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Christmas Jars

by Jason F. Wright (Goodreads Author)

3.91 of 5 stars 3.91 · rating details · 6,315 ratings · 1,294 reviews

Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me...

Her reporter's intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.

Newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the remarkable secret behind the...more

Paperback, 122 pages

Published November 1st 2005 by Shadow Mountain (first published October 1st 2005)

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Dec 06, 2008 Megan rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Tween girls who like Chicken Soup for the Soul

Recommended to Megan by: Bookgroup

Shelves: worst-books-i-ve-ever-read, bookgroup

Some books are well written. Others tell a great story. This book fails on both accounts

I'd describe the writing as downright painful and unimaginative. The characters are saccharine sweet, the things they say and do, uncomfortably cheesy.

Things that confirmed I was reading a Bad Writer:

1) Spends way too much time describing people's eyes, hair color and what they're wearing.
"He was salt and pepper gray, but mostly salt. His chin and nose were large and distinguished but not distracting. His ey...more

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Jan 12, 2009 Selina rated it 2 of 5 stars

I picked this book to read with my girls over the holiday season and was a bit disapointed. It didn't engage either my girls or I and concluded with the typical happy, but cheesy, and predictable ending.

I do like the idea of a Christmas Jar, though. From personnal experience I know how quickly change can accumulate. This past summer I paid for our family vacation with extra money and any spare change stored in a jar in the cupboard. I do think I will get that jar out again and designate it for s...more

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Jan 11, 2009 Pearl rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is more proof that a bestseller list tells you diddly squat about how good a book is going to be. The same lists that produce legitimately awesome fare like The Kite Runner can also get you overly saccharine flops like Christmas Jars. Now, I like me some tearjerkers, but this book left me completely dry. Not once was I moved by this predictable, trite story, about a journalist who discovers a “mysterious” trend of people anonymously leaving jars full of money to those in need around Christm...more

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Jul 05, 2008 Karisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

While it may not be written well, it moved me enough to start the tradition in our home. So I'm giving it 4 stars. I believe that everyone should read it, to get them motivated to make the Christmas Jar phenomenon a tradition of their own.

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Jan 27, 2009 Pam rated it 4 of 5 stars

People might think this is a sappy book, but it has a great message and I recommend it. My husband keeps a big bottle where he collects money--maybe we should use it for something like this.

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Nov 20, 2008 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people that love Hallmark commercials.

Shelves: fiction-classic

I like the premise of this book because the true meaning of Christmas is doing good to others, especially those in need. Can you hear the "but" coming? The book was predictable, especially in the beginning and the characters seemed to be missing something--maybe unpredictability? So while the book was easy to read, the book didn't demand to be picked up and read. I like my books bossy and sassy.
The book had a good message and made me feel good in the end. This book would be best read with a kid...more

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Dec 16, 2012 Missy Frye rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, 2012-reads

Christmas is magic. Christmas stories are magical. When we read a book with this particular holiday theme, we usually go into it prepared to suspend our disbelief. Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright is no exception.

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:
Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me...

Her reporter's intuition insisted that a rema

...more

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Nov 30, 2008 Christy rated it 1 of 5 stars

This may well be the worst little Christmas book you will ever read. It’s based on the silly premise that jars of money, given with love, will change lives. The writing is unbelievably bad. (Richard Paul Evans doesn’t come close) Strangely, this book was loaned to me by the same friend who introduced me to “At the Manger” last Christmas, which I plan to re-read, now that I’ve gagged my way through this one.

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Apr 06, 2009 Deborah rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: a romantic, anyone who likes fluff

I picked up my mothers books from the library and found this cute little one in the pile. It is by the same author as Wednesday Letters (which I enjoyed). This could be a Nicolas Sparks book, sweet story a wonderful lesson learnt, true love has no bonds, tears shed and happily ever after ending. It is a super fast read and you do not have to wait to Christmas. good fluff.

