On Christmas Eve

This is a nice story with a European Father Christmas theme as a nice change from the usual Santa Claus stories. I love the illustrations from Wenz-Victor as in her Christmas Angels. They remind me of the German Hummel figures from my childhood.Every December, Father Christmas decends from heaven bringing food and treats to the forest creatures as well as the children in the villages. He has an angel helper "Pip" who carelessly forgets the toys for the Muller children. Another reviewer thought his reaction was too harsh but I think it depend on how you read it aloud, he calls her a "little rascal" which actually had my daughter giggling). The thing I appreciated the most about the Father Christmas story is that it portrays a boy's wish for Christmas gift to have the wheel on his toy car fixed. Father Christmas brings his toy car back to him repaired and the boy was thrilled! This is a great story if you are looking for less commercialization and more appreciation for the simpler things in your Christmas stories.

I bought this book instead of the one I really wanted by the same author/illustrator, Christmas Angels, a counting book. While this one's illustrations are pretty much OK (except, oddly, the cover illustration shows the little angel with an unappealing facial expression), the story is very thin. The Angel Pip is the assistant to Father Christmas and she messes up. OK, but there are no clever problem solving skills or anything like that - she just flies back up to the toyshop and bakery and gets what she forgot. And Father C gets cross with her, not my image of Father C to get cross - but maybe I am not familiar with this particular tradition of Father Christmas. Also, the children waiting for Christmas, whose characters are not developed in the story, are scared they have been naughty and will get coal in their stockings. I just think that's an unfamiliar idea these days. I gave it 2 stars because most of the illustrations are charming, though I wish I had not bought this book. Christmas in Noisy Village would be a better choice if one wants a Christmas book with a European flavor.

A sweet and Waldorf-y Christmas book. I was thrilled to find it in good condition for a great price.

Love this author and the beautiful illustrations

This is a charming book with a very simple plot that's probably best suited for young children, but even my 8 year old enjoys listening to it again. It's a unique, nostalgic, old-fashioned book. The illustrations are SO sweet. We keep it out as a coffee table book during the holidays.