wishing you a restful holiday

via

As I write this post, Hanna and I are listening to the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols broadcast from King's College, Cambridge, England and eating cornmeal molasses pancakes. I put in my last hours of work for 2011 yesterday afternoon at the MHS and now both Hanna and I will be on holiday until January 3rd -- all, the luxury of slightly anachronistic academic schedules! Later this afternoon we might wander down to the Boston Public Garden to check out the Christmas bustle before returning home to prepare cinnamon pull-apart bread for Christmas morning and possibly a screening of White Christmas. 

And then possibly reading some picture books before bed. Because I don't know about you, but Christmas isn't really complete until you've read your favorite Christmas stories. Such as:

The Conscience Pudding, by E. Nesbit (available as a free audio file from Librivox!)

The Story of Holly and Ivy, by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Barbara Cooney

Child's Christmas in Wales, by Dylan Thomas, illustrated by Edward Ardizzone 

The Tomten and the Fox, by Astrid Lindgren (see illustration above)

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, by Barbara Robinson

What are the favored Christmas and/or winter holiday stories in your house? Share them in comments!

Schaerer family Christmas tree (Dec. 2003)
photograph by Anna

Best to you and yours this season, and warm wishes for the turn of the year.

~Anna