Cider Mill Press

Advent calendars have been popular with families around the world for years, and this beautiful holiday gift set will enrich the tradition. It takes a truly unique approach. In addition to the calendar, the package features 10 feet of decorative foil-trimmed ribbon in cheery seasonal colors. Twenty-five envelopes in Christmas red and green hang from the ribbon; they’re all numbered and each contains a Christmas Advent card with original illustrations, a passage from the Nativity story, and room for parents to write a special note to their children. On December 1st, kids can begin opening one envelope per day all the way to Christmas. It’s a great way for children to learn about Christmas and feel the holiday spirit and excitement.

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Nothing says Halloween like the sight of a flickering, jagged-toothed pumpkin welcoming trick-or-treaters to the house with a sinister smile. So spook night revelers will be delighted to know there’s an easy way to enjoy that celebratory jack-o-lantern: simply slip the disk from this scary Halloween package into the DVD slot and watch the warm seasonal orange glow on the screen! The accompanying Halloween Jack-O-Lantern book adds to the fun with an array of classic Halloween tales, the history of the Jack-O-Lantern and Halloween, and numerous yummy recipes. And that’s not all: the kit also contains a soundtrack of screams and scary organ music, as well as diagrams for carving the seven different fearsome pumpkins found in the DVD.

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Nothing brings the winter holiday season to life like a festive fire crackling in the hearth. It’s the perfect complement to stockings hung by the chimney with care, and the sound of Christmas carols echoing in the chilly air...but what about those who live in apartments, college dorms, or hot southern climates — the fireplaceless among us? Now they too can bask in the cozy glow of a seasonal blaze with this clever book - plus-DVD set. Any computer screen is transformed into the holiday hearth, while the 50 page book provides such read-aloud favorites as The Night Before Christmas and the O. Henry classicThe Gift of the Magi. Four sing- along lyric sheets for popular Christmas carols, and a great fruitcake recipe, complete this fun gift package.

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Thinking of working for Santa? Think again! Discovered somewhere in the vast confines of a Newark warehouse used to store elf clothing for Christmas displays (and right beside a half-pint of rye), this tattered book blows the lid off the inside doings at the North Pole. The holiday workshop has been a secret society for far too long, keeping mum about its office practices, low or non-existent wages, hazardous weather duty, squalid living conditions (elves and reindeer live together), and big-brother snooping. It’s even been said that the management can see you when you’re sleeping!

The North Pole Employee Handbook reveals everything about how things really get done, from “The Company’s” anti-labor-organizing regulations to its strict totalitarian control of the media to its stringent non-compete claus(e) for elves. Santa jolly? We think not. Training, dress code, employee classifications, time sheets, on the job safety, sick leave, official holidays (they don’t even get Christmas off!), and much more are all written down here...and now, the truth is out there for us all.

This playful “facsimile” edition of the ancient handbook makes a great holiday gift. Give it to those you love...and save them from the big boss up North!

The world’s most famous — and special — Christmas tree Rockefeller Center had its first Christmas tree even before any buildings rose to fill the space: in 1931, just after they cleared the site, construction workers decorated a small balsam fir with the most humble of ornaments, from garlands of paper to tin cans. Since then, the tree has become one of the wonders of the holiday season, as thousands of people come together to gaze at the bright and sparkling sight. For many, it one of the surest signs Christmas is near.

The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tells the story of this now-landmark calendar event. Not only does it provide background on how the tree is chosen, cut, transported, and decorated, as well as fun facts (it now has LED lights and, after the holiday, its lumber is used for a Habitat for Humanity house), but it also follows at least one family in each decade whose pine ended up becoming one of New York’s most popular tourist attractions.

Handsomely bound, with a ribbon marker, this lovely gift book makes a great stocking stuffer and a special treat for anyone visiting Rockefeller Center at Christmastime.