With the holidays fast approaching and many stores already sporting premature red-and-green decorations, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with holiday cheer. If you’re suffering from Early Onset Holiday Cynicism, it may surprise you to know that the cure comes in the form of yet another holiday themed piece of media. Holidays On Ice, a collection of essays and stories by humorist David Sedaris, is the perfect mix of mockery and merriment for kicking off the winter season.

The anthology was first published twenty years ago this December, but it has not lost it’s relevancy. The various stories and essays are somehow both dark and light-hearted, and allow you to both celebrate the season and mock it for all its ridiculousness. Stand out pieces include Seasons Greetings to Our Friends and Family!!!, a fictional Christmas letter written by a furiously cheerful soccer mom with an insidious secret, and Santaland Diaries, the true account of Sedaris’s time working as an elf at Macy’s. Stories like these make it obvious why Sedaris is regarded as one of America’s favorite humorists.

Holidays On Ice is a light read that reminds you how important it is not to take the holidays so seriously. It’s the perfect book to dive into when your family gatherings get to be a little too overwhelming. So if you’re looking for an escape from your winter vacation, look no further.

4.5/5 stars