referred to here for: ideas for short stories to read aloud to family on xmas eve.

[CTyankee]

Not religious. Not sad. funny or wise would be great.

My two ideas were: The Night the Bed Fell by Thurber and Gift of the Magi by O. Henry. Both are nice, for different reasons.

Anybody have suggestions for pieces just as brief as these? I'm reading for 4 adults and 3 kids aged 10, 13 and 16.

[pinto]

1. O. Henry - "The Gift of the Magi" is a great choice, imo. This may fit, as well -

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
By Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

[CTyankee]

2. that poem has received more attention to me as I grow older...

I used to disdain Frost in favor of Eliot, Stevens and other modern poets. But Frost has been underrated IMHO. There is a "setting" to his poems, such as this one, that is unmistakenly American and modern. It has our familiar rhythm and context...a beautiful one...thanks for the reminder...

[pinto]

3. Yeah, a more colloquial voice. And as you say, he nails the setting, however brief.

:hi:

[CTyankee]

4. Not my favorite but Frost has his moments.

He does hit some high notes, even if he is not as erudite as Wallace Stevens. Stevens' stuff can send me into a kind of trance, even tho I don't want to go there, so I try not to even get into him at times...

[elleng]

5. Read this every year; daughters still love it. AND, of course,

Twas the night before Christmas
http://www.carols.org.uk/twas_the_night_before_christmas.htm

The Polar Express great musical, picturesque story.

[grasswire]

6. A Child's Christmas In Wales by Dylan Thomas

From wikipedia:

Like Dylan's poetry, 'A Child's Christmas in Wales' does not follow a narrative structure, instead containing several descriptive passages designed to create an emotive sense of nostalgia.<11> The story is told from the viewpoint of the author recounting a festive season as a young boy in a fictionalised autobiographical style. In the first passage Thomas searches for a nostalgic Western belief in Christmas past with the line, "It was snowing. It was always snowing at Christmas". He furthers the idyllic memory of childhood past by describing the snow as being better and more exciting then the snow that is experienced as an adult.<11> The prose is purposefully comedic, with exaggerated characters, used either for comedic effect or to show how childhood memories are enlarged due to youthful interpretation.

[uberblonde]

7. Personally...

I'm rather fond of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever."

[MADem]

8. Night Before Xmas always works--that's really a poem, but it's fun. nt