The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Holly Furtick Book Club

Welcome to the Holly Furtick Book Club. This is the holiday the holiday edition. And I have a special guest with me, Abby Furtick. How you guys doing? Merry Christmas, Abby. There's no way we're gonna leave the space heater on all night.

It.

It's kind of painful.

Yeah, it's hot. Okay, we're going to turn it off. We got a space heater on under the desk.

Cuz it's nice, but it's unsweat.

It starts. We were already sweaty. Hi, guys. So I have a really hard time finding Christmas books that I like and. But there's one special Christmas book and that's the book we're going to be talking about tonight. It is called the Best Christmas Pageant Ever by.

Barbara Robinson.

Guys, it is gonna be a great night. This is an epic night. This is the first time ever that we have invited children to be on book club with us. Now Abby and I have gone and put on holiday sweatshirts. So mine of course says holly dolly because it says have a holly dolly Christmas. And why wouldn't I have a holly dolly Christmas? And I'm a big fan of Dolly Parton. Partner. Partner. Partner Parton, who is a partner with us. Everything that you buy at the store Holly Ferdy Book Club goes to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library where they send free books to kids.

Does she know that?

Probably not. Now, where's our copy of the book? Here it is. Okay, so there's something special about our book. We have a tradition in our family. We have had this tradition since what year?

2010. Mom read it for the first time in 2011. It was.

A lot of people do not want us to get all of that. So if you look, look here. I wrote the year and then the initial of the family member. See, it says Em. That's Elijah and mom. And then the next year, E G M. And then we have a few years where we had E G M A D. That's our whole family. And then you can see it gets sad. And there have been a couple years where only me and Abby read it. And then something very sad. I didn't write in the book last year. And now we have a debate going on in our family as to whether or not we read the book last year. I think we did. I think we did too. But daddy thinks that we didn't. He thinks he remembers me being sad that we didn't. But I really feel like there's no way that I would have skipped a year. And I feel like we read it like really fast and kind of late. Like, maybe even finished it the day after.

Yeah, we finished it on New Year's Eve. I think that's what he doesn't think.

And we didn't. And we didn't write it in the book, but I. I don't know. Anyway, we got it this year.

We. Right.

We're gonna have an A, an M and a K. Well, Graham, listen. He didn't listen.

Let me listen all three.

Did he? Yeah. So Graham joined us. Elijah joined us for two of the nights. Anyway, I say all that to say this is a wonderful, delightful story. And you know it because you've read it. And if you're on just watching and you haven't read the book, you're not going to have any. I mean, there's no spoilers. It's just a delightful story that will put the biggest smile on your face at Christmas time.

And shout out to Olivia Nichols for watching Book club right now.

I hope that you enjoyed this as much as we did every year. Okay, so how many times have we read this? Have I read this book? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 if you count last year. 13 if you're counting last year. Okay, so here's what we're gonna do. We are going to talk about the best Christmas pageant ever, and we are going to phone in a few people. So if you are a faithful member of book club and you would like to join in on the conversation, just request to be on and we will have you come on and we'll chat. I'll go and we'll chat with you. So first, me and Abby are going to start off. I am going to read you a selection from this book. And this is one of my favorite parts. So my favorite chapter of the book is He's Creeping. My favorite chapter of the book is the chapter where the Herdmans hear the Christmas story for the first time. And it just puts the biggest smile on your face. So I thought I would read a little selection from that, because I didn't already. Did I already say Barbara Robinson has. She passed away in 2013. So we. It wasn't even like, she wouldn't come on. I mean, she couldn't come on. So, anyway, I just feel like I need to say that. So I'm going to represent Ms. Robinson and I'm going to read. No, I'm going to read one of my favorite parts of the book. All right, here's.

Here we go.

