<P>With all the promise of an overstuffed stocking on Christmas morning this collection from NPR is brimming with stories that will soon be holiday classics.<br><br>Each year listener’s tune in to NPR for holiday offerings of all kinds: funny touching insightful and surprising. Now anyone can listen to these evergreen delights while driving to the mall wrapping gifts entertaining friends or relaxing in front of a crackling fire. <BR /><BR /><I>More Tinsel Tales</I> includes many of the outstanding storytellers featured regularly on NPR: Kevin Kling finds that Christmas in his family usually includes some type of family disaster but it provides a wellspring of memories as the family gathers again undaunted. Ken Harbaugh wonders at the perfection of the unadorned tree in his house—until his family breaks the spell. Bailey White spreads the Christmas guilt as she implicates her mother and sister in their life of yuletide crime. Jay O’Callahan remembers a boyhood Christmas that veered from tragedy to hope. A very merry but wary Dave Barry shares his latest take on the hazards of celebrating Christmas. Cowboy poet Baxter Black reflects on the modern manger. Julie Zickafoose remembers a frigid but magical night of “Caroling in the Cold.”<BR /><BR />And available exclusively in this edition of <I>More Tinsel Tales</I>: “All Things Considered” host Audie Cornish shines with her inspired reading of O. Henry’s “Gift of the Magi.”<br><br>Contents:<li>Introduction by David Greene<li>A Child’s Christmas<li>Radio Gift: ’Twas the Night Before Christmas<li>Merry Stressmas from Kevin Kling<li>Nation’s Christmas Tree Plucked from Colorado<li>Encouraging “Green” Christmas Trees<li>Appreciating the Ugliness of the Christmas Tree<li>Stealing Hemlock<li>Roman Christmas Revolves Around the Food<li>Medieval Christmas Cookies Still in Fashion<li>Christmas a Busy Season for Tamale-Makers<li>At a Real-Life Santa’s Workshop Christmas<li>Comes Early<li>StoryCorps: Santa Claus Is Driving to Town<li>Without Magic Santa Would Need 12 Million Employees<li>Alaskan Village Hosts Christmas Pageant<li>Christmas Candles<li>“The Gift of the Magi”<li>StoryCorps: One Student’s Christmas Lesson<li>Dave Barry Wishes You a Very Wary Christmas<li>Fruitcake Capital of the World<li>Dickens’ Notes on A Christmas Carol<li>The Sounds of Christmas Long Ago<li>Building a Better Christmas Tree<li>Nativity Collector Dreams of Mangers and Museums<li>What’s Christmas to a Cow?<li>Toiling Over a Christmas Pudding<li>Nina Totenberg Sings the Holidays<li>Art of Holiday Lighting<li>Christmas Songs We Don’t Know the Words To<li>Life in National Cathedral Boys Choir<li>Caroling in the Cold
