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Orion Childrens Books The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever A laugh out loud story of family Christmas chaos!.
From L. D. Lapinski, author of Jamie, The Forgotten Magic and The Strangeworlds Travel Agency, comes a heart-warming, hilarious festive story about a family trying to keep the biggest Christmas secret EVER!
OK so your mum's partner, Nick, has a big bushy beard, a thick red coat, a team of reindeer and just happens to be REALLY busy around Christmas Eve . . . what could that mean?!
Harper and Will's lives are already full of festive wonder, but baby sister Yula is about to bring a whole new meaning to the magic of Christmas. Indoor snowflakes, naughty gingerbread biscuits and reindeer running wild spell Christmas chaos!
And with the Elf and Safety Department on the lookout for any unexplained festive magic, it's up to their family keep the biggest Christmas secret ever . . .
OK so your mum's partner, Nick, has a big bushy beard, a thick red coat, a team of reindeer and just happens to be REALLY busy around Christmas Eve . . . what could that mean?!
Harper and Will's lives are already full of festive wonder, but baby sister Yula is about to bring a whole new meaning to the magic of Christmas. Indoor snowflakes, naughty gingerbread biscuits and reindeer running wild spell Christmas chaos!
And with the Elf and Safety Department on the lookout for any unexplained festive magic, it's up to their family keep the biggest Christmas secret ever . . .
240 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2024
4 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
L.D. Lapinski
18 books211 followersL. D. Lapinski is the best-selling author of JAMIE, Stepfather Christmas, and The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series, including Adventure in the Floating Mountains, which was a 2023 World Book Day title. JAMIE was nominated for the 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing.
L. D's new middle-grade fantasy series ARTEZANS launches in February 2024 with the first book Artezans: The Forgotten Magic.
L. D.'s books are published around the world in fifteen languages, and each book in the Strangeworlds trilogy has been awarded a Kirkus star - one of the most coveted designations in the book industry,
marking books of exceptional merit.
L. D. Lapinski lives just outside Sherwood Forest with their family, a lot of books, and a cat called Hector. L. D. first wrote a book aged seven; it was made of lined paper and sellotape, and it was about a frog who owned an aeroplane. When L. D. grows up, they want to be a free-range guinea pig farmer.
L. D.'s literary agent is Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary Agency. For Film / TV, contact Emily Hayward Whitlock.
Twitter / Instagram / TikTok: @ldlapinski
L. D's new middle-grade fantasy series ARTEZANS launches in February 2024 with the first book Artezans: The Forgotten Magic.
L. D.'s books are published around the world in fifteen languages, and each book in the Strangeworlds trilogy has been awarded a Kirkus star - one of the most coveted designations in the book industry,
marking books of exceptional merit.
L. D. Lapinski lives just outside Sherwood Forest with their family, a lot of books, and a cat called Hector. L. D. first wrote a book aged seven; it was made of lined paper and sellotape, and it was about a frog who owned an aeroplane. When L. D. grows up, they want to be a free-range guinea pig farmer.
L. D.'s literary agent is Claire Wilson at Rogers, Coleridge and White Literary Agency. For Film / TV, contact Emily Hayward Whitlock.
Twitter / Instagram / TikTok: @ldlapinski
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 14, 2024
Ahh this was so much fun. I loved the first book (Step Father Christmas) and it was so nice to be back with Harper and Will and also Nick.
Nick and Helen have had a little girl since we last saw them, called Yula, and as the story goes on, we find out she has Christmas Magic like her dad. However, she's 11 months old and has no control over her magic and therefore, could risk ruining Christmas and spoiling Nick's identity. The Elf and Safety Sargent turns up and says she's to take Yula to the North Pole HQ and raise her there, to prevent this from happening. But Nick, Helen, Harper and Will aren't having any of it, and this is the story of them trying to keep this secret whilst also trying to keep Yula with them.
A lot of fun, and I'd love to see more from the Hall/Claus family in the future.
