Christmastime

by Sandra Boynton

Written in the same vein as " The Consuming Passion" by the same author, this book describes Christmas time as starting in August and going on till July. Christmas greetings, gift giving, good things to eat, all the joy and stupidities of the Yuletide season are humorously depicted.

Genres: Christmas, Humor, Picture Books, Cartoon, Childrens, Holiday, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Sandra Keith Boynton is an American humorist, songwriter, director, music producer, children's author, and illustrator. Boynton has written and illustrated over eighty-five books for children and seven general audience books, as well as over four thousand greeting cards, and seven music albums. She has also designed calendars, wallpaper, bedding, stationery, paper goods, clothing, jewelry, and plush toys for various companies.

Reviews

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. I read it every year and it makes me laugh, feel nostalgic, and puts me in the proper perspective of Not Taking The Holiday Season Too Seriously. I have been a fan of Sandra's since I was a teenager (maybe before). Please read this book!

[Connie Douglass · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious book written and illustrated by Sandra Boyton for adults! Written in 1987, I’ve read this copy every Christmas! It makes me smile and laugh every time.

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ding holiday book I read every year. The illustrations are as entertaining as the stories inside. A gift from Kathy, naturally.

[Melki · Rating 5 out of 5]

. . . Christmas is a celebration of children, of light and of hope. Christmastime spins somewhat dizzily around this center, often even seeming to obscure it.

Sandra Boynton is best known for her thousands of board books for children that feature adorable sheep, bunnies, cows, and hippos. This one, however, is for adults, and it's a keeper.

Boynton touches on all the things that make the season so magical, including shopping for a tree:

Cut trees are sold "by the foot,"* and an average-height tree at $4.00 a "foot," costs "an arm and a leg."

*1 Christmas Tree Foot = 3 conventional inches.

We learn how to play the traditional holiday sport of Pass the Fruitcake, and receive useful hints for wrapping the gifts:

An hour can be defined as "one-tenth of the time it takes to wrap Christmas presents," and a year can be defined as "the exact amount of time it takes to forget that wrapping all the presents on Christmas Eve is a really bad idea."

There are fill-in-the-blank Christmas newsletters, and even a few recipes - some of them serious and yummy sounding, others, well, perhaps a tad difficult:

Wassail Punch

Core, halve, and roast:
120 medium apples

Beat with a wire whisk:
240 eggs

When you have recovered, pour the eggs into a largish pewter kettle. Add:
125 gallons of ale

You get the picture.

I LOVE this book, and try to read it every year. It makes for a pleasant distraction from all the holiday hubbub, and also keeps me from bursting into tears when I wait, yet again, to wrap the presents on Christmas Eve.



Hey, it's a tradition . . .

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is adorable and so much fun! Sandra Boynton is so clever in her writing on various topics and in her artwork.

While reading this book 35 years after it was published shows how some things have certainly changed -- long distance calling fees, dot matrix printers, and the USSR are vestiges of the past -- there are still many aspects of Christmastime that the reader will find familiar. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

There are so many great details in Boynton's drawings. Take the time to look at the pictures and prepare to laugh even more!

Sandra Boynton's Christmastime is an absolute delight!

[Panda Incognito · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned about this book recently when Sandra Boynton posted about it on her Facebook page, and was delighted that the copy I ordered from ThriftBooks ended up being a 1987 first printing. I read the book after midnight on New Year's Eve, and cackled all the way through it. I read parts of this aloud to anyone who passed by, and my brother and I could not BREATHE over the page with the packing invoice. This book is full of clever, relatable commentary on Christmas traditions and consumer culture, and I enjoyed it so much that I read it twice back-to-back.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constant favorite, every holiday season, full of so many witty moments and wry comments on the most common things we all know about that special time of year called Christmastime. I've been a fan of Sandra Boynton's humor since the height of her greeting cards and cartoon publishing in the 80s, and I love her other two well-known books, "Don't Let the Turkeys Get You Down" and Chocolate: The Consuming Passion." Both of those, and this festive special as well, are highly recommended.

[SKP · Rating 4 out of 5]

I spent pretty much my whole career as a children’s librarians enjoying Sandra Boynton’s books, but I mostly used them in storytime in more recent years, when using her Toddler books with young children. This book is not one I’d use with small children. Possibly some teenagers might get a kick out of it, but I think it is more aimed at adults. It was published in 1987, which as of this writing is 35 years ago. There are definitely some things in the book that didn’t age too well; adults might not notice, but teenagers and younger would probably be confused by them; for example, Spiegel Catalogs & how there is no mention of online shopping. But it was entertaining to me, as a long-time fan of this author, even though I managed to be totally unfamiliar with this book until recently stumbling on it. I don’t know if I’d recommend it as much as I recommend her baby board books and her books that come with CDs (which may also be going out of date as we speak).

[Lori Gallagher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t think I could love Sandra Boynton more but this book did it. How have I not read it before?!? So delightful and laugh out loud funny. I’ve ordered my own copy so now I have some therapy at hand every Christmas.

[Sherri · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's worth it just for the illustrations but also a good light read. I wish Boynton would update this but its still one of the best Christmas books out there.

[Lisa Gennusa-O'Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Instant family classic. My family will read it every year! Thank you Sandra for keeping it real and hilarious 😂

[Patrice M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun fun fun. How can you not LOVE Sandra Boynton!

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and sweet, great for reading aloud. I come back to this every year.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

So cute and funny!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very witty and cute. Interesting facts and recipes. Awesome illustrations. Just an all around fun Christmas read.

[Marie-Clare · Rating 4 out of 5]

Delightful. Thoughtful reflections on the festive season coupled with genius cartoons. A treat.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed Sandra Boynton's work since I was a child, and came across this book on Christmas from the 1980s at a used bookstore. It's geared toward adults, and filled with her adorable characters and humor. Though a little dated with references to pop culture ("Miami Vice"), it still captures many of the quirks of how we celebrate the holiday.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is adorable! I picked it up at the library, thinking my girls would love it, but it's really written for adults. :) The book is pretty well dated (written in 1987), but worth a giggle if you get your hands on a copy!

[Brian Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful little ditty, a trifle dated perhaps, but full of Boynton's usual wit and charm (as well as her wonderful illustrations). Getting it out of the library has become a holiday tradition in our household.

[Suzanne Lorraine Kunz Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

While Sandra Boynton usually writes for children this is a humorous look on Christmas I think that would be appreciated more by adults. It's a little too spicy and negative for me, though it is very funny at times.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVE this book. I spend more time on the illustrations than the text because every one is wonderful. And the text is so like my memories (or perceived memories) that it defines the secular side of Christmas for me.

[Tamara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly irreverent Christmas book. I enjoyed it but I haven't shared it with the girls yet.

[Terri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Sandra Boynton's books, crads, drawings....

[Lelah · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books from childhood, it still cracks me up every year when I pull it out at Christmas.

[Deborah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really cute and cheerful.

[Edwina Book Anaconda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a wonderful time laughing my way through this book.
Tooooo cute !!!

[NanClair Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feeling in the Christmas mood, and this is such a fun book to help get into the Christmas mood early. Full of laughs, not sure if kids will find it funny but adults will.

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it every year during Advent. The recipes I tried were pretty good, too.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lightsome look at pop Christmas traditions.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Thanks to Nina and family for the gift.