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Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Gift of Christmas: A Special Collection of Joyful Holiday Stories

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Share the magic and joy of Christmas with this collection of 101 joyful holiday stories.

You’ll love these heartwarming, inspirational, and fun stories of Christmas miracles, family reunions, charity, the wonder of children, the joy of giving, and family and religious traditions.

480 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1999

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About the author

Jack Canfield

1,286 books1,749 followers
Jack Canfield is an American motivational speaker and author. He is best known as the co-creator of the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book series, which currently has over 124 titles and 100 million copies in print in over 47 languages. According to USA Today, Canfield and his writing partner, Mark Victor Hansen, were the top-selling authors in the United States in 1997.

Canfield received a BA in Chinese History from Harvard University and a Masters from University of Massachusetts. He has worked as a teacher, a workshop facilitator, and a psychotherapist.

Canfield is the founder of "Self Esteem Seminars" in Santa Barbara, and "The Foundation for Self Esteem" in Culver City, California. The stated mission of Self Esteem Seminars is to train entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and employees to achieve their personal and professional goals. The focus of The Foundation for Self Esteem is to train social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals.

In 1990,he shared with author Mark Victor Hansen his idea for the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. After three years, the two had compiled sixty-eight stories.

Canfield has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Eye to Eye, CNN's Talk Back Live, PBS, The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Montel Williams Show, Larry King Live and the BBC.

Canfield's most recent book, The Success Principles (2005), shares 64 principles that he claims can make people more successful. In 2006, he appeared in the DVD, "The Secret," and shared his insights on the Law of Attraction and tips for achieving success in personal and professional life.

Jack Canfield was born on August 19, 1944, in Fort Worth, TX. He is the son of Elmer and Ellen (a homemaker; maiden name, Taylor). He attended high school at Linsly Military Institute, Wheeling, WV, 1962. He went to college at Harvard University, B.A., 1966; University of Massachusetts at Amherst, M.Ed., 1973. Canfield married Judith Ohlbaum in 1971 (divorced, November 1976); he married Georgia Lee Noble on September 9, 1978 (divorced, December 1999); he married Inga Marie Mahoney on July 4, 2001; children: (first marriage) Oran, David, Kyle, Dania; (second marriage) Christopher Noble. He is a Democrat and a Christian, and his hobbies include tennis, travel, skiing, running, billiards, reading, and guitar.

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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
674 reviews19 followers
December 16, 2016
Perfect stories for Christmas time! An inspiring collection of faith-filled and even humorous true stories that will stay with you no matter the season.
Profile Image for Beth Cato.
Author 131 books694 followers
Read
April 10, 2012
This hardcover Chicken Soup book is 653 pages long, and is an exclusive sold at Wal-mart this holiday season. My own essay is included on page 426.

Most Chicken Soup books only have 101 stories. This one has many more, and benefits from it for a big reason: variety. It has every sort of Christmas story you can imagine, from a child's view on a memorable event, to the heartbreak of losing a loved one, to the religious and inspirational aspects of the day. When I started reading, I admit, I was not in the Christmas spirit. A few unpleasant things had just happened in my life and sucked all the holiday joy out of me. That changed as I began to read. Some of the stories made me laugh. Others made my eyes fill with tears. Some made me sad, like I wanted to reach out and give the author a hug.