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Dec 30, 2008 Danielle rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, church-books

I read this when I worked for Church Magazines. Deseret Book would send over free copies of all of their recently published Christmas stuff in the hopes that we'd review it, or something. So, I read this in three hours one afternoon in my office.
It was schmaltzy, but what Christmas story isn't? And, truthfully, it inspired me to keep my own Christmas jar, and look for someone to help out at Christmas time instead of focusing so much on my own wants. I thought it was a great idea. Of course, it'...more

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Dec 05, 2008 Amy rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was a sweet story. It definitley makes me want to start a Christmas tradition like the one in the book.

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Dec 05, 2007 Rayni rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: christmas, fiction

I was disappointed. Maybe I need to read it again, slowly. I have been saving my change though because of this book. I was in my congregation's Primary (children's organization) presidency & gave each member of the presidency a copy of the book as a Christmas present. The next year we used this as an ongoing Primary project. Each Sunday the kids would bring their change. They filled a large gallon pickle jar. At the end of the year, the Presidency then used the money to pick an angel off the...more

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Jan 01, 2013 Mimi rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: adult, christmas

I had never heard this story before, so I was pleased to receive it as a White Elephant gift this year. It is one of those Christmas stories that will make you feel good inside about the extra love and caring that happens around Christmas, and it is unique in that its tradition actually helps remind people to be loving and caring all year round. It was published in 2005 and contains the idea of storing change in a jar that you then give anonymously to someone who needs an extra boost around Chri...more I had never heard this story before, so I was pleased to receive it as a White Elephant gift this year. It is one of those Christmas stories that will make you feel good inside about the extra love and caring that happens around Christmas, and it is unique in that its tradition actually helps remind people to be loving and caring all year round. It was published in 2005 and contains the idea of storing change in a jar that you then give anonymously to someone who needs an extra boost around Christmas.

For me personally, that would not amount for very much, because I do not use cash very often, but even if you don't store change in a jar, I think the idea of giving of your abundance anonymously to someone who needs it during the Christmas season is a wonderful, beautiful idea.

It is an enjoyable story with a great Christmas tradition you could start with your family.

And here are my favorite excerpts.

"A healthy appreciation of work was hardwired into a long line of Jensens. For as long as Louise could remember, her mother had worked as many as three jobs simultaneously. Her mom saved what she could, praying that one day Louise and her brother would go to college and accomplish more than she had. But Louise never imagined a life beyond what she's lived with her mother. Her idol worked every day until her hands and back were sore, treating everyone she met like family, and burying needless criticism of others so deep beneath the soil of everyday living that only kindness ever saw the light." 1. I hope my daughter considers me to be one of her idols some day. 2. I hope that I can bury criticism like that and only allow kindness to see the light in my life.

"Two weeks of overdue vacation, her boss reasoned, was exactly what Hope needed to recharge. But after just three days of sweatpants and talk shows, she'd had enough grieving. Life has taken my mother, she thought, but it cannot take my collection of words."

"'Thirteen dollars and ninety-four cents. Each. That's it. That's not quite what I had in mind. That's not much of a Christmas.'

'Sweetheart, it's plenty. It's Christmas. Everything I ever wanted, everything I ever asked for, everything I've ever needed is sitting right here. Look, you wake up tomorrow morning healthy, smiling, and still speaking to me, and I'll have the best Christmas ever.'"(less)

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Dec 10, 2012 Thomas Holbrook rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I enjoy Christmas now in ways I could not imagine when I was younger. Once, I looked forward to the unexpected gift that I did not know I wanted until I held it in my hands. There was a time, I say to my shame, when I counted the gifts under the tree with my name on them, thinking that the higher the number the more I was valued. More recently, Christmas meant having an extended break from school and more time to goof off, er, I mean, work to make money to pay for school. This year, Christmas i...more I enjoy Christmas now in ways I could not imagine when I was younger. Once, I looked forward to the unexpected gift that I did not know I wanted until I held it in my hands. There was a time, I say to my shame, when I counted the gifts under the tree with my name on them, thinking that the higher the number the more I was valued. More recently, Christmas meant having an extended break from school and more time to goof off, er, I mean, work to make money to pay for school. This year, Christmas is about discovering – time to reconnection with friends, what it is like to be in a new work environment when I didn’t move, how to celebrate when there is an empty chair at the Christmas table. The lights still twinkle, the gifts, though (thankfully) fewer, are valuable by their meaning instead of cost and the meals remain numerous. Christmas is a time that calls out for a sentimental story to be told. Often, it is a familiar one, told year after year through generations. Occasionally, a new one arrives that will be added to the repertoire, such is this present book.
As Louise Jenson ate her usual Christmas Eve meal, alone, in Chuck’s Chicken ‘n’ Biscuits, she found Hope – an infant abandoned in the booth directly behind hers. In ways that give one faith in the continuation of the human race, but is most readily found in books, Louise adopts this child and gives her the name appropriate to a single woman with few (romantic) prospects. The two become the quintessential model for Mother/Daughter Relationships – mom works as a house cleaner, teaches daughter the value of hard work, encourages said daughter to follow her dreams, daughter does so by becoming a journalist. There will be few surprises in this work for anyone who has ever read a “feel good” book, but that should not be a reason for anyone not to read this one.
After a series of life altering events, Hope returns to her home to find it has been burgled. Very little of monetary value was taken, but she was robbed of the security she once knew in her own home. In the confusion of the police investigation, the clean-up and the phone calls after this horror, Hope finds a jar full of coins just inside her door. The jar was not there when the police arrived and no one saw who may have left it and that mystery became the source for a story that Hope had wanted to write since she first dared dream of working for a newspaper. What she discovers as she probes the mystery of the “Christmas Jar” is what it family can be, how a little bit of money can be so valuable and, ultimately, what one does with what they give away can define them better than what they keep.
The story line is dated (Hope works for a busy newspaper) and the story is filled with twists and turns meant to lead the reader to emotional responses that color the story. There is death, loss, mystery, optimism and joy abounding in this novella. There is also the message that the reader can choose this year to begin a new tradition in this Christmas season. It may not be filling a jar with coins and giving it away; but it can be one that will be a reminder of what Christmas really is. With all the commercialism surrounding this holiday, I need LOTS of reminders of what is to be celebrated this season.
(less)

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Dec 05, 2012 Kwinks rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Where do I start? I wanted to read a short, sweet tale of giving. It didn't have to be a Christmas book, I just wanted a little story about people going outside of their own lives and giving to others.
I expected some cheese, and a little too much sweetness and light.
This story, however, was just so bad. So, so bad. It was like a traffic accident and I could NOT look away. Every time I thought it might redeem itself, it actually got worse.
Hope, despite the main character's name, is really m...more Where do I start? I wanted to read a short, sweet tale of giving. It didn't have to be a Christmas book, I just wanted a little story about people going outside of their own lives and giving to others.
I expected some cheese, and a little too much sweetness and light.
This story, however, was just so bad. So, so bad. It was like a traffic accident and I could NOT look away. Every time I thought it might redeem itself, it actually got worse.
Hope, despite the main character's name, is really missing from this story. Instead, we have a self absorbed mc who loses her mother and proceeds to stalk this perfect, perfect family for a year looking to fill the hole inside of her. It was creepy, unrealistic, and all based on a lie the mc tells the family in order to get through the front door. Had Hope put a rabbit in a pot to boil on the stove, I would not have been one bit surprised. The reader would have to be dead not to see that this woman is USING these people to make a family for herself AND to get her work on the front page of a newspaper.
The first sign that something was really, really wrong with this story, for me was the tale of the first woman who received a jar. She needed the money for fertility treatments because her marriage is failing because she cannot produce a boy child. Well, there is money well spent! Let's keep this woman trapped in marriage with an a-hole.
Adam and Lauren are just sooooo perfect. And in this story, either people are well off and perfect or poor and perfect.