Nick and Helen have had a little girl since we last saw them, called Yula, and as the story goes on, we find out she has Christmas Magic like her dad. However, she's 11 months old and has no control over her magic and therefore, could risk ruining Christmas and spoiling Nick's identity. The Elf and Safety Sargent turns up and says she's to take Yula to the North Pole HQ and raise her there, to prevent this from happening. But Nick, Helen, Harper and Will aren't having any of it, and this is the story of them trying to keep this secret whilst also trying to keep Yula with them.
A lot of fun, and I'd love to see more from the Hall/Claus family in the future.
December 25, 2024
Had such a fun time last year using Stepfather Christmas as an advent calendar, so I was happy to be able to repeat that experience with this sequel. It was again a really fun, heartwarming story, and some chapters had really strong cliffhangers, making me eager to continue the next day.
November 23, 2024
Last time round (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...) it ended up being a charming experience to have the real, echt Santa Claus as your mother's boyfriend called Nick. It was also a charming read. But this is a year on, and a Family Event of capital letters scale has occurred – and it's not the kind of Santa Baby Eartha Kitt sang so well about. The family already knows that Nick is to be kept top secret as an embodiment of Christmas magic, but his newborn daughter Yula doesn't know that. And when she can summon snow at the drop of a rusk, there's going to be no end of strife in keeping her skills secret. The result if she does get revealed? The very end of Christmas as we know it...
There are multiple other subplots here, too – ranging from our narrator's surprise at her brother deciding Nick's status is father, as opposed to not-quite-step-dad, to Nick getting stuck doing a parade with his real flying reindeer and potentially letting the Christmas cat out of the stocking, in a way to equal his daughter's risk of revelations. But the key thing here is the baby, and that is an issue. Dislike them, dislike reading about their every personal quirk to do with noises, actions and where they throw their food? You can't really expect to like this.
That risk aside, this still has the made-for-TV movie feel of the original, which probably is part of its appeal I guess. The intended readers probably watch more Christmas movies than nativity plays or pantos, after all, and this once more likes to play with and deliver the expected, formulaic and comfortably cosy Christmas lore of so much else. Get past the baby and you do see a Christmas message done in nicely charming way, and you do find a story that is good enough to be adapted by Sky, if you ask me and my limited experience of what they offer.
It also repeats – but doesn't declare it front and centre – the shtick of being in 25 chapters, one for every day of December until the big day. It's much too pacey and energetic to deserve to be rationed so religiously, though. I can't say if a third one will turn up, unlike this time last year when I knew this second was due – although things are still left wandering the wild in unresolved fashion. Personally I'd probably be on board for finishing off a trilogy – even if this one's baby talk makes this more a three and a half star read for me. The intended readers aren't that way inclined, I guess, though – and for them this gets the four stars I have swung to. All in good, fair Christmas spirit, mind.
There are multiple other subplots here, too – ranging from our narrator's surprise at her brother deciding Nick's status is father, as opposed to not-quite-step-dad, to Nick getting stuck doing a parade with his real flying reindeer and potentially letting the Christmas cat out of the stocking, in a way to equal his daughter's risk of revelations. But the key thing here is the baby, and that is an issue. Dislike them, dislike reading about their every personal quirk to do with noises, actions and where they throw their food? You can't really expect to like this.
That risk aside, this still has the made-for-TV movie feel of the original, which probably is part of its appeal I guess. The intended readers probably watch more Christmas movies than nativity plays or pantos, after all, and this once more likes to play with and deliver the expected, formulaic and comfortably cosy Christmas lore of so much else. Get past the baby and you do see a Christmas message done in nicely charming way, and you do find a story that is good enough to be adapted by Sky, if you ask me and my limited experience of what they offer.
It also repeats – but doesn't declare it front and centre – the shtick of being in 25 chapters, one for every day of December until the big day. It's much too pacey and energetic to deserve to be rationed so religiously, though. I can't say if a third one will turn up, unlike this time last year when I knew this second was due – although things are still left wandering the wild in unresolved fashion. Personally I'd probably be on board for finishing off a trilogy – even if this one's baby talk makes this more a three and a half star read for me. The intended readers aren't that way inclined, I guess, though – and for them this gets the four stars I have swung to. All in good, fair Christmas spirit, mind.
