Christmastime brings back memories as surely as office parties bring recriminations. The childhood wishes fulfilled (or dashed), the magic of anticipation, fighting over the dinner table. . .these are the ghosts of every Christmas past and present. Remembering Christmas brings together three holiday stories in a sparkling anthology sprinkled with nostalgia.

It's Christmas Eve in Tom Mendicino's Away in a Manger, and James is snowbound en route from New York City to his West Virginia hometown. While the sight of a familiar Motor Lodge sparks longing for a roadside America of yesteryear, his visions of peppermint stick ice cream are thwarted by a vending machine. But amid the revelry at the local diner, James finds something far more satisfying that will change his Christmases forever. . .

1991, Michigan State University. Best friends Jack and Kirk are preparing for an end-of-semester party in Frank Anthony Polito's A Christmas to Remember. But there's something unspoken in the air-and it's not just the aroma of cinnamon-speckled eggnog.

In Missed Connections by Michael Salvatore, two childhood friends reconnect in an airport lounge on Christmas Eve. And over cocktail-fueled reminiscences, they reconsider the paths they're on-and the roads never taken. . .

Get what you really want this Christmas, with three captivating stories stuffed with warmth, wit, surprises-and the promise of sweet Christmases yet to come. . .