Today is the first of December, and the holidays are just around the corner. I wanted to do something special for my first Christmas on the blog, and I wanted a bit of a challenge as well, so I decided on twenty five days of Christmas books! About halfway through planning this adventure, I realized that I only had Christmas books. For those of you who celebrate Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, or any other midwinter celebration, I am sorry! If you have any good books to recommend, please don't hesitate to do so! I have tried to stay away from too many overly religious books.
When I was planning the books for this month, I did not plan on starting with Melody Carlson's
The Christmas Angel Project. I was planning on something a bit lighter and, quite frankly, funnier, but when I read this book, it just fit to come first.
Abby is part of a book club with four other women--Grace, Belinda, Louisa, and Cassidy. She is the leader of the group and she holds them all together, so it is devastating to the women when Abby dies the day after Thanksgiving. It seems that the group will fall apart, but then Abby's husband delivers the Christmas present that Abby had made for each of them. Receiving the small angel ornaments changes the premise of the book club when they decide that, for Christmas, they are going to be angels for others. Each woman finds a project, and each woman meets a challenge during their project that makes them either realize something about themselves or their lives.
Louisa, the eldest of the group, has lost her husband and one of her best friends within a year. An artist herself, she starts an art therapy group, even though she doesn't know what she's doing.
Belinda, a upcycled clothing shop owner, works with girls at a local high school on a fashion show.
Grace's marriage is in trouble and her twin, college age children are acting up. She works to furnish and decorate three Habitat for Humanity homes for three families.
Cassidy is the youngest and a veterinarian. She starts volunteer veterinary care for those on fixed incomes.
I don't want to share anything else, because the story is just beautiful. It does have elements of prayer and religion, but not in a way that shoves God down your throat. I was touched by the story, because in a way its about the meaning of Christmas and doing things for others, but not in
A Christmas Carol fashion or in a "Christmas Miracle" trope. Definitely check this one out!
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