I Saw Mommy Kicking Santa Claus: The Ultimate Holiday Survival Guide

I love Ann Hodgman. I want to be her neighbor. I read her cookbooks for entertainment (and for the recipes) but mostly for the laughs. She talks like I do in my head. Read all her books. They are a delight.

As a longtime fan of Ann Hodgman, I bought this book because I thought she would have some nice points about reducing holiday stress, and because I knew she'd make me laugh. Right on both points. As I said, I don't celebrate Christmas, but I have relatives who do. And as a mother with school-age kids, it's difficult not to get caught up the whole generic-holiday whirl. Yay, Ann, once again--a wonderful book! Not only do I recommend this for buying for yourself, it's a perfect gift for a frazzled friend to read BEFORE the leaves start falling this year. She includes just a few recipes, but I highly recommend her recipes for grapefruit terrine and for cut-out sugar cookies that don't spread into unrecognizable blobs. (I used to make dreidel-shaped cookies that bore a spooky resemblance to Xmas trees before I spread the blue frosting on them.)

I usually find myself getting more and more flustered about the holidays the closer they come. By the time Christmas rolls around? Forget it! I was talking to a friend about how I feel, and she recommended this book. What a good investment! Not only is "I Saw Mommy Kicking Santa Clause" absolutely hilarious (the real-life holiday stories are a riot!)it offers concrete, sensible advice on everything from how to deal with the in-laws to how to what Christmas really means. If you've ever felt stressed around the holidays, buy this book. And I mean now!