I couldn't believe it. Among other things, the Herdman's were famous for never sitting still and never paying attention to anyone. Teachers, parents, their own or anyone else's. The truant officer, the police. Yet here they were, eyes glued on my mother and taking in every word. What's that? They would yell whenever they didn't understand the language. And when Mother read about there being no room at the inn, Imogene's jaw dropped and she sat up in her seat. My God, she said. Not even for Jesus. I saw Alice purse her lips together.

So?

So I knew that was something else Mrs. Wendelkin would hear about swearing in the church. Well now, after all, Mother explained, nobody knew the baby was going to turn out to be Jesus. You said you knew. You said Mary knew, Ralph said. Why didn't she tell him? I would have told him, imogene put in. Boy, would I have told him. What in the matter? What was the matter with Joseph that he didn't tell them what her pregnant and everything, she grumbled. What was that they laid the baby in? Leroy said. The manger. Is that like a bed? Why wouldn't they have a bed in the barn? Why would they have a bed in the barn? That's just the point, Mother said. They didn't have a bed in the barn, so Mary and Joseph had to use whatever there was. What would you do if you had a new baby and no bed to put the baby in? We put Gladys in a bureau drawer, imogene volunteered. Well, there you are, mother said, blinking a little. You didn't have a bed for Gladys, so you had to use something else. Oh, we had a bed, Ralph said. Only Ollie was still in it and.

He wouldn't get out.

He didn't like Gladys. He elbowed Ollie. Remember how he didn't like Gladys? I thought that was pretty smart of Ollie not to like Gladys right off the bat. Anyway, Mother said Mary and Joseph used the manger. A manger is a large wooden feeding trough for animals. What were the wadded up clothes? Claude wanted to know. The what? Mother said. You read about it. She wrapped them in wadded up clothes. Swaddling clothes, Mother sighed. Long ago people used to wrap their babies very tightly in big pieces of material so they couldn't move around. It made the babies feel cozy and comfortable. I thought it just made the babies mad. Till then I didn't know what swaddling clothes were either, and they sounded terrible, so I wasn't too surprised when Imogene got all excited about them. You mean they tied him up and put him in a feed box? She said. Where was the child welfare. The child welfare was always checking on the Herdmans. Bet if the child welfare ever found Gladys all tied up in a bureau drawer, they would have done something about it. So anyway, I love that scene. I love the idea of some children hearing the Christmas story for the first time. Because we've all heard the Christmas story so many times that a lot of times it doesn't. It doesn't have as much punch and meaning to it. So. All right, guys, let's talk about it. Abby, you're, like, way out here. Can you scoot back in so everybody can see you? Scoot your chair.

Okay.

Sorry, guys. We've never done book club.

The book club audibles like somebody up here. I was, like, laughing while you're reading. Holly, you should do. Read books for. You should read books for Audible.

Yeah, well, I have practice reading this one, so, you know, and many others.

You could read holes flawlessly.

Holes is our other favorite read aloud. Okay, guys, let's talk about this book. I want to know. Abby, I'm going to ask you one question, and then don't read my questions. And then we'll call on some other kids and they can tell us. They can answer some of our questions. Okay? All right, so. So, Abby, I want to know what part made you laugh?

I really. What made me laugh was probably, like, really? That scene was really funny. But the most funny part was how, like, Imogene got so protective over G. Like, not even just that scene when they were actually doing the play. She got, like, for the dress rehearsal, how she, like, smacked Ralph for touching the baby. I thought it was, like, such an. Like that. I just feel like I would like. I feel like that's just, like, such an imaging thing to do. And it's like everybody's protective over their baby. Like, don't touch my baby. Get off my baby. Son of God.

And so it was funny for you to think about that for the first time. All right, let's see what some of you guys are saying. Lisa Pham says, my kids liked when the wise men brought the ham. That part was amazing. See what else people are saying. Joe, Erica Lopez says bringing down the shed. Ellie says the cat. Show and tell. Ellie, that part is so funny. Can't you imagine the teacher going through with the broom? Let's see what else. Okay, let's call some people. Ashley Hollingsworth. Give us a minute. And she's got Charlie and Oliver. Hi, guys.

