Rating: 
Summary: Winter Walker-land!!!!
Review: Christmas just isn't Christmas without a tree, the trimmings, a hearty dose of love . . . and, oh yes, Jesus. This book has all this and still manages to capture the joy of the season without being sappy or sickeningly sweet. Pick up a copy like I did and read a chapter a day. The Walkers will really put you in the mood for that most special day in December.
Rating:
Summary: Tidings of Comfort and Joy! Joy! Joy!
Review: From the front cover to Michael Walker's "Encore" this book is a holiday must read. Full of tips, quotes, recipes, ideas, short stories and humor galore this book will get any grumpy (or not) person in the mood for celebrating Christmas. Single, married, with kids or without, the Walkers' book is one to cuddle up in your jammies with and read. As the Encore (aka epilogue) says "we've shown you new and fun ways to make your grown-up Christmas season bright." And I do agree that "Ave Maria" is best sung by Placido Domingo (p. 166).
-Brenda Nixon, author
Parenting Power in The Early Years
Rating:
Summary: A must read Christmas book
Review: God Rest Ye Grumpy Scroogeymen will definitely put you in the Christmas Spirit. This book written by husband and wife team, Michael and Laura, celebrates all the joys of Christmases past and gives ideas on starting new traditions. From filling and hanging Christmas Stockings to baking yummy cookies it is indeed a joy to read and is also a great Christmas gift to give others.
Rating:
Summary: Tidings of Comfort and Joy! Joy! Joy!
Review: I confess. With children now grown and out of the house, the thought of a pull-out-all-the-stops Christmas left me feeling like a scroogey-mom. Why bother? Why go to all the trouble?
At least that's what I thought until I read Laura and Michael Walkers fabulous little book, God Rest Ye Merry Scroogeymen. This hilarious volume helped me remember what fun the holidays can be. This book's long on inspiration and do-able ideas, yet blessedly short on unrealistic, time-consuming, multi-step recipes and crafts. I found at least half a dozen new ideas I'll incorporate into my own holiday celebration this year. I highly recommend this joy-filled book.
Rating:
Summary: Scrooge talks back to Michael and Laura
Review: Laura and Michael share a love of life that could only come from a situation in which they had to fight for life. Laura survived cancer and has written some inspirational books to show women the way through a life-threatening situation. Now, they seem determined to live each day with a sense of joy and enthusiasm. Christmas is no exception. Through this book, you will realize that everyone celebrates Christmas in a unique way. Laura and Michael love making homemade gifts, but they also participate in "Operation Christmas Child" and fill shoeboxes with small gifts for kids in need in Third World countries. I could relate to the cookie making. Normally, I get in the mood about one week before Christmas and bake like crazy. My grandmother always had about 20 tins of cookies piled all in one place. They were sort of hidden, but we always found them. I love baking and this book has quite a few recipes. There is a recipe for Michael's Famous Carrot Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting with a secret ingredient. Michael and Laura also share a love of making crafts and give a few examples and ideas of how you can make your own gifts. Michael is also a trivia buff and gives some interesting facts about "Merry "X"mas." It isn't what I thought it meant. There are also lists of favorite songs and favorite movies sprinkled through the pages. I enjoyed all the "top secret" ideas I found in this book. Going on a vacation at Christmas time sounds like a good plan to me. Escaping to a movie. Giving pets gifts. It all sounds so cozy. My two cats will defiantly be considering the "kit kat" bar gifts. I'm imagining them having their picture taken in little red hats. I see icicle lights sparkling against the night sky and scented candles releasing the scent of pine into the living room where I am watching "It's a Wonderful Life." After reading this book, you might go find your loose change and take it to a Salvation Army bell ringer (like Michael does) or maybe even go to the World Vision site and donate a milk goat to a poor family in some faraway land. There are some ideas in this book for helping underprivileged kids. I understand why at times people can become "Scroogey." Yes, perhaps it is the disappointment some people feel at a holiday not being quite what you thought it would be. Maybe people feel that because they can't participate quite so fully in the giving that they are left out of the joy. With so many people losing jobs and all the problems that have occurred in America in the past few years, I'd imagine there are some rather jaded people during Christmas. I think holidays can also become painful because of loss or because you can't be with the person you love most in all the world. Life is definitely not perfect. So, after reading this book, you might find yourself reaching out to the world in various ways. After years of cleaning up pine needles in other people's homes, I had vowed to never be a decorator of Christmas Trees and yet at times I long for the scent of pine and the warmth of my grandmother's home where each year she seemed to spend a week decorating for the holiday season. My mother always asks me when I'm going to get a tree and had a good laugh as she read pg. 14. She then proceeded to laugh even more as she informed me that this book was perfect for me and that I was the woman who would decorate the house in Victorian Style, while my husband would prefer Looney Tunes decorations. My mother actually bought my husband a Lionel Train with a Looney Tune car. Laura tells of how Michael recently purchased a train. Christmas for Laura and Michael is a celebration of life itself. If anyone can get you to go out and buy a Christmas Tree, Laura and Michael can! While reading this book, you will be amused at the reason why they now always have two trees. ~TheRebeccaReview.com
Rating:
Summary: A Great Christmas Read!
