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American Girl: Samantha #3
Samantha's Surprise: A Christmas Story
The two weeks before Christmas are filled with activity as Samantha finishes her homemade presents and makes preparations for visiting relatives.
66 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 210 reviews
November 30, 2025
Samantha Parkington is ready for Christmas! She's made a box full of decorations, she's planned the gingerbread house and she's worked so very hard on everyone's Christmas presents.
On top of that, people keep asking her what she wants for Christmas but Samantha doesn't feel like she could say. There's a new, beautiful doll in the window at Schofield's Toy Store.
However, in the first book (Meet Samantha), she has a beautiful doll (Lydia) from Grandmary but Samantha gave Lydia away once Samantha realized that Nellie (her best friend) didn't have a doll of her own.
This Christmas season, Samantha is trying very hard not to be spoiled or difficult about changes but at the same time...it's really hard when her favorite traditions are canceled. How can Samantha enjoy Christmas when so much of it is changing?
I think this was a wonderful book about how the holidays both bring families together with tradition and also open us to forming our own (new) traditions as well.
This one wasn't quite as hard-hitting with the social justice issues but I felt it was rather relatable for a young girl struggling with her views on Christmas, family and traditions.
Additionally, I like how Samantha struggled with asking for her Christmas present - it would be very easy to have her ask Grandmary for the fancy doll, but that internal struggle helped with her relatability and endeared me to her character.
The one thing that I was a bit disappointed about was that Nellie seemed to not be in this story. After being such a pivotal character for books 1 and 2, I was a bit surprised that she didn't play a role in this story.
Overall, this was a lovely third book to the series!
At first Samantha is delighted! She adores Uncle Gard's beau and she is so excited to be spending the holidays with her...but that joy quickly sours when Samantha tries to decorate the house with her handmade decorations.
" 'And now I have a surprise for you,' Grandmary announced...'Uncle Gardner will spend Christmas with us as he always has. But this year he is not coming alone. He is bringing Miss Cornelia Pitt.' "
Grandmary wants the holiday to be perfect and has hired the Farrola Florist company to decorate the house. And then the gingerbread house gets canceled as well. Oh this is just the worst!
" 'Sakes alive! What is this nonsense?'
It was Elsa.
The maid went straight to the windows and began tearing off Samantha's snowflakes."
On top of that, people keep asking her what she wants for Christmas but Samantha doesn't feel like she could say. There's a new, beautiful doll in the window at Schofield's Toy Store.
In short, the doll is perfect and everything that Samantha ever wanted.
"She pointed to a group of dolls that seemed to be dancing. They twirled around a taller doll who wore a lacy pink dress, pink pantalets, and pink slippers. The doll held a tiny wooden soldier that looked just like the Nutcracker in the ballet."
However, in the first book (Meet Samantha), she has a beautiful doll (Lydia) from Grandmary but Samantha gave Lydia away once Samantha realized that Nellie (her best friend) didn't have a doll of her own.
This Christmas season, Samantha is trying very hard not to be spoiled or difficult about changes but at the same time...it's really hard when her favorite traditions are canceled. How can Samantha enjoy Christmas when so much of it is changing?
I think this was a wonderful book about how the holidays both bring families together with tradition and also open us to forming our own (new) traditions as well.
This one wasn't quite as hard-hitting with the social justice issues but I felt it was rather relatable for a young girl struggling with her views on Christmas, family and traditions.
Additionally, I like how Samantha struggled with asking for her Christmas present - it would be very easy to have her ask Grandmary for the fancy doll, but that internal struggle helped with her relatability and endeared me to her character.
The one thing that I was a bit disappointed about was that Nellie seemed to not be in this story. After being such a pivotal character for books 1 and 2, I was a bit surprised that she didn't play a role in this story.
Overall, this was a lovely third book to the series!
May 18, 2017
Things to love about this book:
1. Handmade snowflakes
2. Nutcracker
3. Dolls
4. Papier-mâché box
5. Box of chocolates
6. Her red dress
Things I associate with Christmas even today:
See all of the above.
Seriously, when I was a girl, the year I read this, I thought: That's my dream Christmas.