Hi, guys. Hello. Hi, Charlie. Hi.

All right, guys, what part of the book made you laugh?

The part when the donuts were for the firefighters, and they ate them, and they ate them.

And do you remember how they shoved them down in their shirts? That was a great part. All right, Oliver, what's your favorite part?

I don't know, honestly. But it's just a really funny book. Probably same as Abby. Or maybe the part with the donuts.

Okay, Oliver, let me ask you a different question. Which Herdman do you. Did you think was the funniest?

Charlie. Charlie.

He called you a Herdman.

No. Maybe Gladys was funny. Obviously, I liked Ollie because that's my name.

True, true. Did you like how. How Gladys says at the end, she says, hey, unto you, a child is born?

Yeah.

Yeah.

And how she said. I like the other part that she said about, like, the mighty Marvel? She says, out of the Black Night. Right. Do you remember that part how she thought that the angel of the Lord was like a Marvel character? All right, guys, thank you for coming on. We're going to pull some other kids on. Okay?

Okay, bye.

All right, Abby, here's the next question, and I'm going to ask you. Well, hold on. Let me ask you the question first. Okay? Okay. This is a more serious question. And then we're going to call your cousins on to answer this question, too.

Okay.

Did this book make you think of the Christmas Story differently?

Maybe not when I was little, but, like, now that I'm older, it, like, does make me think of the Christmas story differently. It makes you think about how many people, like, how bizarre it would be to people. Not just people like the Herdmans, but people who have grown up, like, in a different, like, maybe like on religious. Hearing the Christmas Story for the first time. And it's, like, kind of cool that, like, it can be, like, introduced to people and it's, like, such a cool story. And I think it's so cool that we can share it with people. And obviously I didn't see this book this out when I was little, but, like, now that I'm older, I see.

Yeah, I love it. All right, let's see. Let's see if your cousins are on there. They are squeezing. Hi, girls.

Hi. Okay, what do you guys.

Wait, hold on.

First, I need to know how many times have you guys read this book?

Too many.

There's no such thing. I mean, we pretty much have read it every year And Silas is 19, so, I mean, maybe even almost 20 times. Yeah.

That's crazy.

I love it.

Okay.

I do not appreciate you calling me a Herdman. I said, just kidding. Love you right now.

Okay.

What?

Somebody wants to know what book we're discussing. We are discussing the best Christmas pageant ever. And it's a first for the holly furtive book club. We've got our kids joining us, and they read this book with us. It's a wonderful Christmas story. So, Ada, tell me what part made you laugh? That's a really hard question.

They're all super funny, I think. I like. And Gladys yelled, hey, I. Tell us. A child is born.

So funny. How about you, Millie? Do you have a favorite part?

I like the story of when they burned the place down with the set that they stole.

Stole Chemistry set. Yeah, chemistry set.

And one of them was just upset that he didn't get to see if all of them worked. Good.

I love that part, too. All right, so, guys, did this book make you think of the Christmas story differently?

Millie had a good answer.

We're talking about when you first asked the questions we were talking about. Ask the question about how, like, having. How the story. The Christmas story is for everyone. How having people who haven't heard it before can bring, like, new perspectives into the story. Yeah. And they make it just sound really funny. But also, they're like a lesson. Yes, I know.

So, okay, I want to ask your mom a question. Emily, there's a scene with a little girl who has a charm bracelet. Do you remember those charms?

Oh, yeah. Well, remember, we had the charm necklaces, too, with the little.

Yes.

Plastic.

Yeah, it was like a plastic necklace. So now, listen, I'm gonna describe this to you. It was like a plastic necklace with a little bright colors. Bright colors. And then there were all these little.

Charms that hooked onto it. We got a roller skates.

I think we had a toilet. Do you remember? Do we have a toilet?

Yes.

Okay, I want to know, for all the moms out there, did you have a charm bracelet? And what charm do you. I think we had a. Did we know in the book there was a piano. Maybe that's what I was thinking of. A piano.

