The Paper Bag Christmas Quotes

“Christmas magic is silent. You don't hear it---you feel it, you know it, you believe it.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas

“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. —Calvin Coolidge”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. —Charles Dickens”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Christmas magic is silent. You don’t hear it—you feel it, you know it, you believe it.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Somehow, not only for Christmas but all the long year through, the joy that you give to others is the joy that comes back to you. And the more you spend in blessing the poor and lonely and sad, the more of your heart’s possessing returns to you glad. —John Greenleaf Whittier”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“One day, this child will tell those who follow him, ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments.’ And what will he command them? ‘This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.’ If this is truly the Son of God, then there is no worldly gift that he needs. He does not ask for gold, or wealth, or money. He asks only that we love others. And so, that will be my gift to him. I will try harder to love everyone, regardless of who they are or what they look like.” Madhu turned slightly to the left and smiled directly at Katrina, then went on speaking. “And I will try to overlook the few things that make us different and focus instead on the many things that make us all the same.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Christmas Eve was a night of song that wrapped itself about you like a shawl. But it warmed more than your body. It warmed your heart… filled it, too, with melody that would last forever. —Bess Streeter Aldrich”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Here they all were practicing a pageant about Jesus Christ, yet completely ignoring the fact that they were behaving completely un-Christ-like.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Christmas began in the heart of God. It is complete only when it reaches the heart of man. —Author unknown”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs? —Gilbert K. Chesterton”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas: A Novel

“Everyone, including grumpy Nurse Wimble, felt something special that night, something magical. Only it wasn't magic at all but the true spirit of Christmas, and it left us all with a desire to be better people, to be more giving and forgiving and to reach out to those around us in all their unique and varied circumstances.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas

“It might have been that the weathered paper bag was no less than the single most valuable possession she had, and therefore, an undeniably excellent gift for the Savior. Or perhaps she was offering the Christ her own pride, exposing the scars of her own self-doubt at the feet of he who is mighty to heal. Whatever the case, I knew her sacrifice was more than I could fully appreciate, let alone articulate.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas

“The only gift is a portion of thyself. -Ralph Waldo Emerson”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas

“If this is truly the Son of God, then there is no worldly gift that he needs. He does not ask for gold, or wealth, or money. He asks only that we love others. And so that will be my gift to him. I will try harder to love everyone, regardless of who the are or what they look like . . . . And I will try to overlook the few things that make us different and focus instead on the many things that make us all the same. "

A single year dropped from the corner of Madhu's eye and trickled down his face. He turned back to the baby and set down his empty box, kneeling gracefully at the foot of the manger.

"It is a small gift, I know, but it is the only thing I have to offer Christ.”
― Kevin Alan Milne, The Paper Bag Christmas