Holidays on Ice is a collection of stories and musings by humorist David Sedaris, who ponders some of the absurdities of modern-day Christmas, Halloween, and Easter celebrations. I liked it overall for the laugh out loud moments, but sometimes it felt like the stories were missing a main point or punchline. Or maybe I am too obtuse to understand the messages.
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I read Holidays on Ice as part of the 2025 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. February’s challenge was to read a book with “ice”, “cold”, or “snow” in the title because February is one of the coldest months of the year. Since I didn’t want to read a story about 19th century polar exploration – a topic that I think belongs in the horror genre – I landed on this book, instead.
Holidays on Ice begins with a story about being a Christmas elf at Macy’s, a job the author said he got only because he’s short. This was a good story to lead with because it’s funny and insightful and gets the reader used to Sedaris’s subtle and often sarcastic humor.
Being a Christmas elf is more complicated than it might seem. They might be asked to take photos, ring up purchases, usher customers to and from Santa, and convince shoppers to visit Santa. Being a part of the complete process enables the author to provide commentary on everything from parents who make the Santa visit a multimedia event to people who demand the “right color” Santa. The author had plenty of material to work with, and the result was an engaging short story.
Although it ended on a very dark note, I also appreciated the long, family Christmas letter written by an unhinged wife and mother. Christmas letters used to be like Facebook posts – trying to spin everything in a positive light, but often oversharing. The letter begins rather normally but quickly goes downhill. The author capitalizes on the opportunity to poke fun at the annual Christmas letter by spinning a completely absurd story.
My favorite part of Holidays on Ice was a snippet from one of Sedaris’s shows. He has terrific comedic timing and had the audience – and me – roaring with laughter as he compares American and Dutch Christmas traditions.
As I said in the first paragraph, the main drawback is that I couldn’t identify the main point of some of the stories, but maybe some short stories don’t need main points? It’s not what I’m used to. Other negative aspects include the use of the word “retarded” and a horrible impersonation of a woman speaking English with a thick Vietnamese accent. Holidays on Ice was published in 1997, and some of the stories are even older, so these examples aren’t unusual for that time period. Nonetheless, they were jarring.
The good thing about a collection of short stories and essays is that you can skip over the stories that you don’t like. With that in mind, I recommend Holidays on Ice to readers who need a humorous break from their usual fare. There’s enough good content to tickle your funny bone.
How about you? Did you accept February’s challenge? Please share!
**Reminder – March’s challenge is to read a book about or set in the former USSR.
Book Thoughts from Bed 
This was a fun and easy read (listen)! I enjoyed most of the sections but particularly the Christmas letter one as well. It is funny getting Christmas letters (although they are fewer and fewer each year) and what people choose to share! And sometimes the length!? This one had me laughing out loud as well as a couple of other stories but as you said, a few of them really didn’t resonate with me either. Overall, enjoyed the laughs it brought.
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