A Cozy Christmas Podcast

Hello! In today's episode it's all about the Home Alone reading prompt, and I found the perfect story for it - in fact, I'm going to be able to read it to you over the next three episodes. It's called The Burglar and The Blizzard by Alice Duer Miller. It's a charming, funny story set at Christmas about a bachelor named Jeffry Holland who arrives home one Christmas Eve and finds his house being bur...

I'm talking with author Natalie Bickel about The Polar Express, as well as updating you all on the reading prompt for April, a listener memory, and I read and talk about a poem called "Under the Holly Bough" by Charles Mackay. Grab your hot cocoa and let's ride the Polar Express! Natalie and I still hear the bell ring on Christmas - do you? Nat Bickel: https://www.natmosfear.com   The Christmas Cl...

It's our 75th episode! It's amazing to think about number 100 is coming up this year. Thank you all so much for coming along on this incredible Christmas journey. In today's episode, things are a little more somber and reflective as I consider some of the events that are happening in the world today. I talk about The Christmas Truce in WWI and then I read the short story "Merry Christmas" that Can...

Happy March! In today's episode, Bill from thevillagecollector.com is back on the show to talk about the Christmas Villages showcased on his website that were voted into his Hall of Fame this year. We talk about Christmas, Dickens, and of course Christmas Villages! Then Grace and I decide to match wits and try out a Christmas trivia game that I bought after Christmas. Who do you think will win thi...

In today's episode I read The Strange Adventures of a Wood Sled by Washington Gladden, talk about my dream of being Santa one day, and give a review on the book The Miracle of Ebenezer Street by Catherine Doyle. There's nothing too strange about the adventure or the wood sled in Gladden's story, but it's a wonderfully cozy Christmas story that will give you all the Christmas feels. What better way...

What happens when a book lover marries another book lover? Find out on today's episode! Hello! Welcome to season 3 of the Cozy Christmas Podcast. In today's episode I have a very special guest - my wife, Erin stops by the podcast to talk about our reading picks for this month's Cozy Christmas Reading Challenge. We talk about what it's like being a librarian; how can we support our local libraries;...

Hello and Merry Christmas... as of today, there are only 11 months until Christmas. I can't believe we're almost to the single digits... Ok, there's still a lot of time left until Christmas, and I'm excited to be starting season 3! In today's episode I share with you one of Charles Dickens' Christmas short stories, but it's not as well known as it should be. The story is called Doctor Marigold, an...

Welcome to the season finale of A Cozy Christmas Podcast! Today, we're going to consider Charles Dickens' Christmas Tree, as well as a special announcement for a reading challenge. In 1850 Dickens published a reflection piece for Christmas entitled "A Christmas Tree". And in typical Dickens fashion, he has a lot of words to say about his tree and the memories from his past that it conjures up. Tho...

Merry Christmas everyone! Or is it Happy Christmas? In any case, the day is finally here. For this special Christmas episode, I invited on author Amy Boucher Pye and we have a chat about her new Advent book called Celebrating Christmas, as well as talk about our faith in the context of Christmas, and share some stories about what Christmas is like in the UK. As always there is a lot of fun and joy...

Merry Christmas Eve! It's my favorite day of the year. And to help you celebrate today, here is part 5 from A Christmas Carol. Let's find out what happens to Scrooge after his ghostly visits. Is it too late for him to change? Also stick around after the story, as my friends at the Christmas Podcast Network have put together a special Christmas greeting for you. We all want to thank you for listeni...

Merry Christmas Eve Eve! Today's episode I sit down with fellow Christmas Podcaster Marty Achatz, from the Lit for Christmas Podcast, to talk about his new spoken word album "Christmas with Bigfoot". It's a wonderful album of Christmas essays that talk about love, loss, Christmas - and much more. Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode as we will finish up with A Christmas Carol stave 5, and then on Chr...

It's Christmas week, and I have several episodes planned for the week. Today's episode begins with a listener's memory - Mika Jeane wrote a beautiful new Christmas song and I loved it so much I wanted to play it on the podcast for all of you. Thank you Mika for letting me share this with my other listeners! The song is called Light Up, and you can also hear it on Mika's youtube channel https://www...

