A Christmas Message for our Booklovers

Growing up, the Christmas season was a truly magical time of year for me. Back then, the season seemed to be never-ending, with plenty of time for many family traditions: making homemade chocolate and fudge, baking at least six different types of holiday cookies (candy cane cookies were the best), watching oh so many Christmas movies (It’s a Wonderful Life and The Legend of Frosty the Snowman were my childhood favs) mall shopping (yes, this was pre-internet), and advent family masses and activities at my church, St Joseph the Worker parish, in upstate New York. The various activities were wonderful but most wonderful of all was just being together with my family. 

When I got married the reality of having to alternate holidays with my husband’s family was a bit difficult to accept. That first Christmas apart from my family, I gifted my parents a Thomas Kinkade canvas painting, “Home for the Holidays” for them to hang up in the house every Christmas I was apart from them. The “Home for the Holidays” painting, invokes a nurturing feeling of Christmas: the settled snow on the rooftop, the lights glowing softly in the windows, the smoke emanating from the chimney, the friendly greetings shared with neighbors. Whenever I look at that painting, I can almost smell the cookies which are surely baking in the kitchen.

Wherever you are, you are home for Christmas.

There is a certain warmth to the world at Christmastime. It’s a time that reminds us that “home” is so much more than a place. It’s a feeling we carry, a memory we return to. In fact, I believe that being “home for Christmas” isn’t about a particular geography but more about being present in your moment, wherever that may be.

Today, after 25 years in my parent’s house, my Home for the Holidays canvas painting now hangs in my own house, filled with its own memories of Christmases past. It reminds me of a classic book, passed down from one generation to the next, filled with memories and stories of its own. Perhaps today there are new books being gifted to your family and friends, books which will have a rich life of their own in the years ahead.

At ThriftBooks, we are humbled to be part of your lives in even the smallest way. In a world full of places you could buy books, you chose us—and that means more than you know. Your support enables us to bring stories into new homes, to support teachers building classrooms, to help families share traditions, and to generally connect with booklovers in ways that continue to inspire us every day.

From our ThriftBooks family to yours, may your holidays be filled with peace, warmth, and the comfort of home.

Wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas.

Read more by Barbara Hagen