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NPR Holiday Favorites
Like an overstuffed stocking on Christmas morning, NPR Holiday Favorites is full of unexpected pleasures and evergreen delights.
• David Sedaris contributes his now classic “Santaland Diaries,” his account of his experiences playing Santa’s little helper at Macy’s in New York.
• Susan Stamberg sneaks her mother-in-law’s recipe for cranberry relish onto the air—again.
• Storyteller Kevin Kling finds an invitation to participate in a production of The Nutcracker too tempting to resist.
• Ghanian-born commentator Meri Danquah shares her thoughts on Kwanzaa.
• Cowboy poet Baxter Black describes a Christmas cookie with “the denseness of an anvil and the half-life of a radial tire.”
• Robert Siegel goes in search of the correct spelling for December’s Jewish holiday.
• The Thanksgiving tables are turned on unsuspecting Bostonians in “When Turkeys Attack.”
And more...
• David Sedaris contributes his now classic “Santaland Diaries,” his account of his experiences playing Santa’s little helper at Macy’s in New York.
• Susan Stamberg sneaks her mother-in-law’s recipe for cranberry relish onto the air—again.
• Storyteller Kevin Kling finds an invitation to participate in a production of The Nutcracker too tempting to resist.
• Ghanian-born commentator Meri Danquah shares her thoughts on Kwanzaa.
• Cowboy poet Baxter Black describes a Christmas cookie with “the denseness of an anvil and the half-life of a radial tire.”
• Robert Siegel goes in search of the correct spelling for December’s Jewish holiday.
• The Thanksgiving tables are turned on unsuspecting Bostonians in “When Turkeys Attack.”
And more...
1 pages, Audio CD
First published October 14, 2008
105 people want to read
About the author
David Sedaris
119 books28.2k followersDavid Raymond Sedaris is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay "Santaland Diaries". He published his first collection of essays and short stories, Barrel Fever, in 1994. His next book, Naked (1997), became his first of a series of New York Times Bestsellers, and his 2000 collection Me Talk Pretty One Day won the Thurber Prize for American Humor.
Much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, and obsessive behaviors, as well as his life in France, London, New York, and the South Downs in England. He is the brother and writing collaborator of actress Amy Sedaris.
In 2019, Sedaris was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Much of Sedaris's humor is autobiographical and self-deprecating and often concerns his family life, his middle-class upbringing in the suburbs of Raleigh, North Carolina, his Greek heritage, homosexuality, jobs, education, drug use, and obsessive behaviors, as well as his life in France, London, New York, and the South Downs in England. He is the brother and writing collaborator of actress Amy Sedaris.
In 2019, Sedaris was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
September 18, 2018
This is an eclectic collection of snippets from NPR. Some are humorous, others are heartwarming and thoughtful. All have a tie to the holidays that are celebrated at the end of the year, and while not all will be equally liked, it is still an enjoyable and entertaining collection.
November 12, 2024
2008 copyright...funny, poignant, sweet, observant....just what you would expect from an NPR compilation. My new idea for myself is to begin thinking about the holidays with the time change and shorter days. This audio book helped me start getting into the planning mood!
I really liked the Patti LaBelle interview because she had acquired so much wisdom by that time. I loved how she said she sings her very best to the people who are now gone from her life.
I really liked the Patti LaBelle interview because she had acquired so much wisdom by that time. I loved how she said she sings her very best to the people who are now gone from her life.
December 8, 2019
What I love about NPR is that it covers so many angles. It has many holidays and holiday combos.
There were a few stories and interviews I really liked. Being a huge Patti Labelle fan, thanks to my uncle who is OBSESSED with her, it was great to hear her tell it like it is. I too have become very disillusioned with the commercial and gift portion of Christmas and to hear that Miss Patti doesn’t do the gift thing either is great.
The story from 1949 about a family sharing their Christmas with a family standing in the cold rain of a southern bus depot was very moving. To me the generosity of the father and his family who gave up toys for the other children really drove home what Christmas used to be about or should be about. It’s not about chain stores selling things to people who don’t need them and can ill afford them.
A great mixture of holiday stories and people helping each other like Gloria who helped a lot Iranian woman get home when subways changed on the woman’s first trip by herself. While I am still Bahhumbugging I have a bit more good will towards my fellow man. Maybe I should make a donation to NPR. I realized my charities have to do with education, cats and nature so NPR fits right in with education.
There were a few stories and interviews I really liked. Being a huge Patti Labelle fan, thanks to my uncle who is OBSESSED with her, it was great to hear her tell it like it is. I too have become very disillusioned with the commercial and gift portion of Christmas and to hear that Miss Patti doesn’t do the gift thing either is great.
The story from 1949 about a family sharing their Christmas with a family standing in the cold rain of a southern bus depot was very moving. To me the generosity of the father and his family who gave up toys for the other children really drove home what Christmas used to be about or should be about. It’s not about chain stores selling things to people who don’t need them and can ill afford them.
A great mixture of holiday stories and people helping each other like Gloria who helped a lot Iranian woman get home when subways changed on the woman’s first trip by herself. While I am still Bahhumbugging I have a bit more good will towards my fellow man. Maybe I should make a donation to NPR. I realized my charities have to do with education, cats and nature so NPR fits right in with education.
November 30, 2020
We listened to this on a weekend road trip. Some were funnier than others. I was hoping for the entire David Sedaris narration of his Santaland Diaries, but it was only a selection.
But NPR always does an excellent job with their segments.
But NPR always does an excellent job with their segments.
December 20, 2019
some fun skits and stories. some boring. i liked martha stewart, amy sedaris and jose feliciano.