November 16, 2025
The Biggest Christmas Secret Ever:
Written by L.D. Lapinski
Published by Orion
OK so your mum's partner, Nick, has a big bushy beard, a thick red coat, a team of reindeer and just happens to be REALLY busy around Christmas Eve . . . what could that mean?!
Harper and Will's lives are already full of festive wonder, but baby sister Yula is about to bring a whole new meaning to the magic of Christmas. Indoor snowflakes, naughty gingerbread biscuits and reindeer running wild spell Christmas chaos!
And with the Elf and Safety Department on the lookout for any unexplained festive magic, it's up to their family to keep the biggest Christmas secret ever . . .
This is the second book in the Step - Father Christmas series.
But this time the family has the attention of baby Yula, (whose’s dad is Father Christmas)
So it makes sense that she has inherited his magical powers.
But there is so much also going on, the children trying to decide if they want to call stepdad Dad, a parent struggling to go back to work after having a baby and a crush developing.
Everytime I read this series I do feel as if the TV- Movie market is missing a trick - this would be so perfect for this..
Told over 25 chapters - one for everyday of the lead up to christmas this is definitely a book ideal for a class read at a school.
Written by L.D. Lapinski
Published by Orion
OK so your mum's partner, Nick, has a big bushy beard, a thick red coat, a team of reindeer and just happens to be REALLY busy around Christmas Eve . . . what could that mean?!
Harper and Will's lives are already full of festive wonder, but baby sister Yula is about to bring a whole new meaning to the magic of Christmas. Indoor snowflakes, naughty gingerbread biscuits and reindeer running wild spell Christmas chaos!
And with the Elf and Safety Department on the lookout for any unexplained festive magic, it's up to their family to keep the biggest Christmas secret ever . . .
This is the second book in the Step - Father Christmas series.
But this time the family has the attention of baby Yula, (whose’s dad is Father Christmas)
So it makes sense that she has inherited his magical powers.
But there is so much also going on, the children trying to decide if they want to call stepdad Dad, a parent struggling to go back to work after having a baby and a crush developing.
Everytime I read this series I do feel as if the TV- Movie market is missing a trick - this would be so perfect for this..
Told over 25 chapters - one for everyday of the lead up to christmas this is definitely a book ideal for a class read at a school.
December 26, 2024
Always a highlight of December, I so enjoyed last year reading one chapter a day and this one was well looked forward to! I couldn’t wait to get started on December 1st. I even bought a special signed edition with accompanying gingerbread pin at an independent bookstore so it was even more special!
It was great to catch up with Harper, Will and the newest addition in the form of their little baby sister, Yula. The festive season is coming up and it’s the busiest time of year for our Step-father Christmas, but this year he has even more on his plate. Especially when strange things start to happen around his daughter..
Such an enjoyable story and again, one I looked forward to reading every day. It makes December even more festive: with my advent chocolate, Christmas coffee and a chapter of the biggest Christmas secret ever Review= holiday perfection. Couldn’t have enjoyed it more! It was onto hard stopping at one chapter and not binging it all in one go!
It was great to catch up with Harper, Will and the newest addition in the form of their little baby sister, Yula. The festive season is coming up and it’s the busiest time of year for our Step-father Christmas, but this year he has even more on his plate. Especially when strange things start to happen around his daughter..
Such an enjoyable story and again, one I looked forward to reading every day. It makes December even more festive: with my advent chocolate, Christmas coffee and a chapter of the biggest Christmas secret ever Review= holiday perfection. Couldn’t have enjoyed it more! It was onto hard stopping at one chapter and not binging it all in one go!
February 15, 2025
I thought I had sent this review - but can't seem to find it.
I did not realise this was a part 2 but it didn't matter at all! I enjoyed this without having ever read book 1 - so you can too.
I was delighted to get a copy from Netgalley to review - then somehow forgot I had it and didn't even read it at Christmas time. Again ,- this doesn't matter, it can be read anytime.
I loved this! Imagine a story where your mum's partner just happens to be Father Christmas. This book was fun of fun, laughter and a bit of tension too as what happens when elves decide that your sister is too dangerous to stay at home and needs to go to the North Pole to be cared for.
