Customer Reviews

Love, Santa: A Different Kind of Christmas Story

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After reading "Love Santa" by Sharon Glassman, I was reminded that one person can make a difference. Like many other people who get caught up in the whirlwind of their own life, I too did not pause to reflect upon the meaning of the holiday season and the true spirit behind gift giving. Sharon's book is a wake up call to everyone to count your blessings and think of the less fortunate.

In addition, her story is cleverly written with huge doses of humor, and one I would recommend for tweens to seniors.

The first thing I did when I got home was unpack my letters and put them on top of my desk so they could breathe. Then I steamed some spinach in a warm filtered-water mist, read a book, and went to sleep. Then at four o'clock the next morning, I woke up in a cold sweat. I had gone from being an independent single woman to being the sole provider of Christmas for three innocent children. What had I been thinking? ~Sharon Glassman

Sharon Glassman instantly captured my attention with her modern journal about her adventures that lead up to the first entry on December 22nd at 2 A.M. Not the time of day one expects to find anyone at a post office. However, the all-night main Manhattan post office on Thirty-third Street and Eighty Avenue is where we find the author waiting in line, observing her surroundings and taking the opportunity to chat with a hockey player with a French accent and irresistible smile.

Sharon Glassman's writing style is witty, modern and deliciously entertaining. Santiago Cohen's art really captured my attention and helped to give the story an additional dimension of merriment.

Sharon Glassman may well be the Bridget Jones of Christmas although the focus is much more on shopping and the story focuses on buying gifts for children. The "wish lists" to Santa are letters sent to the post office from families in need. Sharon finds herself interested in three letters and then wonders what she was thinking. She only has a few days to find the presents and get them shipped in time for Christmas.

As she recounts her own Christmas history, you can see why her desire to transform herself into a "Lace-Clad Girlfriend of Christmas" overtakes her and leads her to her dream Christmas party. She also takes us along for her Christmas shopping trip that may inspire your own Operation Santa Claus dreams.

In her search for the perfect presents, she realized how specific the children's wishes are and that a castle, a football and a down jacket will take her on some interesting shopping trips. I loved her description of New York and how her pro-Noel family camped out on a red-and-green plaid living room couch to watch holiday television specials.

If you are wondering how you could give the gift of Christmas to children or adults across America, Sharon's heart-defrosting story will give you ideas about how you can find similar volunteer efforts.

~The Rebecca Review

Sharon Glassman's Love, Santa is the tender, witty and charming story of how one confused, shopping-challenged but thoroughly good-hearted young woman finds her way through the manic commercialism of the American holiday season to a deeper celebration of what it means to give. I laughed and wept in the same breath, and I came away from Ms. Glassman's book inspired to do my own part for Operation Santa Claus this season.

I met Sharon Glassman, the author of Love, Santa, once on a warm, fall afternoon in Rye, New York. She was energetic and tiny and one of the most quick-witted people I've ever met. That day, I made a mental note to pick up a copy of her book just to see what her writing was like, and, having done so, I am happy to say her writing is much like her: funny, a little nostalgic, and winning. Love, Santa is a small book--not really long enough to curl up with, but a nice little gift book. It recounts the author's amusing struggle to fit in with a holiday that can obviously be a bit awkward for a kid growing up Jewish in America. Happily, Sharon seems finally to have found a way to make peace with Christmas--and then some. All in all, a nice little story.

Glassman's charming quest for a real Christmas is both witty and rich--a must for fans of the season and anyone who has ever wondered about the US Post Office's Operation Santa.