If you’re anything like me the festive season is already well underway- as evidenced by the sizeable dent in my bank account spent on Cadbury’s Christmas Puds and the fact that I’m already on my third rewatch of Love Actually. After you’ve inevitably had to take out a small bank loan to cover a festive wrap and hot chocolate at the Christmas markets, settling into bed with a good book and a cup of tea might just be the perfect way to celebrate the holiday season. Here are a few of my favourite Christmas classics which I return to year after year.
Whilst The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is one of the first books I remember reading when I was younger, after spending this week braving sub-zero temperatures with no sign of snow and Nativity! still not on any streaming platform, I feel I’ve gained a deeper appreciation for the impact of the White Witch’s long winter with no sign of Christmas. However, the sudden appearance of Father Christmas in the story brings fresh hope of Aslan’s power returning to Narnia. It also lightens the tone of what, upon reflection, is quite a dark children’s book. Still, there is definitely some room to question if gifting an eight-year-old a dagger is really the most appropriate Christmas present?
Though Bridget Jones’s Diary isn’t strictly a Christmas book or film, Mr Darcy’s novelty reindeer jumper and Bridget’s mum’s turkey curry buffet ensure that it’s permanently sealed in my mind as a festive favourite. Bridget’s regrets after eating and drinking too much (like her well thought-out plan to eat twelve Milk Trays to get rid of all the Christmas confectionery in one go) as well as her awkward conversations with distant relatives, who she only sees once a year, further affirms her spot as the number one relatable character in literature.
Compared to Bridget’s relatable Christmas experiences, I can’t help but feel slightly guilty when reading the beginning of Little Women and watching the March sisters eventually relinquish their breakfast feast to the Hummel’s, underlining what Christmas is really about. Alcott captures the true essence of Christmas in each of the sisters picking something out for Marmee and then settling down to watch Jo’s Christmas play which Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation perfectly captures.
Finally, it never feels like Christmas for me until reading The Philosopher’s Stone and seeing the magic of Harry experiencing a proper Christmas for the first time, waking up to find a mountain of presents waiting for him -including one of Mrs Weasley’s infamous Christmas jumpers. Like many of you I longed to spend Christmas in snow covered Hogwarts when I was younger and wander down the streets of Hogsmeade before coming back for dinner in the Great Hall. At Christmas time, revisiting the books is the closest I can get to reliving that magical feeling.
Illustration by Natália Hermannová