That year, all I asked for was numbers 1-6. And I got all of those. My grandmother made me a red polished cotton dress just like hers on the cover. I got my first nutcracker, which started my obsession with them, and current collection of 300+. I got a doll, the box, and a box of Russell Stover. And other than the dress, I still have all of them. I don't know what happened to that dress. But I do have a picture of me wearing it, and I kept it framed on my dresser.
The point is, this book is classic, teaches a great moral about Christmas and acceptance, and it lingers in the hearts of young girls.
1. Handmade snowflakes
2. Nutcracker
3. Dolls
4. Papier-mâché box
5. Box of chocolates
6. Her red dress
Things I associate with Christmas even today:
See all of the above.
Seriously, when I was a girl, the year I read this, I thought: That's my dream Christmas.
That year, all I asked for was numbers 1-6. And I got all of those. My grandmother made me a red polished cotton dress just like hers on the cover. I got my first nutcracker, which started my obsession with them, and current collection of 300+. I got a doll, the box, and a box of Russell Stover. And other than the dress, I still have all of them. I don't know what happened to that dress. But I do have a picture of me wearing it, and I kept it framed on my dresser.
The point is, this book is classic, teaches a great moral about Christmas and acceptance, and it lingers in the hearts of young girls.
January 11, 2020
I loved these books as a girl, and they are still good rereading them as an adult. The story is simple and sweet, with vivid characters. I especially love Samantha’s character and how curious and brave she is.
The main reason I’m enjoying rereading them as an adult is the strong nostalgia and memories. I’m not sure that an adult reader would enjoy these books if they had not already read them as a child.
I remember being fascinated as a child by the beautiful Christmas traditions, and the gorgeous doll that Samantha wishes to get for Christmas. This is such a special little book to me. All my childhood Christmas dreams are in this book.
The main reason I’m enjoying rereading them as an adult is the strong nostalgia and memories. I’m not sure that an adult reader would enjoy these books if they had not already read them as a child.
I remember being fascinated as a child by the beautiful Christmas traditions, and the gorgeous doll that Samantha wishes to get for Christmas. This is such a special little book to me. All my childhood Christmas dreams are in this book.
August 4, 2018
I've been reading this book every Christmas since I was 7-years-old. It's a tradition! I love everything about it. It is so perfectly Christmassy and loving and joyful! Samantha was always my favorite American Girl growing up, and I still appreciate her as an adult, finding her realistic as a child but still strong and compassionate. Great read!!
July 6, 2024
Samantha had everything I could ever want at Christmas: taffeta and velvet, bejeweled gingerbread, fresh pine decorations you can practically smell through the book, a romp through a true candy shop, steaming cups of hot chocolate, and a precious little nutcracker doll.
I mean damn, girl. You just get everything, don't you?
I mean damn, girl. You just get everything, don't you?
December 23, 2023
✩ 5 stars
~
“Grandmary says homemade gifts are the best ones because give yourself when you make them.”
~
“Grandmary says homemade gifts are the best ones because give yourself when you make them.”
Read
May 15, 2024the Edwardian Christmas aesthetic in this book is *chef's kiss* also I fear that Grandmary is not quite passing the vibe check
December 25, 2024
Nothing quite as nostalgic as diving into one of your favorite American Girl holiday books! Love the setting and the illustrations.
December 21, 2024
“Samantha had never seen anything like it — a grown up lady who knew how to play”
We see Samantha making super sweet handmade gifts and decorations 🥰🥰
She even wrote a book for a baby she knows. haha
Case in point: She selflessly gave her own doll away, but she won't ask for a new doll for Christmas.
She doesn't ask for anything!
I loved the part where she gets to know her future aunt and realizes what fun she really is.
✨✨📚💙📚✨✨More in-depth reviews on my weekly Youtube videos.
We see Samantha making super sweet handmade gifts and decorations 🥰🥰
She even wrote a book for a baby she knows. haha
Case in point: She selflessly gave her own doll away, but she won't ask for a new doll for Christmas.
She doesn't ask for anything!
I loved the part where she gets to know her future aunt and realizes what fun she really is.
✨✨📚💙📚✨✨More in-depth reviews on my weekly Youtube videos.
December 19, 2024
I just love Samantha.