I had a piano. I had a charm. My mom is metal, not plastic.

Okay. All I know is we only had a few charms, and we had some friends who had so many charms, it was. We were jealous. I wish I could have bribed someone for the charm.

That was summer. She has a charm bracelet, and it has, like, metal ones.

Yeah, yeah.

This was different. These were plastic. It was almost like wearing little tiny toys around your neck.

Yeah.

And everybody's commenting about the toilet charm.

We did.

We had one. We totally had toilet, like, lifted up. Okay, guys, I would say this, too.

Really quick about the story. One of my favorite things is just thinking about how, like, we have a story to tell. You know, like the story that we have because of what we believe, it really is for everyone. And I just love this story because it reminds me that there are people around that don't know the story or don't understand the story the way we do. And they could be our neighbors. They could be the person we meet at Starbucks, and they could be fun.

They are in your class at school.

Yeah. They could be in your class, have.

Never been to church, and have never heard the Christmas story. I mean, they may not be, like the Herdman's necessarily, but there are people that we interact with every day.

Well, Christmas Eve at Elevation is going to be amazing, so we can invite all our friends.

That's right. Okay.

We love you guys. Bye. Here's my question. Who do you think changed the most in the story?

Imogene.

You think Imogene changed the most? Why?

I really saw the most change in her when she started crying.

Mm.

And.

Like, how it just all came over her at once, and she, like, understood. Obviously, we don't see anything after Christmas Eve, so we can't really tell if she, like, used those changes in the way that she acted. But I, like, she. I know she started to believe in Jesus more than her siblings. I think her siblings still might have been, like, joking around, like, hey, unto you, a child is born. Like. Like, not seriously, like, taking it seriously, but imagine, like, showing that showing her emotions is, like, showing that she's changed.

I love it. That's a great answer. Okay, there's a movie. We're gonna.

I mean.

We have to watch it on YouTube because it's really old. Like, talking about after school special. 80s old, but it is there on YouTube. All right, let's call on. Let's see if I can get. Oh, here's Glenny.

All right, let's call it.

But I want to hear. Hi, guys. Merry Christmas. Yeah, we like your tree, and we need to see your Christmas pajamas, so back up a little bit. Hold on. Oh, so cute. So cute. We love it. All right. How'd you guys like the book?

It was good.

What was your favorite part?

Ellie, you go first.

You have to answer the cat.

The cat. I love the bobcat. Once a bobcat. That's so funny. All right, Glenni, what was your favorite part?

When Emma Dream blew up the bathroom when she. Yeah.

Well, she was smoking cigars in the bathroom, which is really funny to think of a little girl smoking a Cigar. And how the church ladies thought that the church was on fire. That was so funny. I love that part. Okay, the hard question. Who do you guys think changed the most in the book? Like, which characters changed from the beginning to the end?

I know what you're going to say.

Imogene. You think Imogene, too, Like, Abby, because she was really touched by the Christmas story, wasn't she?

Yeah.

All right, I want to hear your answer.

You want to hear my answer? Do you guys want to hear my answer?

Yeah.

Okay, here's my answer. Well, I think that the whole. All the church people were changed, but mostly the girl and her family. Like, the girl and her mother, right? You never, you know, you never know her name. I saw in the book, because she's the one telling the story. But there's a play that people do, the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Play which.

Have you seen the play? Yeah, we went. We all went as a family.

And the girl's name is Beth in the play. But I think that. And Emily saying, charlie's dad, he changed. Because, remember, at first he was like, I don't want to go. And in the end, he was like, that was really great. And I think about the moment who was just determined, she was like, we're going to love these little kids, and we're going to show people that this is the true meaning of Christmas, right? Is loving people who you don't expect to deserve Jesus's love, right? Or not deserve. I guess that's not the right word. But loving people who you don't expect to accept into your life and into your. And into your, like, routine, because their routine was all broken up, right? And they had a way that they did it every year, but then these kids came in and they just brought so much life to the whole situation. And I love how the little girl is telling this story the whole time. And in the end, they're, like, really moved by how the kids were changed from the story and how the kids. Remember how they brought the ham at the end.

