The Gift Giver – Christmas Book & Giveaway

DEAL OF THE DAY: Get 15% OFF your purchase of The Gift Giver by using the code: THEBESTDAY at check-out!

I LOVE this time of year! It is my absolute favorite! I love the feeling of love and charity. The reminders of our blessings and what is most important in our lives. I love celebrating our Savior’s birth, Christmas shopping, the decorations, the lights, the spirit of happiness and of course spending time with family!

I love as soon as November hits, our focus on candy and costumes turns to our blessings and the spirit of giving. And THAT is what I am so excited to talk a little bit about today.

GIVING. 

Holiday traditions are just the BEST! In fact, I love that as moms we can carry on old traditions from our immediate families growing up AND it is never too late to start NEW traditions for our families today.

One of my favorite traditions in my family is on Thanksgiving Day! My mom and dad give each family a book with an envelope. The book is normally a special book about service, kindness, or giving. AND in the envelope, is cash. Each family is to use the cash throughout the month of December to help someone in need. It is the perfect way to teach our children to truly give and is a special reminder that it isn’t just about the presents for them, but it’s about giving to others.

Today I am so excited to introduce you to a book that is a MUST this Christmas season. It’s message, story and illustrations are absolutely beautiful and is my new favorite Christmas book! It is my honor to present to you, “The Gift Giver.”

Jacob Haslem and Nicholas Allen are the authors of this newly released book that is growing in popularity QUICKLY! Jacob is a husband to his best friend, Whitney, and a father to two darling boys! He loves stories and the inspiration people gain from them and is a believer that a good story can be a great persuader and influence in a persons life.

He says, “I love music, I pay special attention to lyrics. I love good movies and books. I seek out inspirational things and I try to surround myself with those things. I also love to laugh and have fun. I have a very close family and a great circle of friends. I believe time is precious and so I am pretty judicious in how I spend it. I am a family man, a spiritually concerned man, and I try to be a man of God. As a father of only sons at the present, my main concern is that my boys grow to be men of God as well.”

Nicholas is a husband to his wife, Kelsi and together they live in California where he grew up. He has a passion for story-telling, and can oft be found entertaining groups of friends, family, and innocent bystanders with witty, and occasionally epic, tales of his daily life. He dreams of one day being able to write books, and tell his stories to the world. He also enjoys good food, a good joke, and afternoon naps. However, more importantly, he loves the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and cherishes the opportunities he has been blessed with in his short life to experience the gospel in action.

Jacob and Nicholas have known each other for a number of years, but this is their first project together. Together it is their hope that their book will touch families in a positive way and will become a timeless tradition in homes and hearts.

Jacob continues and says, “So when it comes to Christmas, which is so important to me, I wanted my boys to understand why we truly celebrate it. I find that understanding the “why” of things is very important, it allows us to more easily act in faith if we understand the “why” of things. The problem that I think we have in our society, with Christmas, is that commercial, cultural, and secular influences have begun to drown out what it is truly about. As a result it is as though we celebrate two separate and different holidays at the same time.”

He goes on to say, “I personally love the idea of Santa Claus, and the magic and wonder that surround the character, and I truly believe that such a character would be much closer to what we portray him to be in The Gift Giver than what we see in our modern day media and culture. The original legends of Saint Nicholas support this theory as well. After thinking about how I could continue to incorporate this “magical” character in our Christmas celebrations but still clearly demonstrate that Christmas is really about the birth of the Savior, to my children, I thought: If I define Santa’s motives, the “why” of his gift giving, then the two no longer need be separate, but they can now be united. Then we could have one clear celebration of the Lord’s birth. If Santa Claus is a messenger, trying to direct focus to Christ, then he only further helps re-enforce what Christmas is truly about. Furthermore if I take the thing that my kids like the best about Christmas, (receiving presents) and teach that the act itself is a symbol of God giving the gift of Jesus Christ, then there should be no confusion about what we’re celebrating, and what all of the fun and magical things are for. Those things are fun, they are exciting, they are magical, they feel good, and they lead us to do good and in the right context they help us remember the Savior. At least that is our hope.

The Gift Giver is just a short story, but it can be a catalyst for a change in the way we celebrate Christmas. That really was the driving factor to write The Gift Giver, I wanted a tool to keep the magic and wonder of Santa alive and well for my boys, but to not let that over shadow what Christmas is really about. Better yet a tool to unify the tradition of Santa with the truth of Jesus Christ. So The Gift Giver was created.”

I love this book trailer… have a peak!

This beautiful story of Santa Claus and the true meaning of Christmas is our new family favorite! In fact, I think my two-year-old has pulled it out every single night before bed since we received it and I now have it memorized. 🙂

If you are looking for a book that not only teaches your family about giving and love, but truly the answer to their questions on “why” we give and receive gifts during the Christmas season, it is just for you.

AND I can’t go without telling you how amazing the pictures are too! The illustrations show and explain the story so beautifully, giving my little one an easy way to understand it’s meaning.

You guys, I love The Gift Giver SO SO much I think we need to do a giveaway! What do you think?! In FACT, I am so excited to be GIVING AWAY a SIGNED hardback Gift Giver Book today WITH a $50 Target Gift Card to help start that Christmas Shopping. SO fun, right?!

You ready for this?!

TO ENTER INTO THIS GIVEAWAY: 

INSTAGRAM:

(1) “Follow” @todaysthebestday and @thegiftgiverbook on Instagram.

(2) “Like” and “Comment” on the picture for this Giveaway and tag friends for additional entries. One entry per person you tag!

(3) “Share” the picture for an additional entry and comment if you are private! Tag @todaysthebestday and #BestDayGiveaway so we are notified.

FACEBOOK:

(1) “LIKE” Today’s The Best Day and The Gift Giver Story Book on Facebook.

(2) “Like” and “Comment” on the picture on Today’s The Best Day’s Facebook page.

(3) If you TAG friends that you think would love Today’s The Best Day and The Gift Giver, you will receive one additional entry per person you tag! {this is done by typing @thepersonsname and their name should pop up in your comment}

(3) “Share” the picture for an additional entry!

TWITTER:

Follow @todays_bestday and @thegiftgiverbk then simply retweet the photo!

BLOG:

Write a comment below! Tell us what your favorite Christmas tradition is!

**ENTER ON ALL THREE Social Networks AND write a comment here on the blog to get as many entries as possible!

GOOD LUCK! Giveaway ends on Friday November 6th at 7pm PST. Winner will be announced within 24 hours! Click here to order a copy today!

Special thanks to the authors of The Gift Giver for being a sponsor of Today’s The Best Day! Don’t you love it!? Although we were compensated for this article, all opinions are my own. 

Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day!

November 4, 2015 by Danielle Davis | 11 Comments