A Bicycle. A Promise…While the elusive Secret Symphony of Giovanni St. John captivated the world’s fascination, it left his daughter closed away in the Silent House – she, the one who holds the fullness of truth about the ninth symphony. Now Aria St. John is determined to not only break free of the loss that has defined her, but to honor her father through one final gift in his last days.On the tiny Isle of Espoir, only one man can help in her quest: James Shaw, the village blacksmith… and the lost friend of her childhood. Will they be able to overcome the tragedy that separated them before it’s too late?The little tale that was born in hopes of sending a single real-life bicycle to a missionary in Asia, Bespoke was hidden away in the Espoir Archives after sharing the joy of funding nearly fifteen bicycles.

Snowed In at Jingle Falls


Kaylee Baldwin - 2021
    Even if she has to deal with her ex dressed as Santa and an entire town rooting for them to get back together, at least she's not in her stressful publishing job any more, where one huge mistake sent her running.Nolan Fox hates everything about the current crime series he's writing, especially the lone-wolf detective star of his series whose closed-off personality is feeling a little too biographical. The one bright spot of writing his series had been when Harper was his editor, before she fled New York without explanation.When Nolan arrives in Jingle Falls, Colorado, hoping to convince Harper to come work in New York again, he doesn't expect a blizzard to shut down the only road out of town. Or to get roped into planning a small-town, joy-and-color-filled winter festival with Harper Larson. Or to fall in love.The only problem is, once the road opens up, he can't stay in Jingle Falls. And she'll never leave.

A Faraway Smell of Lemon


Rachel Joyce - 2013
    Binny has four hours to make Christmas happen and she couldn’t feel less like wishing glad tidings of good will to all men – least of all to Oliver. It is raining, her house is falling apart, the streets are jammed with people and it is all Oliver’s fault. Darting into a shop to escape a conversation, Binny finds herself in the sort of place she would never normally visit. But in amongst the shelves is a surprising source of peace.A beautiful gem of a short story from Rachel Joyce, bestselling author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and Perfect The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy.

The Invitation


Joyce Swann - 2016
    Kevin Marshall is trapped in a miserable existence with a boss and a fiancé who despise him.The Monday night before Thanksgiving, however, through an act of kindness to a stranger, Kevin receives an invitation to begin a new life and awakens the next morning to find himself living his dream.Now Kevin must discover how to let go of his past and accept the invitation for himself before his new life ends as suddenly as it began.You are invited…to experience the power of faith, the joy of love and the magic of Christmas in this holiday story of life choices and second chances.

Bah, Humbug!


Heather Horrocks - 2011
    He digs into the snowman to discover two things: the weapon fits into the body just under the head, and the snowman was supposed to be the back drop for Lexi's next show.From this improbable beginning comes friendship. Can there be more for a woman who is afraid to get close again and a man who has shadows from his childhood?Families join together and hearts are healed as this couple goes walking in a winter wonderland.

Christmas at the Gingerbread Café


Rebecca Raisin - 2013
    She’s spent another year dreaming of being whisked away on a sleigh-ride for two, but she’s facing festive season alone – again. And, just to give her another reason to feel anything other than candy-cane perky, a new shop across the road has opened… Not only is it selling baked goods, but the owner, with his seriously charming smile, has every girl in town swooning.But Lily isn’t about to let her business crumble — the Gingerbread Café is the heart of the community, and she’s going to fight for it! This could be the Christmas that maybe, just maybe, all her dreams – even the someone-to-decorate-the-Christmas-tree-with ones – really do come true!

With Love at Christmas


Carole Matthews - 2012
    She loves the presents, the tree, the turkey, the tinsel, everything. Already the festive spirit is upon her, which is just as well as this Christmas things are starting to get out of hand.Her son Tom is out of work and bringing home a slew of unsuitable partners; pregnant daughter Chloe and her little boy have moved back in; Juliet's father, Frank, is getting over a heartbreak of his own and Rita, her eccentric mother, is behaving more erratically each day. And has the chaos got too much for Juliet's husband Rick?With the big day fast approaching, Juliet hopes that she can stop everything spiralling out of control, because the only thing she wants is her family all around her and her home to be filled

The Christmas Clock


Kat Martin - 2009
    Eight years ago, she jilted her fiancé, Joe Dixon, telling him that she was moving to Chicago because small-town living was not for her. But she was lying. Syl was headed to Chicago to be treated for cervical cancer. Sadly, Joe never knew the real reason she left him. Confused and distraught, he turned to drinking to heal the pain, until he accidentally killed a man and served years in jail. Now Syl and Joe are both back in town, but it will take a miracle to bring them back into each others arms.Also in town is Lottie Sparks and her grandson, Teddy. Ever since Lottie’s daughter was killed in a drunk-driving accident, Lottie’s been in charge of Teddy. He appreciates her love more than she knows, so much so that the industrious eight-year-old hits up Joe’s auto body shop, so he can save enough money by Christmas to buy his grandmother a Victorian clock she adores—one that vividly reminds her of her childhood, even as the rest of her memories are slipping away with the onset of advanced Alzheimer’s.As spring turns to summer and summer to fall, matters in the Sparks’ household take a turn for the worse. And with winter approaching, will a little hope and a big dose of Christmas magic be enough to make everything all right again?

The Stand-in Christmas Date


Rachel John - 2018
    Too bad he thinks she’s someone else.Alyssa Owens hasn’t swapped places with her lookalike cousin in years, and never for a date. Reluctantly, she agrees to what sounds like a simple favor—spend twenty minutes with the guy, make sure he believes she’s interested so her cousin can have him back when she returns after New Year’s, then make an excuse to leave. At least, that was the plan.It doesn’t take Wes Fielding long to figure out that this isn’t the same girl he met at a speed dating event. After all, as a cop, he’s trained to study faces. But if this isn’t her, who is it, and why does she have to be so funny and easy to talk to? To unravel the mystery, he decides to play along, but the more he gets to know her, the harder it is not to wish for a happy ending rather than the humiliating one they now face.Curl up with this sweet Christmas romance about mistaken identity and unexpected chemistry.

God Bless Your Way: A Christmas Journey


Emily Belle Freeman - 2007
    Mary and Joseph weren't the only ones turned away from the inn at Bethlehem. In this new Nativity story, a widower named Micah travels the crowded road to return to the town of his birth. Just in front of him a young woman, heavy with child, rides in the back of a donkey. Her husband leads the way, walking slowly to make the ride smoother. Every so often the young woman turns toward Micah, offering gentle words of encouragement as he hobbles along behind them. And each time they stop for water, she makes sure that her husband offers Micah a sip. When they arrive at Bethlehem, Micah and the young couple go their separate ways. Micah wearily wanders the streets for shelter, a place to eat, and some way to fill his loneliness. Although he doesn't receive what he wants, he does receive what he needs--a warm quilt, a loaf of bread, and in the end, an invitation to come inside a small stable.

A Christmas Memory


Truman Capote - 1956
    We are proud to be reprinting this warm and delicately illustrated edition of A Christmas Memory--"a tiny gem of a holiday story" (School Library Journal, starred review). Seven-year-old Buddy inaugurates the Christmas season by crying out to his cousin, Miss Sook Falk: "It's fruitcake weather!" Thus begins an unforgettable portrait of an odd but enduring friendship between two innocent souls--one young and one old--and the memories they share of beloved holiday rituals.