It's pitched really well as it feels totally plausible - I wonder...could your dad be Santa? Would you know what to look out for?
I did not realise this was a part 2 but it didn't matter at all! I enjoyed this without having ever read book 1 - so you can too.
I was delighted to get a copy from Netgalley to review - then somehow forgot I had it and didn't even read it at Christmas time. Again ,- this doesn't matter, it can be read anytime.
I loved this! Imagine a story where your mum's partner just happens to be Father Christmas. This book was fun of fun, laughter and a bit of tension too as what happens when elves decide that your sister is too dangerous to stay at home and needs to go to the North Pole to be cared for.
It's pitched really well as it feels totally plausible - I wonder...could your dad be Santa? Would you know what to look out for?
December 2, 2024
4.5 stars
I loved the first book in this series and could not wait to dive into this one to see what happened next with these amazing characters.
This can be read almost like an advent calendar with 25 chapters to count you down to Christmas Day however I could not put it down and ended up devouring it!
I love these characters and I just love how emotionally invested I was in this story and what wound happen with Yula!
This is a great middle grade Christmas novel that I absolutely recommend!
I loved the first book in this series and could not wait to dive into this one to see what happened next with these amazing characters.
This can be read almost like an advent calendar with 25 chapters to count you down to Christmas Day however I could not put it down and ended up devouring it!
I love these characters and I just love how emotionally invested I was in this story and what wound happen with Yula!
This is a great middle grade Christmas novel that I absolutely recommend!
December 8, 2024
A fun story to get you into the Christmas spirit.
Harper and Will have got used to Father Christmas being their mums boyfriend, but now there is baby Yula, with her own Christmas powers....what could possibly go wrong? Well quite a lot!
A lovely Christmas story told in the POV of Harper, and how her family are getting to grips with the magic of having Father Christmas as part of the family.
Harper and Will have got used to Father Christmas being their mums boyfriend, but now there is baby Yula, with her own Christmas powers....what could possibly go wrong? Well quite a lot!
A lovely Christmas story told in the POV of Harper, and how her family are getting to grips with the magic of having Father Christmas as part of the family.
December 15, 2025
This was between a three- and a four-star read. Really loved the story and writing in the beginning, but it got a little slow, and the ending seemed a bit of a cop-out. But, a cute Christmas story to share.
December 9, 2024
Actual rating: 3.5
December 11, 2024
I was supposed to make this book last
But it made me emotional which it had absolutely no right in doing. And i had to carry on.
Needed a bit of Christmas Magic in my life just about now
But it made me emotional which it had absolutely no right in doing. And i had to carry on.
Needed a bit of Christmas Magic in my life just about now
December 11, 2024
Really cute children's story funny. And lovely xx
December 14, 2024
Didn’t enjoy this one as much as the first but still a lovely story to read around xmas. Was nice to be back with Father Christmas and the rest of the Hall family.
December 25, 2024
3.5 it was fun but a little frustrating esp with the elf antics
December 26, 2024
I loved Step Father Christmas and was very excited about reading the 'next part'.
I read a chapter a day and it didn't disappoint - I loved it!!
I read a chapter a day and it didn't disappoint - I loved it!!
December 26, 2024
Wonderful, just wonderful, charming, heart warming and the perfect advent calendar ❤️💚
December 25, 2025
3.75 stars
Another fun and festive read!
Another fun and festive read!
October 21, 2024
This was just an absolute delight to read. I absolutely fell in love with the first book and I am over the moon that the second delivered. Just full of magic and everything I love around Christmas. I would have loved a book like this as a child, and I’m so blessed that I get to read these with my own. Fingers crossed for a third!
October 29, 2025
A really fun and laugh out loud Christmas Story that fallows on from Stepfather Christmas. Helen and Nick have a baby girl called Yula, who is almost one year old, and like her dad, she has Christmas magic, but absolutely no ability to control it yet. This creates lots of problems and lots of laughs for the reader. unfortunately, Elf and Safety isn't too happy and wants to take Yula to the North Pole before she reveals her dad's identity. The family works together to stop that happening.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews