“A Christmas Holiday with the Clauses” Adds Modern Flair to Time-Honored Traditions

When it comes to Christmas holiday books for children, it can seem as though every storyline has been thoroughly explored and that there is nothing new under the tree. Anyone who has taken a stroll past the seasonal book display at their local library or bookstore knows that holiday books tend to fall into one of a few clichéd categories. It can be a challenge for an author to color outside the lines in order to produce an original story, while at the same time drawing from meaningful elements of traditional Christmas tales. A Christmas Holiday with the Clauses by Cheryl Kelley is a modern take on a holiday fantasy adventure. In it, a young boy goes on an out-of-this-world adventure to the North Pole and finds out that there’s a thin line between reality and imagination.

The boy’s name is Kris Snow, and like many kids, he holds the idea of Santa Claus close to his heart and is disappointed when he finds out that his dad doesn’t share his belief. Seeing Kris’ chagrin, his dad, a pilot, offers to fly him to the North Pole to show him that it’s just another cold, frosty northern landscape, without any jolly old elf or magic reindeer. Kris takes his dad up on the offer, but secretly writes a letter to Santa explaining the situation. He asks Santa to help him show his dad that Santa and his North Pole outpost are indeed real, lets him know when they plan to be in town, and asks for a signal from Santa to let him know he’s seen their plane arrive.

As Kris and his dad take off for the North Pole, Kris is excited and his dad remains skeptical, even as they reach their destination and are greeted by bright lights in an area where the map doesn’t indicate an airport. As the reader might expect, Kris’ dad is in for a life-changing experience that will transform his ideas about Santa, but the details of the story might surprise those who are familiar with only the traditional depiction of Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

This story gives the first family of the North Pole many modern updates that children will find relevant to their world, and will likely give parents a chuckle. For starters, Santa has a cell phone on which he receives text messages from kids around the world. Mrs. Claus, usually depicted as a folksy grandma in an apron, is instead described as an elegant woman who enjoys zooming around Santa’s village in a bright red Audi. Despite these technological advances, many things in the North Pole are still done the old-fashioned way, from animals that help with the heavy work to the elves who attend to the more detailed tasks. There’s hot cocoa and gingerbread to enjoy and a Christmas train to get visitors where they need to go.

Kris and his father end up celebrating the holiday with Santa and his family, reveling in all the magic and love of the season. They get acquainted with everyone at the North Pole, including Santa’s eight famous reindeer. They have the time of their lives and go home with a new perspective on the Christmas season.

Cheryl Kelley graduated from American Sentinel University with a degree in Information Systems. She is a member of The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her leisure time is spent enjoying creating computer multimedia projects. She lives in South Carolina. When she wrote A Christmas Holiday with the Clauses, she wanted to give kids and adults alike the chance to let their imaginations run wild and be inspired to create a Christmas fantasy world of their own.