“THE PROMISE AND its fulfillment”: that phrase is apt shorthand for what Christmas means to the person of faith. And those words are nicely exemplified in the book in which we found them—Christmas with Hot Apple Cider (That’s Life! Communications, 2017). Edited by N.J. Lindquist, the anthology comprises 67 contributions by 55 Canadian writers.

Most of the book’s selections are mini-memoirs, short accounts of real-life events. Those non-fiction accounts are interspersed with several fictional short stories and poems and one short play. Memoir or fiction, prose or verse, they are all variations on the theme of Christmas. It’s the fifth volume in the Hot Apple Cider series of anthologies that aim to uplift their readers with stories of “hope, faith, courage, and love.” Like the Chicken Soup books, they’re good for the soul, rather like a spiritually-charged version of Reader’s Digest magazine’s first-person accounts.

“An eclectic mix of fiction and nonfiction, poetry and prose, Christmas with Hot Apple Cider will satisfy every literary taste.”

The reviewer also shared a little of his appreciaton for Martin Smith’s delightful story, “The Time When Arnold Palmer Lost His Left Foot,” about a golf game Martin was given one Christmas when he was young, and what he learned about losing his temper.

This anthology of true-life stories, fiction, and poetry from 55 Canadian Christian writers is a strong addition to the Hot Apple Cider series... heart-warming collections along the line of the Chicken Soup books, but less sentimental. They’re all from Christian authors, but they’re not sermons. Instead, the writers’ faith is the worldview from which they draw their work.

Christmas With Hot Apple Cider is the fifth and newest book in the series.... I think it’s a keeper, that readers will turn to year after year as part of settling into the Christmas spirit.