This was not only the worst collection of Christmas stories I've ever read, it was the worst collection of short stories I've ever read. (With the sole exception of A Christmas Memory.)

Overall a good collection of Christmas stories. There are some repeats from the Everyman's Library Book of Christmas Stories, and on the whole I found the Everyman collection more enjoyable. However, there are some gems in this collection that make it worth the read: most notably, the selections by Muriel Spark, Alistair MacLeod and William Trevor. Recommended.

My favourites:
Winter Dog by Alistair MacLeod,
A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote,
Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor by John Cheever,
Auggie Wren’s Christmas Story by Paul Auster

I only got a few stories in before the holidays were over, so I'm saving the rest for next year. I enjoyed Paul Auster's "Augie Wren's Christmas Story" and Truman Capote's "A Christmas Memory".

Here are some of my favourites from the 23 short stories in the anthology:

Auggie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster -- two strangers: a young man and a blind old lady spent Christmas together by chance, which turned to be her last Christmas.
"As long as there's a person to believe it, there's no story that can't be true."

A Christmas Memory by Truman Capote -- a bittersweet story of two unlikely friends and a dog.

Christmas is a Sad Season for the Poor by John Cheever -- this one is pretty self explanatory, and quite heartwarming too!

The Coming of the Christ-Child by Bessie Head -- deals with the other side of the (white) mission to spread Christianity in South Africa.
"Answer this question, Father. How is it that when the white man came here, he had only the Bible and we the land. Today, he has the land and we the Bible,"

For Christmas by Juan José Hernandez -- addresses the inequality in the relationship of a married couple.

Christmas by Vladimir Nabokov -- a heartbreaking story about a father grieving for his son during Christmastime.

The Loudest Voice by Grace Palley -- a Jewish girl with a particularly loud voice is excited about being in a Christmas play--her father sees no harm in it.

The Leaf-Sweeper by Muriel Spark -- in which a man founded the Society for the Abolition of Christmas, and then taken up for his activism and sent to the asylum. Quite a witty story with a touch of magical realism.

Mother Christmas by Michel Tournier -- a very short story--only 3 pages--which is quite self explanatory as well. The thing is, I didn't read the title first so when I got to the ending I was pleasantly surprised.

Eh. Some stories I liked (in particular, Jeanette Winterson's, which, as luck would have it, came right at the end of the book); others, not so much. I would've given it 2.5 stars, but since I couldn't, I rounded up.

I ended up liking or being intrigued by only 3 or 4 of the short stories. The others were dark, seem unfinished or obtuse.

Some of these stories are great, some not so. Overall, an excellent collection of holiday tales.

Quirky and worth reading. Some are puzzlers but I accepted that. "Christmas" by Vladimir Nabokov is sad, beautiful, mystical/spiritual.

I didn't love this book. It was a collection of short stories. There was a darling story written by Truman Capote about fruit cake, but otherwise many of the stories seemed mean spirited and depressing considering it's a Christmas book.

Gifted by Mary Ann Christmas 2017. Some interesting stories. I read about 4 of them

Three essentials, not just for Christmas, but for always: Vladimir Nabokov's perfect story of a man grieving his son's death, Grace Paley's hilarious Jewish immigrant kids performing a Christmas pageant, Alice Munro's piercing story of work at a turkey processing barn.