Book excerpt: Christmas has always been a time for telling stories, and this collection draws on that tradition to create a wonderful mixture of stories for the festive season. It includes stories about presents and surprises; about family quarrels and loneliness; about both happy and sad times - and, of course, about ghosts. It all adds up to a thought provoking and absorbing collection which brings together stories about all the different faces of Christmas, and what it means to us.