Hope crashes the funeral of the patriarch (the author even referring to her as "the prodigal") because of her own needs. At one point, the author must have realized how terrible this looked because Lauren even states, "Hey I'm the widow here." Yet, Hope continues to make this all about her and her guilt. Even when Hope gives her own jar to a homeless guy in the park, he almost wont accept it because (I felt) he could tell she was completely insincere.
Not only does it end with a literal rip off of It's a Wonderful Life, the author adds in the reappearance of the missing mother. Gag, gag!

The real shame here is that the idea of a Christmas Jar is a really good one (and not a new one, for sure). It is just a shame that this story is connected to it. (less)

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Nov 21, 2012 Carla rated it 5 of 5 stars

OK, I must admit I am a sucker for Holiday books, for the Hallmark commercials and movies, for the happy ending.
The Christmas Jar is one of those books that combine all the above and make a great afternoon read. It is a story of giving, forgiving, the human spirit, and the things that link us all together. It is one of those books that make you take a look around, be grateful, be humble, and set out to do something good.
Hope Jensen was left in a booth at the holidays with a letter, the woman who...more

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Jul 04, 2012 Juliet rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, read-2012, library-owned, christmas

This story is all about giving and learning how your little acts could saved and helped someone else. The story is very enticing and it kept you reading on wanting to know the story behind the origins of the Christmas Jars.

I teared at one point because it was so sad. I could felt the regrets and sadness of Hope Jensen when she realized that she was late. (shall not elaborate more...if not it would spoiled your reading)

There is a twist in the book which I had already guessed the truth when I read...more

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Feb 06, 2010 Sara rated it 2 of 5 stars

(Let me preface this by saying this is NOT a book I would normally pick up/read, but someone recommended this book because he said the main character and I had a lot of parallels. I think they mainly were basing it on the fact both she and I worked for a paper).

This book is a very feel good, sappy, fairly predictable tale about a girl who is gung-ho to get out into the world and take it over with her writing. Through her doggedness and the love of her adoptive mother, she makes her way through...more

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Dec 31, 2009 Mary Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars

Recommended to Mary Jane by: Whitney Bird

This book is a very touching book about charity and good people and becoming a good person by doing small things. I now have my own Christmas Jar and plan on using it!

I did not expect to love this book so much. I was curious to read it, because one of my best friends loves the author. I wasn't convinced it would be one of my favorites. She gave me the book for Christmas and once I opened it, I couldn't put it down. I read it in one sitting. It is a simple read and a simple story. I would battle...more

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Jul 27, 2009 Anne rated it 4 of 5 stars

Catherine Keddington Arveseth, in her review of Christmas Jars by Jason F. Wright for Meridian Magazine says, "Wright may have created a new Holiday phenomenon. Readers will be inspired to start their own tradition of giving, be it jars or something similar. Christmas Jars is a short read with a tender message ― an excellent gift for any Christian. It is magic mixed with fiction and will surely spark within you, the spirit of the season."

The predicted phenomenon has happened. Since Christmas Jar...more

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Apr 27, 2009 Nandi Crawford rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: christian-fiction, holiday-stories, empowering-stories

I HAVE to say something about this book; It's just a short little story but boy, do it pack a wallop.I will also say that on the first go around of the book, I couldn't get into it, but as time moved on, I caught the gist of it which is why I am reading it a second time. Its a couple of stories in a book, and since then, I have started two jars(one to keep, one to give away during the holiday season which is something I wanted to do for a while now).But to say that I was changed was an understat...more

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Jan 09, 2010 Kasi Lou rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone!

Recommended to Kasi by: Glenn Beck

Shelves: 2010, audiobook, favorites

I'm listening to this book...It's excellent...

Started this book on 01/06/2010. Finished this book on 01/09/2010.

