There is little wonder why The Christmas Spirit reads like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie, as it is written by Debbie Macomber. Macomber, who in addition to writing fifteen novels to reach #1 on the New York Times Bestseller lists, has seen five of her novels transformed for the screen to become beloved Hallmark Channel movies. If The Christmas Spirit doesn’t join Mrs. Miracle and Mr. Miracle as a Hallmark Holiday romance, I’ll be extremely shocked!

The Christmas Spirit is a framed narrative in which a grandmother tells her grandchildren a story about two unlikely friends who switch places for a week and find romance with unlikely partners. Tavern owner Hank Colfax believes that his long-time friend Pete Armstrong an easy life. As the pastor of a church, he only has to work one or two days a week. Pete thinks his friend Hank is living his dream life: partying every night and meeting women. The two agree to switch places during the week before the holiday season in order to prove to the other that their job is indeed “the hardest” of the two.

Lessons Learned

Predictably, both men soon discover that his friend’s job is not at all as cushy as he had originally imagined. Hank discovers that, although Pete doesn’t have to worry about taxes, he does have money issues and a committee to report to. Meanwhile, Pete discovers that keeping Hank’s customers happy isn’t all sunshine and roses.

To complicate matters, Grace Ann, who is the church’s secretary and Pete’s sister, is completely against the switch. In fact, she’s completely against anything to do with Hank and his tavern. Grace Ann makes doing Pete’s job complicated. She has high standards that Hank will never measure up to. Too bad, that, because Hank’s pretty sure Gracie is the perfect woman for him. Or, she would be perfect, if she’d just loosen up a bit.

Additionally, Grace Ann can’t stand the idea of her brother falling in love with a waitress from an ill-reputed establishment. She worries too much about what the congregation will think when they find out that she’s completely blind to how happy Pete is with Millie in his life.

Ironically, Grace Ann and Pete both learn a lesson or two about what it means to be Christian and about the Christmas Spirit from Hank and his friends at the tavern. Following a badly broken heart, Gracie had worn her faith like a protective cloak around her. She thought that her high school sweetheart didn’t love her because she wasn’t good enough. So she set out to be the best Christian she could be. In so doing, she had become severe, off-putting, and judgmental. Her own feelings of inadequacy had caused her to raise the bar for herself and others unattainably high.

In his role as bartender of The Last Call, Pete discovered that people didn’t pretend with him. Pete suspected that his congregation often pretended that everything was perfect. Hank’s customers didn’t have to pretend. They told him all of their problems, without reservation. Peter found that he was able to minister to people in a way that he was unable to do behind the pulpit.

Bringing the Christmas Spirit to The Last Call

Pete discovers that Millie, along with many of Hank’s regular customers, would be alone for Christmas. In fact, to many, it was just a day. He was determined to bring the spirit of Christmas to everyone he’d come to know and love! But in order to transform The Last Call for Christmas, he would need help. He reached out to Grace Ann and to Hank. Initially, Gracie flat-out refuses to help her brother, but Hank helped her to see the good she could do. Grace Ann solicits the help of the women’s missionary, and they get to work. Before long, The Last Call is filled with baked goodies, decorations, and welcoming smiles.

This party brings more than twinkling lights and treats to The Last Call. It brings hope and fellowship, and the message of Christmas through caroling. It even brings a few new guests to Pete’s church for a Christmas Eve pageant that goes hilariously wrong.

I fell in love with this novel from the first few chapters, not in spite of its predictability, but because of it. It was quite comforting to know, even as I was reading the problems Pete, Hank, Gracie, and Millie were having that everything was going to work out in the end. I adore the fact that it’s framed as a grandmother telling her grandchildren about her own past and her own mistakes, and that the reader gets to know that a long time before the children do. It lends a bit of wonder and innocence to the novel.