Tinsel Tales: Favorite Holiday Stories From NPR

Ho ho ho! Here’s what to listen to while driving to the mall, wrapping gifts, entertaining friends, or relaxing in front of a crackling holiday fire.

In Scott Simon’s modern version of the Christmas story, Jesus is born in an abandoned factory near Cleveland and the Three Wise Persons bring Chipotle gift cards. Claudia Sanchez gives a Latin accent to “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” Barbara Bradley Hagerty explores what Christmas means for the boy choristers of the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. (Hint: Handel.) In a treasured 1974 recording, humorist, author, radio personality, and blacklisting victim John Henry Faulk tells of “the wonderfulest Christmas in the United States of America.” A son believed missing in action during WWII is found in time for his family to celebrate the holiday. And a Vietnam veteran tells Weekend Edition Sunday about a “Silent Night” that brought hope to patients in a military hospital.

And that’s just the star-topped tip of the tree. Each year, listeners tune into NPR for holiday offerings of all kinds: funny, touching, insightful, and surprising. Now anyone can listen anytime to these evergreen delights.

Tracks

1. Introduction Lynn Neary
2. A Holiday Reading Tradition for the Whole Family
3. The Night Before Christmas, Latin Style
4. Finding Out What’s in Christmas Gifts
5. How to Make a Dream Gingerbread Home
6. Christmas in the Closet
7. Low-Glamour Christmas Party
8. Christmas: The Trivial and the Not-So
9. Late Holiday Greeting Cards
10. Rudolph: Man Who Wrote the Red-Nosed Reindeer
11. Away in a Factory: A Christmas Story
12. This I Believe: A “Silent Night” That Brought Healing
13. Memories of Joining a Christmas Club

2 Hours on 1 CD