Join author Gregory Hoffman in this hilarious recounting of a chance encounter with Santa Claus at his place up north during a blinding snowstorm. Santa, having just returned home from his annual trip, is wiped-out and reeling. He seizes the opportunity to share his frustrations with his accidental visitor. While delivering presents to homes around the world, Santa is confronted by angry watch-dogs, shot at, beaten by non-believers, and pursued by a portly widow, among the many other stressful challenges! After waiting out the storm, and lending an ear to Santa's venting, Hoffman must be on his way. But upon his departure, Santa gives him a message to relay to people everywhere. Illustrated by Hoffman and written in the tradition of the classic The Night Before Christmas, Santa Needs a Vacation is an entertaining, colorful and heartfelt Christmas card to the holiday. Also included is a poem by Hoffman. Told from a grandfather's perspective, Christmas Memories is a warm and nostalgic look at the holidays past, with hope and best wishes for those of the future.

JUST FOR CHRISTMAS? Pretty, proper Anna Miller has all the makings of a respectable Amish housewife. But the outside world has always beckoned. So when a handsome FBI agent needs help caring for his infant twin nephews right before Christmas, Anna jumps at the opportunity. Maybe she can finally discover where she truly belongs. Special agent Colt Asher lives for his job. So he’s surprised when an unexpected week as a hands-on uncle fills his life with meaning. Of course, it helps that the babies’ gorgeous nanny is unlike any woman the love-’em-and-leave-’em lone wolf has ever known. But Anna’s rumspringa might lead her straight back to her village. Or, if Colt lets her, Anna might just be his Christmas wish come true…

The book tells the story of the day Santa Claus felt obliged to take a special trip after Christmas to fulfill the request made by a poor child. After a short holiday after Christmas, Santa Claus began preparations for toy production for the upcoming Christmas. He was aided by the elves and they all work in the secret village of Santa Claus in Lapland, Finland. Seeing the mail in the inbox, Santa Claus was surprised to find a letter that had been hidden at the bottom of the box. It was a request from a poor child. As a gift he asked for a bicycle, notebooks and pencils to study. He lived in a small house in the backcountry, far from school and could not attend classes like the other children. Santa Claus has agreed to pay a special visit to the poor boy, even though it is not Christmas, causing a stir and many surprises among the children and adults who have seen his sleigh with the reindeer pass like a comet in the sky bound for the poor boy s house. Completed his mission, Santa Claus returns to his home for his well-deserved vacation. The boy was able to start his studies in time thanks to the new off-season gifts from Santa Claus.

Myra Smith’s book about aging will tickle the funny bone of all readers, but particularly members of the Baby Boomer generation. From falls, weight loss plans, memory loss, tech issues and goofy vacation scenarios, to scary doctor visits, surgeries, and hobbies gone bad, Myra has done it all. Her husband tolerates the trail of card stickers and loss of personal fortune from her card “business”; her grown children maintain their dignity when she asks stupid questions such as, “What day of the week does Thanksgiving fall on?” and “Where is the Alamo Dome?” They save their hysteria about the fact that their mother doesn’t know she has a garage door opener, and thinks ‘cut and paste’ is only for elementary students. Her grandkids endure her ignorance about technology and her dim knowledge of fairies, Disney characters, Lego construction, magna tiles and superheroes. They graciously instruct her on as many of these topics as her small memory allows. Her friends accompany her on shopping trips, and listen to her horror stories about doctor visits and surgery. When she refers to their grandchildren by saying, “Oh she is adorable, and “He is getting so big!”, they share a knowing smile. They don’t laugh when she sports a new blouse with the XL label in full view, or shows up with lipstick smeared on her face. Myra’s book is a tell-all about getting older, but not wiser. It’s a funny romp through time that is flying by at record speed. The bad news is that sooner or later, we will all fall into old age. The good news is that we can laugh at ourselves in the process.

Employee magazine of the Union Pacific System.

This holiday, we are offering to you our own Christmas box – filled up to the top with the greatest Christmas novels, magical Christmas tales, legends, most famous carols and the poems dedicated to this one and only holiday: _x000D_ Mr. Pickwick's Christmas (Charles Dickens) _x000D_ The Gift of the Magi (O. Henry)_x000D_ Life and Adventures of Santa Claus (L. Frank Baum)_x000D_ Christmas At Sea (Robert Louis Stevenson)_x000D_ The Savior Must Have Been A Docile Gentleman (Emily Dickinson)_x000D_ The Holy Night (Selma Lagerlöf)_x000D_ A Merry Christmas (Louisa May Alcott)_x000D_ A Letter from Santa Claus (Mark Twain)_x000D_ Shakespeare's Christmas _x000D_ Silent Night_x000D_ The Night After Christmas_x000D_ The Child Born at Bethlehem_x000D_ The Adoration of the Shepherds_x000D_ The Visit of the Wise Men_x000D_ As Joseph Was A-Walking_x000D_ The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Beatrix Potter)_x000D_ Where Love Is, God Is (Leo Tolstoy) _x000D_ The Three Kings (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) _x000D_ A Christmas Carol (Samuel Taylor Coleridge) _x000D_ The Heavenly Christmas Tree (Fyodor Dostoevsky)_x000D_ The Little City of Hope (F. Marion Crawford)_x000D_ The First Christmas Of New England (Harriet Beecher Stowe)_x000D_ Christmas in the Olden Time (Walter Scott)_x000D_ Christmas In India (Rudyard Kipling)_x000D_ A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens) _x000D_ The Twelve Days of Christmas_x000D_ The Wonderful Wizard of OZ (L. Frank Baum)_x000D_ Ring Out, Wild Bells (Alfred Lord Tennyson)_x000D_ Little Lord Fauntleroy (Frances Hodgson Burnett)_x000D_ Black Beauty (Anna Sewell)_x000D_ The Christmas Child (Hesba Stretton)_x000D_ Granny's Wonderful Chair (Frances Browne)_x000D_ The Romance of a Christmas Card (Kate Douglas Wiggin)_x000D_ Wind in the Willows (Kenneth Grahame)_x000D_ The Wonderful Life - Story of the life and death of our Lord (Hesba Stretton)_x000D_ The Christmas Angel (A. Brown)_x000D_ Christmas at Thompson Hall (Anthony Trollope)_x000D_ Christmas Every Day (William Dean Howells)_x000D_ The Lost Word (Henry van Dyke)_x000D_ The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (E. T. A. Hoffmann)_x000D_ The Little Match Girl_x000D_ The Elves and the Shoemaker_x000D_ Mother Holle _x000D_ The Star Talers_x000D_ Snow-White_x000D_ The Christmas Hirelings_x000D_ The Blue Carbuncle_x000D_ An Exciting Christmas Eve_x000D_ The Spirit of Christmas…