That's what I wrote down.

Right? Because they were bringing something that was really important to them because fancy jars weren't important to them, but to bring their ham was really important to them. Where Abby is very distracted.

Beau came up and started biting my shoes.

Bo's in the room. Do you guys want to see Bo?

Yes.

He obviously wants to say hi to everyone. We're a little cramped in here. We consist of do holly. It's hard to get everybody on the screen. Okay, here's Bobo.

Hi.

Bobo says merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.

All right, guys. Thanks for reading the book and thanks for being on.

Okay.

Bye, Holly. Bye. Bye.

Hi, Genevieve.

Hi.

Hi, Shell. Hi, Genevieve. How did you like the book?

I liked it.

What was your favorite part? What part made you laugh?

My favorite part was when Imogene was in the bathroom having cigarettes and the church lady came in and thought there was a fire.

That part was so funny to me. How about. Do you. What about the part at the end when. When Imogene had pierced her ears? That was so funny? Well, she shows up with big hoop earrings in at the dress rehearsal and do you remember what the mom says? She says, well, what did the doctor say? And she's like, the doctor. And she said, well, who pierced your ears? And she said, gladys pierced your ears. And it made me think about the needle going through her ears and how gross that would be. Did you think about that?

Hattie pierced her cartilage by herself with an apple and an ice cube?

No, she didn't.

Yes, she did.

No way.

Yeah. Aunt Emily, back me up here. She did.

Well, Genevieve, which Herdman did you like the best?

I liked Imogene.

She was really funny. She was such a great character.

Don't say out loud.

All right, guys, anything else you want to say about the book?

That it was really good and we should read it every year.

You're going to read it every year from now on? Yeah. And you can even read it to your kids when you're a grown up.

No. No.

Thanks for coming on. We'll see you guys later. Abby, to close us off, why don't you read for us this little passage? Yeah, you said you wanted to read. This is the passage that's starts off. It kind of like shows you what the whole book is about. So for those of you who are just getting on, you're wondering what we're talking about. We're talking about the best Christmas pageant ever and one of our favorite Christmas books. And Abby is going to read to you a little selection.

All of a sudden, Imogene Herman dug me in the roots with her elbow. She is the sharpest elbows of anybody I ever knew. What's the pageant? She said. It's a play, I said. And for the first time that day, except when she saw the collection basket, Imogene looked interested. What's the play about? Imogene asked. It's about Jesus, I said. Everything here is, she muttered. So I figured Imogene didn't care much about the Christmas present. But I was wrong.

And that's how the story starts off. It's about some kids who have never been to church and they come in and they take over the Christmas pageant and it's terribly wonderful, terribly wonderful, terribly wonderful. Well, that was amazing. A first for the Holly Furtick Book Club. We had a special guest, Abby Furtick. You did amazing and I hope that you and your kids enjoyed that discussion. I hope you enjoyed our book, the Best Christmas Pageant Ever. If you love this conversation, make sure you like, subscribe. If you're not a member of the Holly Furtive Book Club, I don't know what you're waiting for. If you love books, all we do is read a book once a month and then we come on Instagram and we discuss it live with each other. And usually we have the author join us. If I can coerce the author into joining us. So if you would like to be a part of the book club, all you have to do is go to hollyford.com, give me your email address. I promise I'm not going to spam you. I'm just going to send you an email twice a month, once it reminds you what we're reading and wants to remind you that we're going to be on and that's it. So join us and then you'll know and you can join us for the live discussions. If you liked this book, the Best Christmas Pageant Ever, check out our former Christmas Book Club book. What was it called? A Red Bird Christmas. You'll love it. It's by Fanny Flagg. She's a great author. That's all I have for today. Make sure you, like, subscribe.

Subscribe.

I don't remember if I already said all of that, but we love you. We'll see you back here next time. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas.