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The Plight Before Christmas
What if Murphy’s Law took over the holidays?
James Kelly is a toy store owner, longing for the days when imagination didn’t come in the form of a computer chip in the latest incarnations of video game consoles. His store is suffering a pre-Christmas disaster, in part because the shoppers have all headed out to the malls near the edge of town, and partially because it is almost Christmas and there hasn’t been a hint of snow. When snow starts falling outside his store, James daydreams his way back to a much earlier holiday season, when the snow was late in arriving.
When snow came on that late December day in the early 1960’s, it brought with it a series of calamities and disasters to the Kelly household. If something could go wrong, it would, and if several things could go wrong, they all would in a cascade of comedic misadventures. No one was immune, especially James and his father Charles.
The Plight Before Christmas is written with the same sense of wit and whimsy that Kirkland brought to his earlier award-winning and bestselling books, and in his syndicated humor column that ran in American and Canadian newspapers from 1994 to 2007. This story is written for adults, but is also suitable for older YA readers.
W. Bruce Cameron, the author of Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter, A Dog's Purpose, Emory's Gift and more says, "A wonderful, nostalgic look at a simpler time and place, The Plight Before Christmas will appeal to fans of A Christmas Story. You don't just read about this family--you live with them as they fumble and stumble to a hilarious holiday."
Syndicated humor columnist, blogger (Lost In Suburbia), and author (Rebel Without A Minivan) Tracy Beckerman says, “The Plight Before Christmas' is misnamed. It should be called 'The Gift Before Christmas' because this magical story is the best gift you can give or receive for the holidays!”
James Kelly is a toy store owner, longing for the days when imagination didn’t come in the form of a computer chip in the latest incarnations of video game consoles. His store is suffering a pre-Christmas disaster, in part because the shoppers have all headed out to the malls near the edge of town, and partially because it is almost Christmas and there hasn’t been a hint of snow. When snow starts falling outside his store, James daydreams his way back to a much earlier holiday season, when the snow was late in arriving.
When snow came on that late December day in the early 1960’s, it brought with it a series of calamities and disasters to the Kelly household. If something could go wrong, it would, and if several things could go wrong, they all would in a cascade of comedic misadventures. No one was immune, especially James and his father Charles.
The Plight Before Christmas is written with the same sense of wit and whimsy that Kirkland brought to his earlier award-winning and bestselling books, and in his syndicated humor column that ran in American and Canadian newspapers from 1994 to 2007. This story is written for adults, but is also suitable for older YA readers.
W. Bruce Cameron, the author of Eight Simple Rules For Dating My Teenage Daughter, A Dog's Purpose, Emory's Gift and more says, "A wonderful, nostalgic look at a simpler time and place, The Plight Before Christmas will appeal to fans of A Christmas Story. You don't just read about this family--you live with them as they fumble and stumble to a hilarious holiday."
Syndicated humor columnist, blogger (Lost In Suburbia), and author (Rebel Without A Minivan) Tracy Beckerman says, “The Plight Before Christmas' is misnamed. It should be called 'The Gift Before Christmas' because this magical story is the best gift you can give or receive for the holidays!”
288 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 21, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 18, 2026
It Didn't Turn Out Like I Thought
When I started reading this and was confronted with all the bad circumstances poor Mr. Kelly was faced with I was ready to delete it off my phone and forget that I even had it. But, for some reason I picked it it back up and started reading again. Now I'm glad that I did. When Charles' "luck" began to change it started a chain reaction that changed him and I think it made me look at myself in a way I haven't done in a while. I think we all need to stop every now and then and take inventory of our lives and genuinely evaluate what kind of person we have become. Like Charles, a lot of who he was was based on his circumstances and through a rash of bad circumstances he decided it was time for a change. I liked the magical instances Kirkland sprinkled throughout the story (I'll be cryptic so as not to give away spoilers). I didn't expect the ending and in some way I wished that it wasn't ending. I think possibly this story pulled me briefly back to a Christmas in my past that was the best Christmas ever.
When I started reading this and was confronted with all the bad circumstances poor Mr. Kelly was faced with I was ready to delete it off my phone and forget that I even had it. But, for some reason I picked it it back up and started reading again. Now I'm glad that I did. When Charles' "luck" began to change it started a chain reaction that changed him and I think it made me look at myself in a way I haven't done in a while. I think we all need to stop every now and then and take inventory of our lives and genuinely evaluate what kind of person we have become. Like Charles, a lot of who he was was based on his circumstances and through a rash of bad circumstances he decided it was time for a change. I liked the magical instances Kirkland sprinkled throughout the story (I'll be cryptic so as not to give away spoilers). I didn't expect the ending and in some way I wished that it wasn't ending. I think possibly this story pulled me briefly back to a Christmas in my past that was the best Christmas ever.
February 1, 2025
A lovely trip back to a simpler time than my own childhood, but right back into the living room of my grandparents. Funny warm, and I truly enjoyed how Mr. Kirkland worked at having his characters grow and reflect on their own life experiences to make meaningful changes in the lives of their children. Laughter was often and frequent, a very relaxing read.
December 27, 2012
I am a sucker for nostalgia, especially at Christmastime. The Plight Before Christmas by Canadian humorist Gordon Kirkland was a terrific choice for the week before the holiday. It's the tale of the Kelly family, specifically father Charles and son James, and a wacky series of misadventures that befall them just prior to Christmas in the early 1960s. The misfortunes cause Charles to look at how he has treated his family in general and Christmas in particular with some regret, and he decides to make some changes. These changes lead to no small amount of confusion for his family, especially young James, in the days leading up to Christmas.
While this is very much an original story, Kirkland borrows some spirit from Jean Shepard's Christmas Story and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to great effect. The Plight Before Christmas is a heartwarming novel with just the right balance of sentiment, humor, and trips down memory lane. I highly recommend it, and plan to read it again next year during the Christmas season.
While this is very much an original story, Kirkland borrows some spirit from Jean Shepard's Christmas Story and Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol to great effect. The Plight Before Christmas is a heartwarming novel with just the right balance of sentiment, humor, and trips down memory lane. I highly recommend it, and plan to read it again next year during the Christmas season.
December 20, 2024
Great Holiday for Boomers
I just finished reading this book for the 3rd year in a row at Christmas. If you were a child in the 50s and 60s it will bring memories of Christmas and how things were "back then".
There are some parts of the story that are laugh out loud funny! It is a feel good story that I have decided to re-read every year at Christmas time. I enjoyed it as much this time as I did the first time.
I just finished reading this book for the 3rd year in a row at Christmas. If you were a child in the 50s and 60s it will bring memories of Christmas and how things were "back then".
There are some parts of the story that are laugh out loud funny! It is a feel good story that I have decided to re-read every year at Christmas time. I enjoyed it as much this time as I did the first time.
December 16, 2011
A wonderful Christmas book-thoroughly enjoyed it.
December 30, 2011
loved it, had me laughing out loud
September 23, 2012
A fun pre-Christmas romp, this book is cute and very funny.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews