West Texas Christmas Stories

An anthology of more than 30 Christmas stories--short and upbeat, set in West Texas or by West Texas writers--that evoke memories of warm and humorous holiday moments.

Christmas is our most cherished holiday for many reasons. It tugs at the heart and evokes memories. It's a time for laughter and joy. Christmas is about faith and family and friendship, about Jesus and also Santa Claus, about giving and receiving, about anticipating and experiencing.

And Christmas is about story-telling. Every one of us probably has a Christmas story or two worth telling--the time everything turned out perfect, or not so perfect; the best Christmas ever; a remembered disappointment; a spiritual encounter; a lesson observed and woven deep into the fabric of our own personal quilt of values; an incident so funny we still laugh out loud years later recalling it.

The stories here do all of the above--and maybe more. Some may elicit a smile or a chuckle, others may find you wiping away a tear, while others may cause your mind to drift back to moments and memories catalogued deep within your soul. Some are by writers who may be familiar; others by writers you haven't read until now. Some are fiction, others non-fiction, though in the spirit of Christmas it may not always be possible to separate one from the other.

Though diverse, the pieces in this book have a few things in common. Geography, for one--they are either set in West Texas or they are the product of West Texans putting pen to paper or, more likely, fingers to computer keyboard. Length, for another--none of these stories take very long to read. And, finally, all are intended to help make this Christmas a little more meaningful.