Review: Let's face it: Come Christmastime, no matter how spiritual, fun-loving, or organized we are,
there's probably a little "Scrooge" in all of us. Despite our best efforts, today's
commercialized Christmas chaos can often leave us with no room in our inn-dividual schedules
to celebrate the reason for the season or, worse yet, for those of us who really are grumpy
Grinches, we find no room for Christmas in our already too-small hearts. Leave it to Christian
comedy Queen, Laura Jensen Walker, and her newly published co-author-Renaissance-Man-
husband, Michael, to remove the "bah" from your humbug and just leave you humming
Christmas carols instead. God Rest Ye Grumpy Scroogeymen is a dickens of a good read with
personal reflections, amusing true-life anecdotes, meaningful messages and quotations, tons of
Holiday tips, and a scrumptious recipe or two. I too married a man named Michael, whom for
nearly thirty years I've also dubbed my Renaissance man; but Laura's Mike takes the Christmas fruitcake! This guy gives you fabulously creative sewing, craft, cooking, and
stocking-stuffer ideas (just to name a few) that puts even Santa Claus to shame. And, together,
with his wife, veteran author Laura, they give you enough Holiday cheer, chuckles, and charm
to warm even the Scroogiest of hearts. Even though I loved this book, I still love fruitcake.
Well, at least I think I do despite Laura's aversion to same. She is such a wonderful, colorful
writer that her graphic description of this touted, traditional Christmas treat is enough to make
me consider not asking for seconds...or maybe even firsts! But I'll be the first to stand in line
for a second helping of whatever the new Walker-author team dishes out next! God will bless
us every one when we read books by authors like the Walkers, whom He has blessed with such
creative talent and incredible humor! -Lynn D. Morrissey
author of Seasons of a Woman's Heart and new release Love Letters to God (Multnomah, 1/04)
Rating: 
Summary: Bah, Humb...Oh, Happy Holidays!
Review: OK, I have been a grumpy scroogeyman most of my adult life. I get tired of hearing about the holiday season by the middle of November, and I stay away from stores as much as possible during the month of December. On a recommendation from my parents, I picked up and read this book. While I don't share the same religious views as the Walkers, I found the book light and fun, and it has helped to lighten my view of the season this year. My only wish is that there had perhaps been a chapter for single people, but that is the only (slight) imperfection in this excellent book. P.S. I'm still a grumpy scroogeyman, but I'm not as cynical about the season as I was before reading the book, so I count that as a victory for Michael and Laura!
Rating:
Summary: Bah, Humb...Oh, Happy Holidays!
Review: OK, I have been a grumpy scroogeyman most of my adult life. I get tired of hearing about the holiday season by the middle of November, and I stay away from stores as much as possible during the month of December. On a recommendation from my parents, I picked up and read this book. While I don't share the same religious views as the Walkers, I found the book light and fun, and it has helped to lighten my view of the season this year. My only wish is that there had perhaps been a chapter for single people, but that is the only (slight) imperfection in this excellent book. P.S. I'm still a grumpy scroogeyman, but I'm not as cynical about the season as I was before reading the book, so I count that as a victory for Michael and Laura!
Rating:
Summary: The best thing you'll open this Christmas
Review: Since I'm traditionally the "scroogeyman" in my house, I was drawn to Laura Jensen and Michael K. Walker's "God Rest Ye Grumpy Scroogeymen." Basically daring it to put me in a Christmas mood. Well, by the end of the book I was grabbing for my Christmas CDs and singing along. This is a wonderful book to get for yourself and give as a gift. It is full of funny and thoughtful holiday stories that will warm your heart and have you laughing - sometimes at the same time. There are also recipes and gift giving ideas. Be warned, once you start reading, you won't be able to wait for Christmas.
Rating: 
Summary: Still Scroogey.
Review: This book, although readable, (hence, my three stars) did not improve my attitude towards this particular holiday - instead, it angered me enough to make some changes in my life. We live in a society of excess - and this book only feeds into that. I also realize "Christmas", by the nature of the word, denotes Christianity in our culture - and this book is definitely written from that point of view.
Thanks to this book, I am tossing out a lot of "holiday traditions" that have no meaning for me. The glut of unnecessary gifts, the over-stuffed stockings, the fanatical baking -- all will be gone next year. If your goal is that picture-perfect, Hallmark-y holiday, this is the book for you. If, like me, you are a non-Christian who struggles to make sense of the American way of life, skip this one...
| 
