My new picture book about Christmas is out, so it kind of has to be the season, for me. It’s called The Best Christmas Ever, and will also be published in French as Le meilleur des noëls. 

It’s the story of twins Toby and Ella. It’s almost Christmas, and they are not happy about it. To them, Christmas means watching their mom exhaust herself with decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping, card-writing and over-scheduling their holiday. It’s a grind.

They want time with their mom to make a snowman and read a few Christmas stories beside the fire. They’re so tired of the rush-rush-rush of the holiday season and look forward more to the end of it than the beginning.

But one morning Mom’s alarm doesn’t go off and they miss breakfast with Santa. Before she can replace the breakfast with another must-do, the twins convince Mom to go outside where snow is falling and snowmen are calling. And that’s only the beginning. Pretty soon the whole rigid Christmas routine is in ruins and relaxation and fun are the rule, not the exception.

I loved writing this book. I wrote it years ago, when my kids were younger and Christmas was wonderful, but a massive amount of work. It’s kind of a goals story for me; I’m still not quite as relaxed about the season as I’d like to be, but I’m heading in the right direction. The Best Christmas Ever reminds me to keep heading toward simple, fun, relaxing.