“Christmas Every Day”
Christmas goes overboard
StorylineA father tells his daughter a story about a little girl who wants Christmas every single day. Howells takes that irresistible wish seriously enough to have some wonderfully playful fun with it. A gently comic holiday tale about wanting more of a good thing.
“No difference! Christmas is more interesting.”
THE SHORT SHOT EDITION
More Christmas? Careful what you put on your list.
- Short Shot editionComplete story · Unabridged
- GenreHoliday fantasy
- Estimated reading time12–15 minutesStory · extras excluded
Short Shot edition on Amazon · opens in a new tab
At a glance
- Genre
- Holiday fantasy
- Mood
- Holiday mischief
- First published
- 1886
- Author’s country
- United States
Read the opening · excerpt
THE LITTLE GIRL CAME into her papa's study, as she always did Saturday morning before breakfast, and asked for a story. He tried to beg off that morning, for he was very busy, but she would not let him. So he began:
"Well, once there was a little pig—"
She put her hand over his mouth and stopped him at the word. She said she had heard little pig-stories till she was perfectly sick of them.
"Well, what kind of story shall I tell, then?"
"About Christmas. It's getting to be the season. It's past Thanksgiving already."
THE EDITOR’S TAKE
A LITTLE SEASONAL SWEETNESS
Why “Christmas Every Day”?
- Christmas every day sounds like an excellent proposal from someone who has never hosted Christmas.
- We love the childlike wish at the heart of this tale, and Howells’s wonderfully playful willingness to take it seriously.
BEHIND THE STORY
About the author
William Dean Howells (1837–1920) finds drama in ordinary lives and comedy in human expectations. His literary realism sits alongside playful stories for children, including “Christmas Every Day”. Even a realist can let a Christmas fairy into the study.
A question to savor
What makes a special occasion special: what happens, or how rarely it comes?
Share this story.
A cover, a short caption and a link to this story.
GOOD STORIES. BETTER TOGETHER.
Read with us.
Discover a free classic story every month. Find a favorite, then pass it along.
Opens the Short Shot signup form on this page.