Candy Christmas's Christmas Collection

September 23, 2002
Yes, the author's name really is Candy Christmas; she is a popular gospel musician and Nashville-based recording artist. And the book is much like Christmas candy—brightly colored and excessively sweet. ("Is there anything more fun during the holidays than a Christmas party?" Christmas gushes.) This is primarily a guide to holiday entertaining, complete with recipes, some of which are first-rate. In a section entitled "To Grandmother's House We Go," Christmas waxes nostalgic about her grandparents' loving Christmas celebrations, which are described in tones that are generically Currier-and-Ivesish and sentimental. Much more credible is Christmas's recollection of the birth of her son Nicholas, who was dangerously premature and was first allowed home from the hospital on Christmas Day. The full-color art, which is the real highlight of the book, beckons readers to indulge in fantasies about special holiday foods, festive table settings and perfectly wrapped presents.