by Cherise T.

Goals for the holidays must include laughing out loud. Serious humor bursts the stress bubble, making shopping go quicker, cooking smoother, and socializing more relaxed. Also, it never hurts to take some solid jabs at consumerism.

First stop, Jean Shepherd’s classic, A Christmas Story. This gem can be found as a book, e-audiobook, movie, and musical soundtrack at HCLS. Shepherd gained fame as a radio announcer who included comedy stories in his show. A Christmas Story is his autobiographical tale of nine-year-old Ralphie who wishes for a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas. He is stymied by the adults in his life who respond, “You’ll shoot your eye out.” Along the way, Ralphie’s dad wins an unusual prize in a puzzle contest, a provocative lamp shaped like a leg in a fishnet stocking. There’s an unforgettable scene where Ralphie’s friend, Flick, takes on the dare of whether his tongue will stick to a frozen flagpole. Spoiler alert: it does.

Need a good laugh and can’t spare much time to read? Go for just one short story, “Christmas Means Giving” by David Sedaris. In fact, if there’s no time to read it, or even if there is, listen to Sedaris’ own charming presentation of this tale of woeful holiday excess. Sedaris reimagines loving thy neighbor and the joy of giving. Who can resist a Christmas card that includes a friend’s stock portfolio? To keep the merriment going, listen to “SantaLand Diaries” as well, picturing the man behind the voice as an elf at Macy’s, assisting in the mayhem that is getting photos taken with Santa in midtown Manhattan. Both essays can be found in Holidays on Ice, available in many formats: print, e-book, e-audiobook, digital audio, and audio on CD. “Christmas Means Giving” is also in Sedaris’s The Best of Me collection that includes many of the writer’s best works and is available in print, e-book, e-audiobook, and audio on CD.

“My personal Festivus would include both latkes and Christmas cookies,” affirms Hannah Hart in My Drunk Kitchen Holidays!: How to Savor and Celebrate the Year. The intoxicated and intoxicating chef wants to be sure everyone can make a “decent” latke with her “Love the Way You Latke” recipe that includes the important step of removing all extra moisture from the potatoes and onions before cooking. Hart is okay with skipping the holidays but doesn’t want anyone missing out on unique, delicious food and drink. Because Hart wants readers to take care of themselves, the cookbook even has a face mask recipe. For more year-round joy, explore her “MyHarto” YouTube channel. Remember, everything’s more festive served in a wine glass, especially mashed potatoes. Cheers!

Cherise Tasker is an Adult Instructor and Research Specialist at the Central Branch. When not immersed in literary fiction, Cherise can be found singing along to musical theater soundtracks.