5 Christmas Stories Written by Famous Authors

1. Pearl S. Buck:

Pearl S. Buck’s “Christmas Day in the Morning“ was originally published in Collier’s in 1955. The Pulitzer-Prize winning author’s classic tale tells the story of Rob, a hard-working farm boy weighed down by chores. Like many of us, he spends Christmas morning feeling guilty about the subpar necktie he purchased for his father. Spoiler alert: Rob learns the true spirit of Christmas (he also wakes up early to milk the family cow).

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Opening line: “He woke suddenly and completely. It was four o’clock, the hour at which his father had always called him to get up and help with the milking.”

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2. L. Frank Baum:

We’re pretty sure L. Frank Baum invented the prisoner-Claus subgenre. In the mood for something whimsical? Originally published in 1904, “A Kidnapped Santa Claus” has everything you’re looking for: plotting “daemons,” a magical forest, and a daring last-minute rescue.
Opening line: “Santa Claus lives in the Laughing Valley, where stands the big, rambling castle in which his toys are manufactured.”

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3. Anton Chekhov:

Anton Chekhov’s “At Christmas Time” has captivated audiences since 1900. Told in two parts, the poignant story tells the tale of an illiterate women seeking to reconnect with her daughter. Although it’s not as cheery as some of the other options on this list, the story has earned its place in the Christmas canon.
Opening line: “‘WHAT shall I write?’ asked Yegor, dipping his pen in the ink.”

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4. Willa Cather:

When she wasn’t busy writing classics like My Antonia, Willa Cather churned out some pretty impressive short stories. Published in Home Monthly in 1896 under the pseudonym Elizabeth L. Seymour, “The Burglar’s Christmas” relates the story of a journalist-turned-vagrant who’s disowned his own rich family and resorted to a life of a crime. Here’s the kicker: he decides to pull off his first heist on Christmas Eve. We won’t ruin the ending.
Opening line: “TWO very shabby looking young men stood at the corner of Prairie avenue and Eightieth street, looking despondently at the carriages that whirled by.”

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5. Fyodor Dostoevsky:

Fyodor Dostoevsky’s “The Beggar Boy at Christ’s Christmas Tree” was first published in A Writer’s Diary in January 1876. Set in a dark freezing hovel in St. Petersburg, the Christmas-time short story puts a happy spin on a slow death. Want something more uplifting? Don’t read Dostoevsky at Christmas.
Opening line: “I am a novelist, and I suppose I have made up this story.”

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6. Truman Capote:

Truman Capote’s “A Christmas Memory” was originally published in 1956. The little-known work gained widespread acclaim after it was reprinted in his Selected Writings in 1963. Set in the 1930s, the story recalls Capote’s lonely childhood and close relationship with an elderly cousin in rural Alabama. What does it have to do with Christmas? The tale contains a grocery list of Depression-era holiday traditions: the annual whiskey fruitcake baking, the traditional gift exchange of homemade kites, the old woman’s dogged refusal to get out of bed on the 13th of any month. The 1966 film adaptation was narrated by Capote himself: “It is simply a must watch, but be prepared to cry buckets.”
Opening line: “Imagine a morning in late November.”

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