The Christmas Megapack: 25 Modern and Classic Yuletide Stories

LaZelle #0.5 included

by Robert Reginald (Editor), John Gregory Betancourt (Editor), Johnston McCulley

Christmas -- the very word conjures up memories of the most wondrous childhood holiday of all--filled with the glitter of colorfully-wrapped presents, family visits, carols, photographs, decorating the tree, attendance at church to celebrate the birth of the Christ child, and tummy-stuffing dinners tucked with treats seen at no other time of the year. But the yule holiday has been celebrated for at least two centuries in North America, and our writers have been producing memorable stories about this unique day for almost as long. Here are 25 Christmas stories old and new, tales to delight, to entrance, to beguile, and even to sadden a whole new generation of readers. From Nina Kiriki Hoffman's poignant "Lazelle Family Christmas" to Jacob A. Riis's gut-wrenching portrait of the holiday in the 1890s slums of New York to Johnston McCulley's riveting tale of Christmas in the Old West, we experience every possible facet of this most precious day of the year.

So sit back and relive your memories once again, as recreated through the eyes of some of the finest writers of their time!

Included in this volume

INTRODUCTION, by Robert Reginald
THE SUBSTITUTE SHOPPER, by Edna A. Collamore
CAN'T SEE THE TREE FOR THE FOREST by Skadi meic Beorh
THE GIFT, by Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen
SANTA'S STOLEN SACK, by S. Omar Barker
CHRISTMAS TREE DETAIL, by Johnston McCulley
THE SANTA TRAP, by Robin Aurelian
LAZELLE FAMILY CHRISTMAS, by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
THE CHRISTMAS A GRIFF & FATS STORY, by Gary Lovisi
SCROOGE 3000, by Michael McCarty
A HELL OF A CHRISTMAS, by Michael McCarty
THE CHRISTMAS BANE, by S. Clayton Rhodes
THE CHRISTMAS EVE GHOST, by Ernest Dudley
DOG EAT A CHRISTMAS TALE, by Robert Reginald
WHEN THE YULE LOG BURNS, by Leona Dalrymple
MERRY CHRISTMAS IN THE TENEMENTS, by Jacob A. Riis
THE RAPTURE OF HETTY, by Mary Hallock Foote
THE CHRISTMAS ANGEL, by Henry Van Dyke
A STORY, by Zona Gale
COLONEL CROCKETT'S CO-OPERATIVE CHRISTMAS, by Rupert Hughes
THE BIRDS' CHRISTMAS CAROL, by Kate Douglas Wiggin
THE MERRYVALE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAYS AT MERRYVALE, by Alice Hale Burnett
PEACE ON EARTH, GOOD-WILL TO DOGS, by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
HOW IT HAPPENED, by Kate Langley Bosher
THE LITTLE CITY OF A CHRISTMAS STORY, by F. Marion Crawford
ON CHRISTMAS DAY IN THE EVENING, by Grace S. Richmond

And don't forget to search this ebook store for "Megapack" to see other volumes in the series, from science fiction to ghost stories to mysteries...and many more!

Genres: Christmas

507 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Sandra Nedopričljivica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's impossible to rate 25 stories equally, so let's go only with the first one.
THE SUBSTITUTE SHOPPER, by Edna A. Collamore - *** stars.
CAN'T SEE THE TREE FOR THE FOREST by Skadi meic Beorh - once again *** stars.
THE GIFT, by Marilyn "Mattie" Brahen - *** stars.

[Susan]

well, Nina Kiriki Hoffman's alias of Robin Aurelian was outed by KJA's Christmas book... now I get to hunt those stories down...

"The Santa Trap" by [sic]Robin Aurelian had to be read ... 7/16/2014 re-read 2/15/2015

next I had to re-read Nina's official offering...
"LaZelle Family Christmas" re-read 7/21/2014

The Substitute Shopper by Edna A. Collamore (New Author)
Can't See the Tree for the Forest by Skadi meic Beorh
Santa's Stolen Sack by S. Omar Barker
Christmas Tree Detail by Johnston McCulley
The Christmas Crazies: A Griff & Fats Story by Gary Lovisi
The Christmas Tree Ghost by Ernest Dudley
When the Yule Log Burns by Leona Dalrymple (New Author)
Merry Christmas in the Tenements by Jacob A. Riis (New Author)
The Rapture of Hetty by Mary Hallock Foote (New Author)
Christmas: A Story by Zona Gale
Colonel Crockett's Co-operative Christmas by Rupert Hughes
The Birds' Christmas Carol by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Merryvale Boys: Christmas Holidays at Merryvale by Alice Hale Burnett
Peace on Earth, Good-will to Dogs by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott
How it Happened by Kate Langley Bosher (New Author)
The Little City of Hope A Christmas Story by F. Marion Crawford
On Christmas Day in the Evening by Grace S. Richmond (New Author)

The Gift by Marilyn 'Mattie' Brahen
♦ The Santa Trap by Nina Kiriki Hoffman [as by Robin Aurelian ]
♦ LaZelle Family Christmas by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Scrooge 3000 • (2008) • shortfiction by Michael McCarty
A Hell of a Christmas • (2010) • shortfiction by Michael McCarty
The Christmas Bane • (2009) • shortfiction by S. Clayton Rhodes
Dog Eat Dog: A Christmas Tale • (2001) • shortfiction by Robert Reginald
The Christmas Angel • shortfiction by Henry van Dyke

[Phil Syphe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of the 25 tales in this Christmas collection, few kept me hooked, and I skipped the least engaging ones.

Gary Lovisi’s ‘The Christmas Crazies’ is the latest in a long line of stories that refers to tears being silent:

‘I noticed a tear streaming silently down her cheek.’

Has anyone in human history heard a tear that wasn’t silent? I’ve seen many variations of the ‘silent tear’ in fiction now that I consider it to be the most absurd of all clichés. You can cry at different volumes but tears are never loud. It's as pointless as stating, 'Wet rain fell from the sky.'

I only had one magical experience reading this collection, which came in the shape of the funniest short story – and perhaps the funniest piece of literature of any length – that I’ve ever read, namely ‘Peace on Earth, Good-will to Dogs’. Written in the early 1920s by Eleanor Hallowell Abbott, whom I hadn’t previously heard of (and will be reading more of), this is a work of comic genius.

In short, a girl of seventeen or eighteen called Flame decides to spend her Christmas Day with four dogs in their owner’s house. The owner is away and, after Flame’s meeting with a servant who yearns to be elsewhere drinking cider, she offers to dogsit for him. Hilarity and chaos follow. I’ll be giving this one a separate read again next Christmas.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bought for LaZelle Family Christmas. I love Nina Kiriki Hoffman's stories. The rest of the stories were pretty good too. Fantastic value for a $.99 book. It's not shown on Goodreads, but I found another collection A Fantastic Holiday Season edited by Kevin J. Anderson, which also included the same story. If you don't like the selection of stories in this book, you might want to try the other. It also had a much prettier cover ;-)

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the Megapacks from Wildside Press. This one is a good mix of old and new Christmas stories, none of which I'd previously read. Ranging from horror to mystery to humor to schmaltz, there's bound to be something here that will tickle your fancy. You may even, as I did, find new authors that you enjoy.

[Roxane · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few that were absolutely lovely little Christmas stories, a few that were horrid, and a few that were so-so...but - it was an interesting mix!