books/stories that conjure up CHRISTMAS ! what do you always read...

[MaryAnnSingleton]

inspired by another thread..
I love to read Dylan Thomas' A Child's Christmas in Wales and the Christmassy chapters in Alison Uttley's A Counntry Child - both gorgeously atmospheric...
what are your favourites ?

Yes to the Dark is Rising. Love it.

The Christmas bit in Cider with Rosie.

All time fave is The Children of Green Knowe. Absolutely brilliant.

winter solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher.
always puts me in a christmas mood. and makes me want to move to teh highlands.

Christmas on Exeter Street

reminds me of Christmas at my mum's house- whole family piles in, sleeping anywhere ther is space. Often there are unexpected guests too.

ooh, Box of Delights every time for me! I'm reading it right now as I always do at this time of the year and have just finished watching the BBC adaptation with DH, DS(5) and DD(3). We love it and especially enjoy watching it in front of a roaring fire on a Sunday tea time.

The Children of Green Knowe - absolutely packed with Christmas atmosphere. The BBC TV adaptation captured it really well - why do they never repeat these things?

The Tailor of Gloucester

I don't like the box of delights, I'm sorry. I too watched the BBC series as a kid and although this probably makes me a philistine the series as a child did more for me than the book as an adult...

Box of Delights - re-read it every year

Maybe I'm wired all wrong

it is a very slow read (lots of extraneous detail) but I rather like that in books I read again. The Midnight Folk is good too.

The Christmas Bower by Poly Redford is fab - it's about a boy who loves bird watching but comes from a famous department store family who are all obsessed with 'the store'. Absolutely brilliant, and illustrated by the same guy who did the Shrinking of Treehorn.

Much as Bridget Jones irritates me, I do like her Christmassy scenes.

And I'm delighted to discover that my favourite writer (David Lodge) has a family Christmas set piece in his latest novel, Deaf Sentence. Made even better by me receiving the book for my crimbo!

Velveteen Rabbit

The Bullaby Children. Childrens books written by Astrid Lindgren. There was a Christmas one and it was just so old fashioned and Christmasy I loved it.