December 25, 2025
One year I made my own versions of every single gift and decoration Samantha makes in this book and gave them to my parents/decorated the house with them. Some of those decorations are still hanging around our house this Christmas. Some things never change <3
June 1, 2024
Re-reading as an adult, here's what stands out:
- Samantha's excitement for Christmas in the beginning is delightful.
- Her petulance at things not going her way is a little tiresome but also completely relatable.
- Watching her warm up to Cornelia is really sweet - and I admire her for not holding onto her grudge with both hands the way I would have done at that age.
- The progression of gifts she considers for Cornelia makes me giggle, though you could also argue that it's a very overt expression of the largesse and privilege Samantha grows up with - which in some ways makes it seem silly that she gets so worked up over asking Grandmary for the doll. I wish we got some indication of cost - how much is the doll compared to all the potential presents for Cornelia? How much pocket money does Samantha have at her disposal? I assume the author chooses not to give us firm numbers because inflation would make the amounts seem trivial, but the ease with which Samantha considers buying perfume and fancy bath salts and lace-trimmed handkerchiefs, when it never crosses her mind to buy (or save up for) the doll for herself is curious.
- That darling Nutcracker doll, which characters specifically note is just like in the ballet? Maybe someone has been to Russia?? Although the Nutcracker ballet premiered there in 1892, it wasn't deemed a success, and wasn't performed outside Russia until 1934.
- Gard and Cornelia get engaged at Christmas and have already decided on a March wedding?? Have they already been planning for a year? We know they have a big wedding because there's a short story about it.
- We have a different author for this book. Nellie is nowhere to be seen; nor (thankfully) are Eddie or Edith. Without Nellie, we lose the focus on class issues and the dark side of life in 1904, and this becomes a fairly simple Christmas story.
More Samantha babble:
Meet Samantha | Samantha Learns a Lesson | Samantha's Surprise | Happy Birthday, Samantha | Samantha Saves the Day | Changes for Samantha
Nellie's Promise
Samantha's Winter Party | Samantha and the Missing Pearls | Samantha Saves the Wedding | Samantha's Blue Bicycle | Samantha's Special Talent | Samantha's Short Story Collection
The Curse of Ravenscourt | The Stolen Sapphire | The Cry of the Loon | Clue in the Castle Tower
The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha
- Samantha's excitement for Christmas in the beginning is delightful.
- Her petulance at things not going her way is a little tiresome but also completely relatable.
- Watching her warm up to Cornelia is really sweet - and I admire her for not holding onto her grudge with both hands the way I would have done at that age.
- The progression of gifts she considers for Cornelia makes me giggle, though you could also argue that it's a very overt expression of the largesse and privilege Samantha grows up with - which in some ways makes it seem silly that she gets so worked up over asking Grandmary for the doll. I wish we got some indication of cost - how much is the doll compared to all the potential presents for Cornelia? How much pocket money does Samantha have at her disposal? I assume the author chooses not to give us firm numbers because inflation would make the amounts seem trivial, but the ease with which Samantha considers buying perfume and fancy bath salts and lace-trimmed handkerchiefs, when it never crosses her mind to buy (or save up for) the doll for herself is curious.
- That darling Nutcracker doll, which characters specifically note is just like in the ballet? Maybe someone has been to Russia?? Although the Nutcracker ballet premiered there in 1892, it wasn't deemed a success, and wasn't performed outside Russia until 1934.
- Gard and Cornelia get engaged at Christmas and have already decided on a March wedding?? Have they already been planning for a year? We know they have a big wedding because there's a short story about it.
- We have a different author for this book. Nellie is nowhere to be seen; nor (thankfully) are Eddie or Edith. Without Nellie, we lose the focus on class issues and the dark side of life in 1904, and this becomes a fairly simple Christmas story.
More Samantha babble:
Meet Samantha | Samantha Learns a Lesson | Samantha's Surprise | Happy Birthday, Samantha | Samantha Saves the Day | Changes for Samantha
Nellie's Promise
Samantha's Winter Party | Samantha and the Missing Pearls | Samantha Saves the Wedding | Samantha's Blue Bicycle | Samantha's Special Talent | Samantha's Short Story Collection
The Curse of Ravenscourt | The Stolen Sapphire | The Cry of the Loon | Clue in the Castle Tower
The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha
December 11, 2024
I loved this and I finished it in one sitting! I loved the ending. Easy and enjoyable quick read for the holiday season!
