For Tanyard Springs resident Nate Whiting, reading to his boys on Christmas Eve has been a cherished tradition since they were toddlers. In fact, when his boys were just preschool age, he came up with his own story to recite to them each December 24. That story – called “The Tale Of The Christmas Wish Crackler” – is now a published book, and Whiting is making appearances at events all over Pasadena this month for readings and sales.
“It’s basically an origin story about why we use Christmas stockings,” explained Whiting. “I came up with this little guy named The Wish Crackler. He is one of Santa’s helpers, but he is specifically a helper on Christmas Eve. So while Santa is downstairs doing all the presents for the kids, the Wish Crackler is a helper who goes into the kids’ rooms and appears at the foot of their beds and asks what their Christmas wishes are. And those wishes are all the things that appear in their stockings the next morning. Then the kids go back to sleep, and the next morning when they wake up, they realize they’re missing a stocking off of one foot. So they go downstairs, they see that all their Christmas wishes are in their stocking, and that the wish crackler came and granted all their wishes,” he said.
Whiting said that he wrote the story in 2008 in the prose of old-school style, and that he thinks of his book as a supplement to “The Night Before Christmas”. “I actually copyrighted it in 2008, but I never thought about actually publishing it until my wife, Jo, who is a graphic designer, heard me reading it one Christmas Eve to my boys, and she said to me ‘you’re going to make this a book and I’m going to help you do it’,” he explained. “So for my birthday, she gifted me money to hire an illustrator. This book would have never happened without her.”
That’s when the ball really started rolling on development of the book. “We worked with an illustrator from Romania. It ended up taking us over a year because of Covid,” Whiting said. But finally, in 2021, Whiting and his wife ordered 100 books in an effort to gage interest from friends and family. “Everyone absolutely loved it,” Whiting said happily. “They loved the illustrations, loved the story. So last year, in 2022, we ordered 500 copies, and grass-rooted it doing vendor events and Breakfasts With Santa events. We had a great response, sold out of all 500 copies, and we’re doing it again this year.”
Whiting believes people are excited about the book because it’s a new Christmas story. “There hasn’t been a revamp or a new Christmas story that people have been able to latch on to. This gives everyone a different flavor on how to create a new Christmas tradition,” he noted.
With his first book officially published, Whiting is looking ahead to his next few pieces of published work. “I have about 30-40 poems that I plan on publishing,” he explained. “Right now I am working with an illustrator out of South Africa for three new books next year, two of them being stand-alone books and one of them being a compilation of 12-15 children’s poems. We hope to have those next three books by Christmas of next year.”
For now, Whiting is making his way around Pasadena promoting “The Tale Of The Christmas Wish Crackler”, and also performing at local restaurants and venues in his acoustic duo, Nate & Jim, and his band, Left Of The Dial. On Thanksgiving Eve (Wednesday, November 22), Whiting will perform at The Rumor Reel in Pasadena.
“It’s been a lot of fun seeing the reactions and listening to the feedback from the book. At the end of the day, I’m just excited to be out here doing this. I never thought in my wildest dreams I’d be holding my book and watching people enjoy it,” he said.
“The Tale Of The Christmas Wish Crackler” can be purchased at www.wishcrackler.com. Whiting will also be at the following Pasadena events, where he will perform a reading and sell book copies.
- Breakfast With Santa at Lake Shore Volunteer Fire Company
Saturday, December 2 from 9am-12pm.
- Breakfast With Santa at The Rumor Reel
Sunday, December 3 at 10am
- Cocoa, Crafts & Carols at Himmel’s Lawn & Garden Center
Sunday, December 3 from 1-4pm.
- Pasadena Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony
On Tuesday, December 5, Whiting will read from his book in front of the Pasadena Christmas Tree at Lake Shore Plaza. The event begins at 5:30pm.
- Santa Reading & Wishes at Antiques To Go
On December 10, from 12:00-2:30pm, bring the kids to Antiques on the Go, meet Santa, and listen while he reads “The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler”. Afterward, the littles can let Santa know their wishes for Christmas! Copies of “The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler” will be available for sale, and the author, Nate Whiting, will be on-site for book signings.
