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This Christmas picture dictionary reads like a children’s book but contains very funny and adult themes. A reader will find a humorous, at times sarcastic, and relatable alphabetic portrayal of the joys and challenges of navigating the holidays as an adult. Bentosino emphasizes the themes of debt (B for bills, C for cards and going into debt from stamps), food and drinks (D for dinner, E for eggnog, G for gingerbread, Y for yummy Christmas treats), feelings associated with the holidays (A for anxiety and J for Jolly), popular holiday traditions (F for frankincense, M for Mary, K for kisses, N for Nutcracker), and decorations (L for lights, P for poinsettia).
The author brings the highs and lows of Christmas into vivid focus in this fun and laugh-inducing jaunt. Her skill in spicing up the celebration in traditionally cumbersome traditions, such as drinking spiked eggnog at a ham Christmas Eve dinner, will make the reader smile. Adults will look back on holidays with a chuckle as they see familiar holiday traditions with a dark twist, such as Santa getting stuck in the chimney and dying, the gift of Frankincense getting replaced with something more fun from Toys “R” Us, and Mommy kissing Santa as “having one of her affairs.” As indicated by the title, readers will not find this appropriate for young children, as lingerie and adult themes are consistent throughout the book with entries such as U for underwear (lingerie) and X for X-rated. However, clearly the author had a jolly time writing this book, and she generously shares her humor with the reader.