It's a great collection, and one I hope my son will read in future years.
Profile Image for Kimberly.
399 reviews51 followers
December 6, 2015
I read a story or two from this book every Christmas. The stories are light, meaningful, full of light, laughter and love. This one is a keeper especially in hardcover edition. It will stay on my shelf for my lifetime. I truly treasure this one!
681 reviews8 followers
November 14, 2015
The most amazing collection of heartfelt Christmas stories I've read. They warm your insides like a cup of hot chocolate.
Some made me laugh & yes some made me cry but each story is unique & embodies the true meaning of Christmas
Profile Image for Michael Beyer.
Author 28 books3 followers
October 25, 2022
This is a fairly good example of everything I find true about the Chicken Soup series. it has mostly female authors. Sometimes it is too sentimental and simplistic. But sometimes it touches your heart, reminding you of things that happened in your memory of Christmases Past. This book could make me laugh at times, cry at times, and sometimes even recapture for me that wonderful December-blue magic that I knew as a child, impatient for the school year to be half over and impatient to find out if Santa could afford my Sears-catalog wishes. I recommend this book. Not all parts of it, but you can skip the boring parts without losing the overall reading nutrition for the nostalgic reader's brain. It is good Chicken Soup.
Profile Image for Author Jenn.
153 reviews
December 19, 2023
I used to read Chicken Soup books many, many years ago when they 1st came out. I hadn't read one in over 20yrs and I found this one at Ollies for $3 and thought I would give it a try, esp. since I was having a hard time getting into the Holiday spirt. Well, it worked it got that Holiday spark back for me. It helped to remind me what the true meaning of Christmas is, what's important, and how truly blessed I am. This book had lots of AMAZING quotes! I even shared some of these quotes with my friends. This book made me laugh out loud, smile a lot, and even made me cry. My favorite stories were the stud finder story and the 707 story. I hope you all enjoy this book as much as I did. Happy reading!!!
Profile Image for Brandi Johnson.
674 reviews47 followers
December 4, 2020
I have several of these in the Christmas versions and I love them all! And this one like all of the others was no different and was filled with the little stories that make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The Christmas holiday season has been my favorite since I was a child and I read one of these every year now because they have several different stories. I read them along with a Christmas novel at the same time because as this is my favorite time of the year, I try to read as many Christmas reads as I possibly can! So, yes, of course I recommend these books to anyone who wants some warm and heartfelt stories to read during the Christmas season!
Profile Image for Kelley Blair.
676 reviews41 followers
December 24, 2022
A long standing tradition for me, reading a Chicken Soup for The Soul book during the holidays. I like the quick heartwarming and sometimes sad stories that are reminiscent of yesteryear, but also a reminder of what’s truly important. As you read each story you can’t help but feel good. A gentle nostalgic look into memories that are held in our hearts.
Profile Image for Georgianne Georgiadis.
322 reviews1 follower
December 21, 2023
This is the perfect book to read at this time of the year. There are 12 different chapters/sections within each one is a collection of short stores. That are inspiring, heart warming, make you laugh or make you cry. And remind all of us about the spirit of this season.
505 reviews1 follower
April 21, 2022
Mildly interesting. Some of the "stories" were not very interesting. (owned print copy)
716 reviews
December 28, 2022
I have been reading this for several years. Each Christmas season I take it out and read some of the stories included in the collection. They inspire and uplift me at this special time of the year.
Profile Image for Mellisa.
21 reviews
December 24, 2024
I read the 2012 version. I guess Goodreads didn't have that book cover. Oh well. It was good. It was a collection of very short stories, just in time for Christmas.
Profile Image for Phyllis Barlow.
773 reviews10 followers
December 18, 2023
Perfect book to read this time of year!! Heartwarming stories of Christmas and how its meaning was brought home to a lot of people in different ways. A good book to keep on the nightstand to read right before sleep. The stories are very brief, and you will go to sleep with a smile.
Profile Image for Júlia.
30 reviews4 followers
February 3, 2020
Збірка історій, багато з них - дуже затишні, атмосферні, але і такі, які не збагатять читача нічим.
Profile Image for Gort.
524 reviews
April 11, 2015
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Profile Image for Patty.
64 reviews
January 24, 2012
I love all the Chicken Soup Books that I've gotten. This one is no exception. Great stories that uplift and help you to get into that Christmas Spirit. Highly recommended reading!!
Profile Image for Penny.
159 reviews5 followers
December 11, 2013
Inspirational stories that got me in the mood for Christmas.
Profile Image for Christine.
346 reviews
July 23, 2016
Sweet and heartwarming Christmas stories. This book got me in the spirit of Christmas, even though it is still only January! :)
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews

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