This past year my husband and I were watching Glenn Beck, now I don't usually watch news type stuff but that night my husband was watching it so I naturally tuned in too. He was talking about the reason we celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. The real reason, not Santa Claus reason. Then he started talking about this book called the Christmas Jars and how it had changed his life and h...more

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Sep 15, 2009 Ashley rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: everyone, first before Christmas every time after at Christmastime

Recommended to Ashley by: my ward book group book for September

Shelves: christmas, read-in-2009, inspirational

When I first borrowed this book from the library I felt kinda silly to be checking out a Christmas book and I even told the ladies that were standing nearest to me that I didn't understand why my ward book group would pick a Christmas book in September! And I was quite surprised by their reply. They said, "Maybe its good to read it now, it will give you some good ideas that will take time to work on." I smiled and said "Maybe," not at all believing that that could ever be the case.

I read this b...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Rebecca Rodriguez rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really loved this book. I hadn't read anything by this author before, but plan to read more of his work in the future. The book says this story is going to be made into a movie. I hope so. I would love to watch it. I liked how the book came full circle and all of the loose ends were tied up in a creative and loving way that complimented the story. The characters were well developed and you felt for them both good and bad. It is amazing that one selfless act of kindness can have such a profound...more

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Dec 19, 2009 Kathy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: rs-book-club

I'm with Alison on this one. It's a little too cheesy and it's not the best writing, but it can't hurt to be reminded to be more generous, especially at Christmas. I might read it again next year, or another book by Wright to see if his writing has improved. It did make me cry in the end and I thought it would make a good movie. My 2006 copy of the book says "coming as a major motion picture." I looked into that: Kieth Merrill wrote a script and was set to direct. Hollywood and the bad economy g...more

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Dec 30, 2009 Molly rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-review

Jason's story, Christmas Jars, is so well written that you would feel it was a true story. Jason sets a powerful message within the pages of this book. It is a story that will make you laugh,cry, and wish you could be right there with the characters! It is definitely a "10 box of tissues" novella!
The story tells of hope, love, friendship, faith, and trusting in one another. It brings out the feeling and meaning of Christmas through this powerful message. One family's blessings are another family...more

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Nov 06, 2012 Jenben8426 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-club, lds-fiction

Hope Jensen aspires to be a writer and she has worked her entire life to find that perfect story that will get her the page 1 perfect story. When she comes home to her home and finds that she has been robbed she feels like nothing is going right, then she spots a jar filled with coins on her doorstep. She wonders why someone would leave her this and she begins to dig in search of a story. As she realizes that others have also been gifted the jars, her search leads her to a family that just might...more

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Dec 07, 2011 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Synopsis: "Where had it come from? Whose money was it? Was I to spend it? Save it? Pass it on to someone more needy? Above all else, why was I chosen? Certainly there were others, countless others, more needy than me...

Her reporter's intuition insisted that a remarkable story was on the verge of the front page.

Newspaper reporter Hope Jensen uncovers the remarkable secret behind the "Christmas Jars", glass jars filled with coins and bills anonymously left for people in need. But along the way, H...more

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Nov 21, 2009 Wendy rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best Christmas books I have read!
This follows the story of Hope Jensen, who was abandoned in a fast food restaurant and found and adopted by Louise Jensen. She has a wonderful relationship with her adopted mother and has high hopes of being a successful news reporter. When her mother dies of cancer and her apartment is broken into on Christmas Eve, she is left a mysterious jar filled with coins and bills. Her reporter's instincts tell her there must be a story here. She finds other pe...more

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Feb 25, 2008 Elena rated it 3 of 5 stars

I gave this book three stars, because I was going to be the Grinch and not like this book at all, despite the many great reviews. I felt this way all the way until maybe the last three or four chapters. It was slow and very predictable at first and I was already anticipating a boring ending, but it surprised me in the end. Although, I still don't see how it's going to be made into a major motion picture.

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About Jason F. Wright

Jason Wright was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is a regular contributor on Fox News, offering political commentary on the presidential race and serves as founder and managing director of the widely read political destination, PoliticalDerby.com. Jason enjoys volunteering and has created a literary program dedicated to creative writing for middle school students in the central Virginia ar...more

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