December 28, 2025
I really wanted to just listen to some Christmas stories and this is what I found available. It was okay. It did go quick and it fit the bill. 3 stars
December 20, 2022
Great collection of short stories and essays about the holidays. I listened to this while wrapping gifts tonight.
It was like stepping back in time to 2008, or much earlier for some in the collection. It was only 15 years ago, but in some ways, it felt like a completely different world, before COVID, before political division, and before so much technology.
It was like stepping back in time to 2008, or much earlier for some in the collection. It was only 15 years ago, but in some ways, it felt like a completely different world, before COVID, before political division, and before so much technology.
November 18, 2024
This is pathetic. No mention of Jesus that I remember. Plenty about Santa Clause, making him into a god. Plenty of about presents, but not about the greatest gift of all, salvation through faith in Jesus. Christmas is not a fake holiday. No, Jesus was not born on December 25th, but He was born, probably in April. If you care, you can research it.
I love the Lord Jesus and He is my Savior and so much more. Most of the world has no idea why Jesus was born. The most important person to ever live and our decision to believe in Him is the most important decision we will ever make. And I love fruit cake!!!
Why not ask a Hebrew to get answers to the questions brought up in this book? Why would a de out Christian and a devout Jew marry. They wouldn’t. It is forbidden in scripture. That doesn’t mean that God can’t make this a marriage made in Heaven but it means both must come to Christ.
The Jews that deny Jesus still see themselves under the Law given to Moses. They don’t know the Heavenly Father bc to have the Son is to have the Father. To have not the Son is to not have the Father. In other words anyone that rejects Jesus is damned. Not something I made up but it is the truth. This book promotes false religions and makes a joke of Christmas.
It is painful to know there are so many people lost in their sins and they don’t even know it. CathyR
I love the Lord Jesus and He is my Savior and so much more. Most of the world has no idea why Jesus was born. The most important person to ever live and our decision to believe in Him is the most important decision we will ever make. And I love fruit cake!!!
Why not ask a Hebrew to get answers to the questions brought up in this book? Why would a de out Christian and a devout Jew marry. They wouldn’t. It is forbidden in scripture. That doesn’t mean that God can’t make this a marriage made in Heaven but it means both must come to Christ.
The Jews that deny Jesus still see themselves under the Law given to Moses. They don’t know the Heavenly Father bc to have the Son is to have the Father. To have not the Son is to not have the Father. In other words anyone that rejects Jesus is damned. Not something I made up but it is the truth. This book promotes false religions and makes a joke of Christmas.
It is painful to know there are so many people lost in their sins and they don’t even know it. CathyR
March 27, 2022
This compilation of NPR's special holiday programs on 2 CDs features a number of essays and other contributions, including Susan Stamberg’s “Cranberry Relish” and David Sedaris’s “Santaland Diaries.” Other interesting segments include Robert Siegel’s quest to find out why there are so many different spellings of the name of the Jewish holiday Hanukkah, Roya Hakakian’s remembrance of a stranger’s Christmas kindness, and Brian Unger’s aversion to boring Thanksgiving Day speeches. This was an enjoyable listen for me during a recent car trip to Los Angeles.
December 2, 2020
I wasn’t a big fan of the start of the audiobook, but it turned around by the end. NPR doesn’t do so well with comedy and there is more of that at the start, but the end has more sentimental stories that were great. I teared up on a couple of them so it did it’s job in giving me warm holiday feelings.
April 5, 2019
It's quaint, and the whole thing takes about two hours to listen to. If, like me, you sometimes secretly listen to or read holiday stuff during non- holiday times of the year when you're stressed out or down, this is a quick shot of cheer.
December 22, 2020
A fun, easy way to pass the time. And only 1 story was a repeat out of the 3 story collections I have listened to, which I found really impressive. My favorite here was the David Sedaris story about working as an elf in Santaland
November 23, 2017
This was a cozy thing to listen to while cooking Thanksgiving dinner today.
November 28, 2017
Full of funny and heartwarming stories about the holiday season.
December 8, 2017
Another good NPR short. Road worthy addition to the morning commute.
December 14, 2017
This was a fun 2 hour listen. It's a collection of mostly humorous NPR broadcasts that have a Thanksgiving or Christmas theme.
April 21, 2018
The one star is for the short David Sedaris section, which was hilarious in a dark way as usual. The rest...ick!
December 14, 2018
This brief audiobook from Hoopla goes from cute to funny to thoughtful and sentimental. It was a nice holiday listen!
December 20, 2018
A fun holiday listen, with something for everyone.
November 11, 2019
Stories of regular people.
January 6, 2020
Found this funny and interesting.
February 10, 2020
Some fun holiday stories. I enjoy most not stories. These were a good selection.
December 31, 2020
Sweet, touching, and funny short stories in a short audiobook appropriate for a pre-holiday drive into the city for shopping, or a few days of rainy walks.
December 17, 2022
A fun little audiobook to get me through some of my harder walks to school with plenty of giggles. Love the Lisa and David Sedaris bits of course.
December 18, 2022
Libby Audio. A wonderful collection of NPR holiday episodes. Full of lovely holiday reminders that I will likely come back and listen to every year.
December 19, 2022
The best part about this series of stories was David Sedaris' clip, but it was light and entertaining all in all.
November 8, 2023
Somewhat entertaining short stories about various holidays.
December 21, 2024
Perfect way to get in the holiday mood!
December 12, 2025
Fun listen audiobook.
December 21, 2025
This is a fun little collection. I wish it were longer.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews