Skipping Christmas by John Grisham

My Rating: ****--4 Stars
Length: 227 pages

Blurb: Luther and Nora Krank are fed up with the chaos of Christmas. The endless shopping lists, the frenzied dashes through the mall, the hassle of decorating the tree... where has all the joy gone? This year, celebrating seems like too much effort. With their only child off in Peru, they decide that just this once, they'll skip the holidays. They spend their Christmas budget on a Caribbean Cruise set to sail on December 25, and happily settle in for a restful holiday season free of rooftop snowmen and festive parties.

But the Kranks soon learn that their vacation from Christmas isn't much of a vacation at all, and that skipping the holidays has consequences they didn't bargain for...

A modern Christmas classic, Skipping Christmas is a charming and hilarious look at the mayhem and madness that have become ingrained in our holiday tradition.

My Review: I've read this book 3 or 4 times now and think it's worth a lot of laughs. Sometimes I wish I could escape the hustle and bustle and craziness that seems to be associated with Christmas. Watching this couple give everything up made me realize that you really can't avoid it all. I guess the key is to pick and choose what's important and let the rest slide. There are so many charities who are collecting for different groups who really need help during this time of year. It definitely seemed like Luther had an easier time just pushing everything aside and ignoring all those who needed help, but Nora had a more tender heart and it was harder for her to do. I loved how the neighborhood all pulled together in the end. It made me think of the Grinch--it's not all about the packages, boxes, and bags, but it's about the people and relationships.