The Heart (and Good Humor) of the Small-Town Christmas

Jul 14
4 min read

Updated: 6 days ago

Books for Gifts: The Perfect Christmas is filled with humor, but it also captures something people immediately recognize about small towns. Was that where the story began?

Steve Scearcy: Absolutely. I think every small town has its own personality. The people know one another. They worship together. They celebrate together. And when something unexpected happens, everyone somehow becomes part of the story.

I wanted to write about that kind of town...so we visit Perfect, Oklahoma.

Books for Gifts: Every character in Perfect feels like someone readers already know. They're the people in our families, the folks in our churches, the neighbors who make small towns so memorable. Like Jess, who is featured prominently on the cover of your book.

Steve Scearcy: Yes! Every town has a Jess. He's spent the last eight years playing the back half of the donkey in the church Christmas program. As he says, "It wasn't a speaking role." He's one of those familiar faces who's always been there, quietly doing his part.

Then something unexpected happens. Mary gets food poisoning. Not just a Mary—the Mary. Books for Gifts: Suddenly, the carefully rehearsed Christmas pageant isn't so carefully rehearsed anymore. One unexpected moment seems to ripple through the entire town. Is that really what the story is about?

Steve Scearcy: In a small town like Perfect, Oklahoma, one unexpected event has a funny way of touching everyone. Before long, ordinary people find themselves in extraordinary situations, traditions are turned upside down, and the community discovers that sometimes the Christmases we remember most are the ones nobody planned. That's really what the story is about. The magic isn't in perfection. It's in watching an entire small town come to life when everything starts going wonderfully wrong.

Books for Gifts: The town itself almost feels like another character.

Steve Scearcy: I think it is. Perfect, Oklahoma is the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else's business, but they're also the first people to show up when someone needs help. It's the sort of town where traditions matter because they connect generations. Those places really exist, and they have a warmth that's hard to describe until you've experienced it. It's hopeful to know that these places and people exist.

Books for Gifts: Why do you think readers enjoy stories set in places like Perfect?

Steve Scearcy: Because they remind us of home—or maybe the home we wish we'd had. Readers recognize these people. They've sat next to them in church. They've seen them at the grocery store. They've watched them organize the Christmas pageant every December. The names may be different, but the people feel familiar.

Books for Gifts: The title is The Perfect Christmas, but the story suggests perfection isn't really the point.

Steve Scearcy: Exactly. The Christmases that go according to plan have a funny way of blending together. But the Christmases that take an unexpected detour become family legends. Every year someone says, "Remember the Christmas when..." and before they finish the sentence, everyone around the table is laughing.

Those are the stories that stay with us.

And those are the stories I wanted to tell. Books for Gifts: Readers have compared your storytelling to beloved voices like Fannie Flagg and Garrison Keillor. Your humor is clean, your characters are genuine, and there's never a hint of sarcasm. Was that intentional?

Steve Scearcy: Very much so. I've always believed you don't have to be cynical to be funny. Real life gives us plenty to laugh about if we're paying attention. The humor in The Perfect Christmas comes from recognizable people finding themselves in wonderfully unexpected situations. I wanted readers to laugh with the characters, not at them. My hope was to write a story that families could enjoy together—a book a grandparent would happily give a grandchild, a pastor could leave on a coffee table, or a local chamber or church could share because it celebrates the very best of community. It's warmhearted, hopeful, and full of the kinds of people who remind us why small towns continue to capture our imaginations. If readers come away smiling, remembering people from their own hometown, and thinking, "I know someone just like that," then I've done my job.

Books for Gifts: Before readers jump into the book, we invite them to watch the trailer below. It gives just a glimpse of the wonderful people—and the unexpected Christmas—that await in Perfect, Oklahoma.

https://vimeo.com/1211065089/18148c76d4?fl=pl&fe=vl

The Perfect Christmas belongs to a beloved tradition of stories that celebrate small-town life. Steve Scearcy's clean humor, memorable characters, and heartfelt storytelling have drawn comparisons to writers like Fannie Flagg, Garrison Keillor, Jan Karon, and Patrick Taylor—authors who remind us that the richest stories are often found in the simplest places.