Booked for Christmas: A Short Story

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She’s not the type to believe in hokey romantic myths, but there’s no denying she felt something the moment their gazes met — and she’s pretty sure he did, too.

Christmas in London 12 of the best restaurants for celebrating Christmas in London

The Silk Road and Beyond: Narratives of a Muslim Historian by Iftikhar H Malik (Oxford University Press) is a wonderful series of vibrant, personal stories, across the Silk Road and beyond, a window on an amazing heritage, stretching across central Asia, to Iran, Turkey, southern Europe, Scandinavia, UK and the US. Before he became Father Christmas, he was just a Finnish boy named Nikolas, son of a widowed father and proud owner of a doll made from a turnip — the only toy he’s ever owned. Any child — and quite a few adults — who has watched the animated film The Polar Express will be hoping their journey on Yorkshire’s heritage steam train will end at the North Pole, but they’ll just have to make do with Pickering. Afternoon teas can be added at the end of the booking process, and you’ll need a valid Christmas at Blenheim Palace ticket.

I’ll also be giving Greta Thunberg’s Climate Book (Allen Lane) to everyone: for the way it urges us to refuse to acquiesce in the destruction of the living world.

Christmas Books | Waterstones

There’s only one problem: every promising pine he comes across seems to be occupied, whether it’s got a squirrel in its hollow or a nest in its branches. Boardinghouse residents come together to give two poor girls the celebration they deserve, a lovable horse is gifted with the (temporary) ability to speak, and a rich old woman discovers the true meaning of Christmas.

Matthew Hollis’s The Waste Land (Faber), meanwhile, his “biography” of TS Eliot’s poem, is, among many other brilliances, a quest to locate the authentic origin of modern anxieties in the post-pandemic London of a century ago. Christmas lodges in the UK allow you to get together and celebrate without the stress of going abroad or catering for guests at home. You’ll giggle, you’ll whoop, and you’ll probably be crying by the time you reach its phenomenal, heart-stirring end. Hilarious, fun, and touching as ever, it’s the best book to crack open beside the fireside as a snowstorm (which may or may not also be an attack from mutant aliens, perhaps?

Christmas Books to Get You in - Reedsy The 40 Most Festive Christmas Books to Get You in - Reedsy

In his Booker-winning latest, he has amped up all the characteristics of his debut to produce a truly astonishing piece of fiction. Taking over the city centre from early November, the Frankfurt Christmas Market is the largest outside of central Europe, and is an impressive sight, with plenty of decorated stalls selling crafts, toys and other gifts as well as traditional German food and drink, including gingerbread hearts and glühwein. It might be the last thing on your mind in mid-January or just after Valentine’s Day, but plan your May bank-holiday escapes during the depths of the British winter and you’ll make a saving.

For entry times, ticket information, contact details and more, here is everything you need to know for Christmas at Kew. It will definitely get you into the holiday spirit with a boisterous holiday party, lots of snow, lots of spirits and signs.