Beloved author Lynn Austin is delighting readers with her newly released Christmas novella, The Wish Book Christmas. Bringing some of her own Christmas experiences as a child to life in this 1950s post-war heart-warming tale of two mothers wanting to create new memories and new traditions for their young sons.

Every family creates their own Christmas traditions, intentionally or by default! Our girls wake up to a filled Christmas stocking on their ends of their beds that they can open on their own, just like my sister and I received as children. Despite all being adults now, our girls love this tradition and expect it to continue!

Enjoy this delightful guest post from Lynn. Over to you, Lynn…

The Wish Book Christmas

Best friends Audrey Barrett and Eve Dawson are looking forward to celebrating Christmas in postwar America, thrilled at the prospect of starting new traditions with their five-year-old sons. But when the 1951 Sears Christmas Wish Book arrives and the boys start obsessing over every toy in it, Audrey and Eve realize they must first teach them the true significance of the holiday. They begin by helping Bobby and Harry plan gifts of encouragement and service for those in their community, starting by walking an elderly neighbor’s yellow Lab—since a dog topped the boys’ wish list for Santa. In the charming tale that follows, Audrey and Eve are surprised to find their own hearts healing from the tragedies of war and opening to the possibility of forgiveness and new love.

Christmas Wishes in 2021

Do you remember the Sears “Wish Book” from when you were a child? I sure do! The annual Christmas catalogue featured page after page of toys for children to wish for. My two sisters and I would take turns drooling over them and then use the book to write a list of everything we wanted Santa Claus to bring. Of course, Mom warned us that Santa might not have room in his sleigh to bring everything, but that didn’t stop us from dreaming and wishing.

Like the concerned mothers in my new Christmas novella, The Wish Book Christmas, our mom also worried that the catalogue might be feeding our greed and envy, so she looked for ways to teach us the true meaning of Christmas. One of them was to have us save some of our weekly allowance in a “Christmas Club” bank account in the months leading up to Christmas. By saving regularly, we could put aside enough money to buy presents for our parents, grandparents, and each other. She taught us to think about what each person on our list might like; then she took us shopping to purchase those gifts. Some years, she encouraged us to make handcrafted gifts for the people on our list. Our grandmothers especially loved those handmade items.

On Christmas morning, instead of tearing into our presents in a mad rush, the gifts were passed out one at a time, taking turns, starting with my parents, then down to my youngest sister. It was fun to watch the looks of surprise when someone opened a gift from me. We learned that Christmas was not only about the gifts we received, but also about the gifts we gave. Most importantly, it was about God’s gift of His Son, Jesus.

The Sears Wish Book was still around when my kids were little, so my husband and I faced the same challenge that my parents had. We continued the gift-giving traditions that I grew up with and added a few more. One of them was having a birthday party for baby Jesus every year. We would order a cake from the bakery with Happy Birthday, Jesus, written on it and have cake and ice cream for dessert after our Christmas dinner. We sang “Happy Birthday” and everyone got to blow out the candles. We wanted our kids to know that Christmas isn’t the day that Santa Claus comes, but the day that Jesus was born. The evergreen tree reminded us that Jesus brings everlasting life. The twinkling lights helped us remember that He is the light of the world—and so are we. We gave each other gifts because of God’s gift to us at Christmas.

I also purchased an inexpensive manger scene when my kids were still toddlers, choosing a set that they could look at and handle. We displayed it every year in a place of honor in our home. We would set it up together by dividing up all of the figures, then taking turns placing them in the stable as my husband read the Christmas story from the Bible. It’s a tradition that we still do every year and now includes new husbands and wives and grandchildren.

In The Wish Book Christmas, mothers Eve Dawson and Audrey Barrett start a tradition that I hope will catch on in my family, too. Following the example of the three Wise Men—or the “Smart Kings,” as their kindergarten-age sons call them—they search for ways to offer gifts of kindness to others. The boys walk the neighbor’s dog, for example. They bake cookies to give away. They do extra chores to earn money to buy gifts for the special people in their lives. And they choose toys from their own toy box to give away to less fortunate children.

My Christmas wish for my own family in 2021 is that we’ll be able to follow their example and take “the Smart Kings” challenge. With a little creative thinking, we should be able to find at least three ways to give back to others this year, expecting nothing in return. After all, God shows His love to us every day, not just at Christmastime. Want to join us?

Lynn Austin has sold more than one and a half million copies of her books worldwide. A former teacher who now writes and speaks full-time, she has won eight Christy Awards for her historical fiction and was one of the first inductees into the Christy Award Hall of Fame. One of her novels, Hidden Places, was made into a Hallmark Channel Original Movie. Lynn and her husband have three grown children and make their home in western Michigan. Visit her online at lynnaustin.org.

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