January 30, 2023
not as crazy about this one as the others, but still so good and holds up!!
June 21, 2024
This one is very cute, but I feel like we lost the plot a bit.
December 14, 2025
This was such a cozy Christmasy story. Loved all the handmade things and Samantha’s search for the perfect gift for Cornelia. I enjoyed it very much!
December 1, 2024
There’s nothing quite like the original AG books 🫶🏻
August 26, 2021
Again, Samantha displays selflessness and kindness through her thoughts and actions. This book in the series, though, has Samantha's own feelings as the conflict, rather than someone or something else bothering her friends and family. She is presented with a lot of changes she does not like and reacts poorly - but as you would expect a nine-year-old to react - and she later repents of her negativity. The story ends sweetly. I especially appreciated how Cornelia and Gardner acted with Samantha; it shows the young reader how adults can be silly and fun and are not all like Grandmary.
January 13, 2024
I think this has been the weakest entry in the Samantha series so far. The Christmas setting is cheery, but no profound lessons are learned except, perhaps, that plans can change and sometimes that change can be good.
July 10, 2017
Awww much too adorable!! I love Samantha so much! Lol
July 6, 2020
I remember that Samantha's Christmas seemed so wholesome and good and upon a reread, I loved it still.
December 2, 2021
Cornelia tiene vibes de Miss Stacey de Anne with an E and I think that's beautiful
February 19, 2024
Childhood disappointments and joys. Love it!
Read
October 27, 2024samantha is dramatic and petty in a very 9 year old way. i love this for her.
November 7, 2024
Escapism at its finest.
I wonder if I had a crush on Uncle Gard when I read these books as a kid. I certainly do now.
I wonder if I had a crush on Uncle Gard when I read these books as a kid. I certainly do now.
December 13, 2024
I decided a few years ago that rereading an American Girl book every once in a while is good for my mental health. I’ve also decided to start rating them how I would have as a kid (aka all five stars)
July 9, 2023
Okay, this one was cute. And Samantha will never not be associated with Christmas.
November 3, 2025
Why are the trashing her handmade christmas decorations!! 😭 she's just a kid
July 31, 2020
A great choice for reading to my 4 year old. It isn’t Christmas time but a good story, for any time.
April 22, 2020
I remembered absolutely nothing about this book, except that Samantha wore a red dress and got a doll. I enjoyed rediscovering the book as an adult, and appreciated Samantha's realistic emotions about how the visit from her uncle's girlfriend's would change her Christmas traditions. Although her attitude gets a bit tiresome, it is completely true to life, and I enjoyed seeing how she processed this and warmed up to Cornelia over time.
Also, Cornelia is a delightful person, and I enjoyed viewing her from the perspective of being her peer, rather than viewing her as an Very Grown Adult. She's so nice to Samantha, remembers what it was like to be a kid, is playful and fun, and strikes the right balance between being respectful and forward-thinking. Although the second book in this series made historical missteps in understanding the world of ideas, this book is near-perfect in its evocation of a Christmas in that era and of a young, modern 1900s woman.
This book is by a different author than the previous two, and the writing and plot structure are much improved. My only complaint is that the "peek into the past" section gives an unrealistic view of Christmases in that era by only focusing on how the wealthy celebrated. I didn't notice this much as a child, but I wish that the historical note had contrasted Christmas traditions across classes instead of making it look like everyone lived in luxury, with lots of toys and lavish meals.
Also, Cornelia is a delightful person, and I enjoyed viewing her from the perspective of being her peer, rather than viewing her as an Very Grown Adult. She's so nice to Samantha, remembers what it was like to be a kid, is playful and fun, and strikes the right balance between being respectful and forward-thinking. Although the second book in this series made historical missteps in understanding the world of ideas, this book is near-perfect in its evocation of a Christmas in that era and of a young, modern 1900s woman.
This book is by a different author than the previous two, and the writing and plot structure are much improved. My only complaint is that the "peek into the past" section gives an unrealistic view of Christmases in that era by only focusing on how the wealthy celebrated. I didn't notice this much as a child, but I wish that the historical note had contrasted Christmas traditions across classes instead of making it look like everyone lived in luxury, with lots of toys and lavish meals.
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