The Great Christmas Bowl by Susan May Warren

This is a guest post by Tina L. Scott (formerly Miller). Tina is a freelance photographer from Merrill, Wisconsin with a passion for writing. She can be reached at PhotographyByTina.com

Book
The Great Christmas Bowl

Author
Susan May Warren

The Review
Big Lake, Minnesota, is a small town with a big heart—and a huge enthusiasm for their high school football team, the Big Lake Trouts. Marianne Wallace is a proud mother and a big football fan, and is absolutely thrilled when her son makes the team. She proudly touts herself as an avid “athletic supporter” and enthusiastically cheers from the bleachers at every game.

But as Christmas approaches and Marianne really starts to ponder what it means to have her last son on the verge of graduating high school and leaving home soon, she is beginning to feel the early labor pains of empty nest syndrome setting in. Her husband, Mike, an EMT in their small town, sees the emerging signs and decides keeping her busy is the best remedy for this ailment, so he conspires to volunteer her to chair the church’s annual Christmas tea—a somewhat thankless affair that seems to cause more discontent in the planning than Christian Christmas spirit.

Enter a tragedy that afflicts one of Big Lake’s most beloved citizens, an impassioned plea from her son—for whom she always said she’d do anything, didn’t she?—and Marianne is soon up to her eyeballs—and then some—in trout, Christmas, football, and planning an annual tea. Of course, nothing is as easy as it seems—How hard can it be? is never a question to be taken lightly—and one decision soon impacts all of the others, sending her “plans” into an uproar. Christmas and the tea are soon falling apart. Decorating and all of her holiday traditions fall by the wayside and it seems her Christmas spirit is on the verge of following. For Marianne, some things are definitely looking a big glum.

For readers, on the other hand, Marianne’s dilemmas couldn’t be more hysterical. Most of us can well remember times we’ve taken on too much, set our sights too high (i.e., perfection!), and gotten in over our heads, but most of us have not gotten talked into posing as a team mascot in a six-foot tall trout costume as one of our faux pas. And right before the annual Christmas tea we’re in charge of.

As one thing after another starts to go awry, Marianne gets a lesson in eating humble pie, letting go—of her perfect plans for the holidays and her growing children, and learning to go with the flow. In the end, she finds her holiday is perfect—just not in the way she originally imagined. She also discovers she’s raised children she can truly be proud of, not because they make her Christmas the picture perfect holiday she’d imagined, but because they risk disappointing her instead, to do something that is truly meaningful for those whose Christmas might never be picture perfect.

As a bit of a control freak myself, I found this story to be heartwarming, hilarious, and a great lesson in learning to let go and let God. It’s a short novella, an easy read, and a fun escape from my own chaotic life. Give yourself a mini vacation and give it a read!

Order The Great Christmas Bowl Today!

Disclosure: The reviewer received a complimentary copy of the book to review.

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This post was sponsored by The Dabbling Mum.

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