Jump to ratings and reviews

Ham Hands the Christmas Elf

Everyone knows that Santa and his elves wrap the most beautiful presents. But have you ever gotten a present that’s…not? Too much tape? Not enough paper? A ribbon that just doesn't curl?

Well there's a story behind those presents. The story of one very special elf, two big hands, and an even bigger dream.

Ham Hands the Christmas Elf is a quirky, laugh-out-loud tale that helps wrapping-impaired parents explain why everything isn't always picture perfect underneath the Christmas tree - and why you should do what you love, even when you're not the best at it.

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2019

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Whitney Beatty

4 books2 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
25 (69%)
4 stars
7 (19%)
3 stars
3 (8%)
2 stars
1 (2%)
1 star
0 (0%)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
Profile Image for Emily.
264 reviews9 followers
November 20, 2019
I don’t read nearly as many picture books as I used to now that I work in middle school library instead of elementary, but I still love it when I find one that begs to be read out loud, one that makes me laugh as I read, and one makes me excited to share it with picture book fans of all ages. This is one of those books. My favorite new picture book of the year!
670 reviews
November 9, 2019
Ham Hands the Christmas Elf is a lovely story of an elf who dreams of wrapping presents but is not allowed because of his huge hands until he takes a chance and the opportunity to save Christmas.

This is a great story and Ham Hands is such an interesting character. It is great how we get to see Ham Hands taking an opportunity to save Christmas as he knows it is more important for the child's happiness even though he knows he'll probably get into trouble. It is nice for the children to see a character who is so kind and puts others before himself,

The children liked seeing Ham Hands throughout the book and wanted him to do more than just the candy canes so they loved seeing all the pictures of Ham Hands wrapping and getting to see him save Christmas. The illustrations are really fun cartoon style pictures that were full of fun and festive details around the North Pole.

I think the storyline for the book is brilliant and I think it's a great excuse for why Santa's wrapping is not looking as great as it does in the movies / stories children read! I think my favourite part of the story is when we get to see the little girl being more open minded and accepting than the rest of the North Pole as it shows a great example for the children.

This is a fantastic story that is a fun festive read, the perfect story if you're not the best at wrapping presents (it must've been Ham Hands after all!)
Profile Image for VNC Books.
85 reviews10 followers
November 20, 2019
Fun Read

Lovely story that shows how important everyone is despite our differences. This story is perfect for the holidays. Loved how the Elf was able to assist in his own special way
Profile Image for Rose English.
Author 23 books183 followers
July 31, 2021
Christmas in July with Ham Hands the loveable elf

Ham Hands has the biggest hands you will ever see which does not make it easy when it comes to wrapping presents. Therefore, Santa gives him the job of candy cane bender which is very boring. It hurts that he has to look out over the room with the present wrapping elves. One day when they were exceptionally busy some of the presents were forgotten, Ham tried to get their attention but no one was around so he wrapped them himself. Of course they were badly wrapped but the thing was they were wrapped with love. Ham Hands wrote a nice note to apologise and put it in the present. He didn't sleep all night when Santa was out doing his rounds the elf was so worried. Will Santa be cross, why not grab a copy for your little ones and find out.
Profile Image for Sandy S.
8,802 reviews216 followers
December 23, 2021
3.75 stars—Ham Hands the Christmas Elf by Whitney Beatty is a sweet, Christmas short story focusing on Ham Hands The Christmas Elf and is very large, clumsy hands.

Ham Hands has one job at the North Pole, and that is to ‘bend’ the candy canes for Santa but Ham Hands has always wanted to learn to wrap presents but his oversized hands prevented Sam from doing the job. One Christmas Eve, Ham Hands found a lone Christmas present, lost and abandoned, knowing one child would not receive their Christmas toy, so Ham Hands ‘tried’ to wrap the present, but failed miserably, so the Elf included a letter that apologized for the bad wrapping job.

HAM HANDS AND THE CHRISTMAS ELF is a story that ‘apologizes’ to children everywhere for some of the poorly wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. The images are colorful; the text is simple and easy.
Profile Image for Cynthia  Gutzwiller.
1,778 reviews25 followers
April 17, 2020
An Unhappy Elf

What a wonderful book to make you feel like candy canes and sugar plum fairies. The illustrations are superb. You can tell how big his hands are. You don't expect a moral to this story but there is one. You want to guess what it is?
Santa's presents are always wrapped beautifully. Not a ribbon out of place. This story is about the ones that are not wrapped so nice. Ones that are just a little or a lot off. Ham Hands was an Elf with very large hands. The bad elves had a Nick name for him. There was only one job he could do. It was not very fun. He would look all day at the gift wrapping department and longing to be there. Did he ever make.it? What was his boring job? Hooray for presents! Hooray for Ham Hands! Hooray for you!

Profile Image for Barbara Ann.
Author 22 books188 followers
December 14, 2021
A funny book that preschoolers and primary grade readers will enjoy.

Ham Hands is an elf on Santa's staff who has extremely large hands. As a result, he is banned from wrapping presents because he makes a mess of wrapping them. He is relegated to the candy room, bending the candy canes.

One Christmas Eve, Santa leaves a few presents behind. Ham Hands knows a deserving little girl is waiting. What can he do?

The text is a bit choppy in spots and the illustrations stylized, but the message is spot on. We are all unique and special. This book is also a godsend for parents who are all thumbs at wrapping Christmas gifts.
Profile Image for Kim Ann.
Author 34 books106 followers
December 13, 2020
Not So Perfect Presents!

Cute story about Ham the elf. Ham did not want to spend candy canes he wanted to wrap gifts, however he had giant hands! When Darla‘s presents we’re overlooked Ham decided to wrap them himself. He tried so hard but they did not look perfect. To make up for it he sent some extra candy canes.
Author 10 books3 followers
December 15, 2020
Lots of Giggles

There are a few not-so-great present wrappers in my house who greatly identified with Ham Hands, and we all appreciate having a messy comrade in the North Pole. We also love yelling “Ham Haaaaands” to make each other giggle. A fun and festive addition to your Christmas library.
170 reviews
April 1, 2020
Everyone has a talent

Ham Hands the elf has the drive to help and do the job but not the chance until he wraps the gifts got a little girl. They may not be the prettiest but they are wrapped with love and he finally gets the opportunity to show what he can do. Wonderful story.
Profile Image for Toby Williams.
Author 8 books14 followers
December 14, 2020
Giggles

This is such a cute tale about ill-wrapped gifts, I chuckled while reading. Light-hearted humor rings through as elf Ham Hands shows his wrapping can be appreciated by children everywhere. Touching a soft spot, when things aren't perfect, it's still a gift to behold.
30 reviews
December 2, 2019
Beautiful christmas story

This is a lovely christmas story, my niece’s attantion span runs pretty low but we managed to finish the entire and she was engaging!
Profile Image for Cris.
2,308 reviews26 followers
July 29, 2021
Ham Hands

Cute story about how even when we are different we need to be given a chance because we can all make a difference!
Profile Image for Laura.
2 reviews
August 30, 2020
Fantastic!

Super fun and cute for kids and adults alike. Definitely recommend for Christmas or any time of year. Love it!
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews