Christmas

Item #: UE7052
Price: $9.71
This genuinely sweet little book from the 1950s about a young mouse trying to think of a present to give his mother for Christmas remains a heart-warmer! With the author's original illustrations, Something for Christmas adorably reminds readers young and old that the best present you can share--and what the season is truly all about--is love.

Item #: UE7032
Price: $4.90
Charles Dickens's redemptive story of Ebenezer Scrooge has endured as a holiday classic for more than a century and a half. Award-winning Viennese illustrator Lisbeth Zwerger brings engaging new richness to A Christmas Carol with her charmingly illustrated interpretation of the tale. Gather the whole family round the Christmas tree and enjoy this splendid retelling of Scrooge's ghostly visitations and lovely transformation.

Item #: UD4162
Price: $27.50
What with the crowded malls, endless Christmas-card lists, and--more than likely--a few family squabbles, the weeks leading up to December 25 can easily lose some of their sparkle. For a festive pick-me-up, flip through the gilt-edged pages of The Christmas Almanac and remember all the little things that make the season so enchanting. This elegantly illustrated volume is filled with your favorite classic songs, poems, stories, and recipes. It also includes stocking-stuffer ideas, holiday party games, a list of the best Christmas movies, even information about famous choirs and Christmas concerts. This holiday treasury is a lovely keepsake sure to be cherished by generations to come.

Item #: UD6012
Price: $9.71
Liven up a holiday gathering with a Christmas-themed game the whole family will enjoy! Our Christmas Bingo set contains ten game cards with cute little images of gingerbread men, reindeer, candy canes, wise men, etc. There's a spinner for the caller to use, and players mark their boards with little green plastic chips. Even the littlest revelers can join in the festivities! For two to ten players ages 4 and up.

Item #: UE6482
Price: $7.49
Add a lethal dose of suspense and intrigue to your Yuletide reading with this spine-tingling collection of literary short stories. These twenty-six tales of Christmastime mischief and malice include classics by masters of the genre like Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, Rex Stout, and Ellery Queen, as well as some surprise entries from authors such as Dorothy Sayers, Margery Allingham, O. Henry, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Woody Allen (among others). With darkly funny drawings by Gahan Wilson sprinkled throughout, Murder for Christmas--a hefty hardcover for just ten bucks!--is a perfect holiday gift for armchair sleuths and mystery fans.

Item #: UE6112
Price: $12.74
Henry van Dyke served as a Presbyterian minister in New York City and then went on to become an English professor at Princeton. He was a much admired and prolific writer in his time (1852-1933), and his Christmas stories have remained beloved long past his era. They're inspirational, poignant, and poetic. The First Christmas Tree and Other Stories, a collection of three short stories as well as Yuletide prayers, makes a thoughtful, spiritual Christmas gift.

Item #: UE7352
Price: $7.49
Christmas is a special time for letting young imaginations run wild! Our attractive and engaging StoryWorld: Christmas Tales kit presents twenty-eight 5¼"x8¼" cards with pictures, descriptions, and questions that inspire children to create all sorts of exciting new Yuletide stories. The included "storytelling" book offers clever ideas about how to use the cards, as well as some entertaining sample stories. What ingenious, jolly fun for the whole family! For ages 9 to 12.

Item #: UE4872
Price: $14.95
"Card" might be a bit of a misnomer here. Yes, the entire thing folds flat and can be mailed in the included 10½"x4¼" envelope. But the recipient of this unique stationery will be thrilled to discover that it unfolds to become an amazing stand-up display (4¼"x5½"x4½") featuring a beautiful three-dimensional depiction of a bustling Christmas market in the German city of Nuremberg. Perfect for displaying on a table or mantel, this "card" will become a favorite holiday decoration. (Note: The Nuremberg Christmas Market Card is made in Germany and features some German-language information about the artwork on the back.) Extra postage required.

Item #: UE3962
Price: $16.50
Give wings to your holiday correspondence via this lovely mailing set. Inside the handsome tin box you'll find twenty-four flat cards (5¼"x4") graced with Christmas greetings and glitter-enhanced, vintage-style images of various avian species; twelve sheets of assorted matching stickers; creamy blank envelopes; three rubber stamps (a bird, a snowflake, and the words "Merry Christmas"); and a red ink pad. What a fun and easy way for both children and adults to create uniquely beautiful Christmas cards for family and friends!

Item #: UE5912
Price: $11.96
Add a rollicking dose of Christmas cheer to a road trip with this family-friendly karaoke-party-in-a-book. Just pop the CD into the stereo, pass out the lyrics (three little 6"-square pamphlets are included for backseat and "way back" singers), and belt out "Joy to the World," "Deck the Halls," "Jingle Bells, "The Twelve Days of Christmas," "Silent Night," and more! There's even a rap version of "The Night Before Christmas"! Along with lyrics, the hardcover book features holiday activities, Christmas lore, and more--including choreography for a backseat Nutcracker ballet (while remaining in your seatbelt, of course)! The CD tracks are instrumental, but offer vocal cues to help get you singing. Guaranteed to make a trip to Grandma's or a group holiday shopping trip memorable and fun, Christmas Sing-Along Car-I-Oke has all the ingredients for an indoor (stationary) good time, too!

Item #: UC3602
Price: $12.98
Little Rabbit pines for the red sled he spies in a toyshop window. It's what he really wants for Christmas…and he gets it! But, having gotten what he wished for, he's very protective of the little red sled and refuses to let his friends come near it. It's only after a downhill mishap that Little Rabbit realizes the error of his ways. His friends share their Christmas toys--a toolbox, a paint set, etc.--to repair, repaint, and ultimately restore his broken sled to near-new condition. And Little Rabbit learns that it's much more fun to share with friends. Harry Horse's sweet illustrations add charm to this lesson in the spirit of sharing and giving. An adorable poly-plush Little Rabbit Doll, just 6½" tall, makes this Christmas gift complete. For ages 4 to 8.

Item #: UC3052
Price: $10.46
Well into her career as the most popular mystery writer of all time, Agatha Christie received a complaint from her brother-in-law that her stories had become anemic. He longed for "a good violent murder with lots of blood." In this holiday story written especially for her demanding relation, Christie's brilliant detective Poirot is obliged to spend his Christmas investigating a ghastly murder in a mansion full of shady suspects. Bitter sibling rivalries and a fortune in diamonds form just part of the impenetrable maze. This classic mystery is recommended for anyone who won't mind dining on a series of red herrings this holiday season.

Item #: UE6802
Price: $7.90
The text of this lovely picture book is, simply, the classic carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas." The joyful illustrations by celebrated artist Jane Ray are absolutely gorgeous. From the first day of Christmas when a lovely young lady's true love sends a partridge in a pear tree to her stylish row house to the twelfth day's gift of a dozen drummers drumming, every exciting present is perfectly pretty and fabulously festive. What a cheerful way to welcome the holiday season with your child! For ages 3 and up.

Item #: UD6542
Price: $11.95
Artist Natalie Wargin tells us that this delightful holiday image was inspired by the book Beautiful Jim Key, a Bas Bleu favorite that tells the uplifting true tale of a remarkable horse and his loving owner, William Key. Knowing the origin of the wonderfully quirky art makes it that much more special, but the recipients of these Christmas cards will be charmed by the clever horse (and a canine friend) regardless. Set includes eight 4¼"x5½" cards (which open to read "Wishing you an amazing Christmas") and envelopes.

Item #: UE4482
Price: $9.71
Behind the back of a lovely snow-lady (with a fetching yellow hat and a broccoli floret for a nose), snowman #1 says to snowman #2, "She hasn't said, but I think Mary may have had a nose job." Send these playful cards and your holiday tidings are sure to be received with a hearty chuckle! The interior message reads "Season's Greetings!" and the set includes fifteen 5"x7" cards, with envelopes.

Item #: UD6051
Price: $14.96
Ande Cook's snowy image of a noble buck with cheerful cardinals perched in his antlers graced the cover of a Bas Bleu holiday catalog a few years back. The beautiful painting, still one of our favorites, looks fresh and festive printed on a soft , flattering sleepshirt. The 100% cotton shortsleeved white v-neck comes in S/M (35" long) or L/XL (37" long). What unique and pretty sleepwear for the holiday season!

Item #: UE5362
Price: $16.95
"Twelve Paunches Hanging…Ten Nappers Sleeping…Seven Spoiled Grandchildren… Two His-and-Hers Chairs, and a Partridge in an RV"--it's "The Twelve Days of Christmas" for the senior set! With hilarious little drawings illustrating each clever take on the classic holiday song (the illustration of "Six Husbands in the Way" is particularly amusing), these fiendishly funny holiday cards will elicit big guffaws from all the goodhumored men and women of a certain age on your Christmas-card list. Boxed set includes fifteen cards, which open to read "Season's Greetings," and matching envelopes.

Item #: UE4062
Price: $24.90
An innovative and enchanting advent activity, our Countdown to Christmas Matchbox Advent Calendar is made up of twenty-four numbered ornament boxes to fill with small holiday treasures and hang on the Christmas tree. Children (or loved ones of any age!) open one matchbox a day to reveal the tiny gift inside--candy, toys, jewelry-any little present or keepsake. The 1½"x2"x3" red, green, and yellow boxes are nice and sturdy, so the set can be reused year after year. What an exciting new Christmas tradition!

Item #: UE6742
Price: $13.46
This glorious book presents the story of Christ's birth, as told by Matthew and Luke in the King James Version of the Bible, alongside glorious reproductions of masterworks from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Images of angels, the Virgin Mary, the town of Bethlehem, a humble manger, shepherds, wise men, and the blessed baby Jesus--painted centuries ago by artists from around the world--grace each page of The Christmas Story. What a supremely beautiful way to re-imagine the Nativity tale with the whole family, year after year. For all ages.

Item #: UC8312
Price: $15.95
This very special tri-fold Advent calendar shares the classic Christmas tale of The Nutcracker in twenty-four prettily illustrated miniature board books. Every day, as kids eagerly count down to Christmas, they are treated to a new installment of the tale of a young girl's magical holiday. From Herr Drosselmeyer's amazing magic show to the duel with the Mouse King to the arrival of the Sugar Plum Fairy--all the enchanting details unfold in lovely little books numbered one to twenty-four. Plus, each brightly colored book has a gold thread looped through it, so once it's been read it becomes a beautiful Christmas tree ornament. We're also offering The Story of Christmas Story Book Advent Calendar (not pictured), in which the twenty-four miniature books recount the Nativity tale, while supplies last.

Item #: UE4322
Price: $7.90
Let this fabulously fluffy, irresistibly adorable little sheep in a Santa hat wish all your amigos a "Fleece Navidad" this year! Set includes eight 4½"x6¾" cards, with envelopes. Here's to a warm and woolly holiday season!

Item #: UE8762
Price: $11.21
"Card" may be a bit of a misnomer here. Yes, the entire thing folds flat and can be mailed in the included 10½"x4¼" envelope. But the recipient of this unique stationery will be thrilled to discover that it unfolds to become an amazing stand-up display (4¼"x5½"x4½") featuring a lively scene of Yuletide revelry. Perfect for displaying on a table or mantel, this "card" will become a favorite holiday decoration. (Note: The Old Fashioned German Christmas 3-D Card is made in Germany and features some information about the artwork in German on the back of the card. English translation is included.) Extra postage required.

Item #: UB6772
Price: $17.99
Christmas Eve at my house is not complete without the traditional reading of Clement C. Moore's classic poem. Though we've cherished many versions of the story over the years, I've never seen one as elegant as this. Niroot Puttapipat's intricate silhouettes--in mostly black, with some red, green, and gold--peep out of delicately die-cut windows and doors, lavishly enhancing the familiar narrative. The final pages feature a beautiful pop-up scene that will linger in the minds of yuletide revelers long after they're "nestled all snug in their beds." For ages 4 to 8.

Item #: UE4032
Price: $7.90
Through daily scriptures, prayers, carols, prompts for introspection, and creative activities, The Christmas Countdown encourages families to "prepare [their] hearts and homes" for the commemoration of Christ's birth. Making an Advent wreath, designing Christmas cards, baking gingerbread cookies, donating gifts to charity, drinking wassail punch, writing a family newsletter, and the many other wholesome projects presented here are sure to become joyful new yearly traditions. What a lovely way to help families focus on the true meaning of Christmas!

Item #: UE5072
Price: $15.99
An ideal pre-holiday gift for youngsters anxious for Santa's visit, Ready, Set, Draw…Christmas! offers little artists easy step-by-step instructions for drawing ornaments, stockings, gingerbread houses, elves, snowflakes, poinsettias, and all sorts of other holiday paraphernalia. With the four double-sided colored pencils included, kids can practice tracing and drawing in the activity book or create their own festive masterpieces in the forty-eight-page blank sketchpad. What a perfect activity set for little doodlers ages 4 and up.