Lulu's Christmas Story / Ludmilla Bollow / 299 Pages / Christmas Challenge

In Lulu's Christmas Story - A True Story of Faith and Hope During the Great Depression playwright and novelist Ludmilla Bollow (Lulu) recounts her family's activities during the year 1935, from her eight-year-old perspective. She describes her experiences in such detail that you feel you are right there with her.

Lulu is a fan of Shirley Temple and the only present she wants for Christmas is a Shirley Temple doll.  Each Friday during the year, Lulu's mother works as a housekeeper for a doctor's family in order to deposit money into her "Christmas Club" account.  Lulu's mother, an orphan train child who suffered much cruelty at the hands of her adopted parents, wants to make wonderful Christmas memories for her six children to make up for the ones she never had.

This true story brought back many memories of my childhood.  My parents, children of the Depression era, made Christmas a magical time for our family. Many of the stories recounted in Ludmilla Bollow's book reminded me of many of our family holiday traditions and much simpler times.  A great holiday read that emphasizes things that really matter, like home and family.