Publisher, HighBridge Audio (October 2008)

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“What a holiday gift from NPR.” —The Providence Journal

Like an overstuffed stocking on Christmas morning, NPR Holiday Favorites is full of unexpected pleasures and evergreen delights:

# David Sedaris contributes his now classic “Santaland Diaries,” his account of his experiences playing Santa’s little helper at Macy’s in New York.

# Susan Stamberg sneaks her mother-in-law’s recipe for cranberry relish onto the air—again.

# Storyteller Kevin Kling finds an invitation to participate in a production of The Nutcracker too tempting to resist.

# Ghanian-born commentator Meri Danquah shares her thoughts on Kwanzaa.

# Cowboy poet Baxter Black describes a Christmas cookie with “the denseness of an anvil and the half-life of a radial tire.”

# Robert Siegel goes in search of the correct spelling for December’s Jewish holiday.

# The Thanksgiving tables are turned on unsuspecting Bostonians in “When Turkeys Attack.”

And more.

# Tracks: Introduction by Susan Stamberg

# Mingle All the Way Through Holiday Parties

# Martha Stewart, A Domestic Diva Talks Relish

# How to Extend Your Holiday

# Not My Job: Amy Sedaris

# How to Get Out of Giving Thanks

# When Turkeys Attack: Bostonians Battle Wild Birds

# Thanksgiving Day Cab Ride

# Nutcracker Dreams

# Storycorps: The Christmas Tree Under the Porch

# Christmas Truce

# Repaying a Christmas Favor

# My Annual New Year's Quandary

# Patti LaBelle Celebrates the Holidays

# Santaland Diaries

# Santa, the Caring Stranger to the North

# Christmas Morning, 1949

# Thoughts on Kwanzaa

# Santarchy!

# The Worst Gifts Ever

# Father Sarducci's Absolute Worst Holiday Song Ever

# Chanukah, or Hanukkah?

# Mixed Families Set to Celebrate ‘Chrismukkah'

# Lebkuchen: A Holiday Treat That Lasts a Lifetime

# A Recipe for Latke Failure

# A Personal Miracle on 55th Street

# Christmas Candles

# The Phenomenon of 'Feliz Navidad'

# This I Believe: The Designated Celebrator

About the Host: Nationally renowned broadcast journalist SUSAN STAMBERG is special correspondent for NPR. Stamberg is the first woman to anchor a national nightly news program, and has won every major award in broadcasting. She has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame and the Radio Hall of Fame.