Here's part 4 of A Christmas Carol. Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come and is shown a cold, bleak future. Will he have a chance at redemption? This chapter has some of the most beautifully described scenes by Dickens. Enjoy, and Merry Christmas! Rate and review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-cozy-christmas-podcast/id1523423375   Buy me a coffee? www.ko-fi.com/cozychristmas...

Christmas is Coming Soon - and yes that's true, but it's also my favorite new Christmas song from singer/songwriter Rehya Stevens on her brand new album, 'Tis the Season. In today's episode I talk with Rehya about o ur Christmases last year and this year's expectations, her new album and some of my favorite songs from it, what makes Christmas music sound Christmasy, and the challenges of writing n...

Hi everyone, sorry this is late, but we've been sick (again) so it's made me get off schedule a little bit. But I finally got Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, Stave 3 edited and ready to go for you! In this section Scrooge meets the Ghost of Christmas Present - and we'll see the classic scenes of the Cratchit Family as well as Scrooge's nephew's Christmas party. This was really fun to read! Aft...

The Birmingham Children's Theater is back with a new Zoom play called Elves 2.0! This year the Elves at the North Pole are ready for anything - and they want to invite your kids along on a virtual tour of the NP! They've learned from all the mistakes and malfunctions that happened last year are ready for anything. What could possibly go wrong? We have a full crew in the interview booth today: frie...

Today's story I read is Stave 2 of A Christmas Carol, in which we meet The Ghost of Christmas Past! Find out what happens when Scrooge is faced with painful events from his past. Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction 02:00 A Christmas Carol, part 2 40:45 Final Thoughts For more stories and author interviews check out The Bookshelf Odyssey Podcast: https://bookshelfodyssey.buzzsprout.com/ https://www.yout...

In today's show, I'm interviewing author Natalie Bickel about her new children's Christmas book, The Christmas Clue. We talk about the best Children stories to read at Christmas time, as well as our Christmas memories, favorite movies and so much more. I also share a listener memory about how he fell in love with his wife during Christmas time, and that leads me down memory lane to talk about how...

A Cozy Christmas Podcast Presents: A Christmas Carol, Stave 1, by Charles Dickens. We are into the Christmas season now, and for this month's story I'll be bringing you weekly installments of A Christmas Carol! As you all know, this is by far my favorite story of all time. I am so excited to bring you this story that I love so dearly. I know some of you have seen multiple versions of the story on...

Happy Thanksgiving! As a special thanksgiving episode, I invited Robert Peterpaul, actor and host of the new podcast The Art of Kindness, on to the show to talk about some kindness tips for the holiday season. We also have a lovely discussion about Christmas, the theater, our favorite Christmas songs and movies, we share our proposal stories, and much more. The world has been a difficult place for...

We're going back to the theater today! And there's a mystery afoot... What happens when the worlds of Sherlock Holmes and Ebenezer Scrooge are thrown together? Find out in the new play that debuts today in NYC, A Sherlock Carol. My guest today is Mark Shanahan, he's the writer and director of the play. He comes from an extensive background in acting, writing and directing many plays both for the s...

Hello everyone! In today's episode I share a listener memory that's an emotional one. Fan of the show Katie shares her memory of spending Christmas 2010 with her niece who had leukemia. After I share that, I give a few tips on how to celebrate the holidays after a loved one has passed away. This can be a difficult conversation, but it's something that many of us have experienced. Then, author Ed D...

Happy November everyone! And happy Christmas Podcast Day! Have you ever wondered if a relative or friend might just be Santa Claus? Today I share a listener's memory of how his family member dressed up as Santa Claus one Christmas. His story reminds me of a Christmas tale that I read in the episode - "Old Father Christmas" by Juliana Horatia Ewing. It tells the story of two small children who thin...

The name's Claus... MRS. Claus... Have you ever wondered what Mrs. Claus does all year while Santa prepares for Christmas? Well, according to a new books series by author Liz Ireland, she solves mysteries. In today's episode I interview Liz Ireland, and we talk about her excellent new Mrs. Claus cozy mystery series and of course there's lots of talk about our favorite books, Christmas, movies and...

Happy October everyone! In today's episode I share a listener's memory from a cozy farm in Canada and he tells us about how his town welcomes Christmas. Then I head over to Portugal and share a couple of fun Christmas traditions the town of Braga has on Christmas eve. Finally, I read the essay Old Thoughts for Christmas by Christopher Morley. Published during the Christmas season after the Treaty...