Review: The Christmas Present by Alexander McCabe + a giveaway (AD)

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AD. Christmas feels like such a magical time, more so this year. We have recently moved house and I’m even more excited for Christmas than normal. We will be able to decorate our house this year, including our garden, and Daisy is 3 so is the perfect age to buy into the magic of the festive season.

Christmas can be such a busy time. Between the mad dash to find the perfect gift, the visits to various relatives and all of the activities it can almost feel a little non-stop.

We will be taking time this festive season, every evening, to light an advent candle together and spend some time reading together before bed.

I’m gathering a selection of books to enjoy in the evenings with Daisy, as part of our bedtime routine, and I just had to tell you about ‘The Christmas Present’ as it is absolutely beautiful!

The Christmas Present, by Alexander McCabe, is a book about Gabriel the Elf, and the book opens with a lovely dedication to Alexander’s own son, Gabriel.

Did you know that from the moment you are born Mrs Claus allocates you an elf at the North Pole? This elf watches to see when you have been naughty or nice. As soon as you stop believing in Santa your own elf, named in your honour, is banished from the North pole – oh no! 

*The Christmas Present Book tells the wonderful story of Gabriel the Elf. Gabriel’s child is starting to think that Santa is not real. Nightmare! 

Gabriel has to set about proving that Santa DOES exist to avoid being sent away from all of his friends at the North Pole. If Gabriel fails then he will be sent to the South Pole – where he knows nobody!

Through the book, in 9 chapters, we learn more about Gabriel, and Gabriel the Elf. Gabriel the Elf uses a magical snow globe to teleport to Gabriel and fill him in on the true meaning of Christmas.

The characters in this book are lovely, as are the illustrations. The opening chapter of the book feels full of emotion, and it leads wonderfully into the need for Gabriel the Elf to talk about the meaning of Christmas.

With 67 pages, and some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen in a children’s book, The Christmas Present is absolutely magical. I felt really emotional the first time I read this through, alone, and have already read it through to Daisy recently. It’s a real winner!

I love that the size of this book makes it ideal for older children to read alone, perhaps if they are beginning not to believe anymore, or for parents to read to younger children over several nights.

As well as feeling really emotive, and invoking lots of memories of my own childhood, I also loved that this book features Gladys the Reindeer. I can’t remember a time I read a book with a female reindeer in and I’m here for it!

If you’re looking for a new addition to your Christmas favourites then I firmly recommend this book. It has a wonderful message behind it and is a lovely read too. Each chapter was more interesting and Daisy asked me on several occasions to read a little more to her.

I love encouraging Daisy to listen to me read at night, as it allows me a little break from life, and so this book has been perfect for us.

We received the most *beautiful gift set. You get the book, of course, as well as the lovely snow globe featured in the book. This is a lovely decoration for Christmas time but also helps to keep the message of the book alive.

I love the detailing of the snow globe and this gift box would make the perfect Christmas present for little ones in your family. I love that you can get this set out each year and the box is perfectly designed to pack away and protect the snow globe when not in use.

Why not order The Christmas Present:

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*The Christmas Present Book / *The Christmas Present Gift Set

Also, Alexander will be touring via WH Smith stores throughout the year with his lovely book so check out the dates if you fancy that!

If you like you can check out some of the great reviews of the gift box set and have a look at some of the illustrations from inside the book.