About The Book
The Tale of The Christmas Wish Crackler is the timeless story of Ned & Teddy Spakler. On Christmas Eve, Ned weaves a tale for Ted about the "Sock-ivorous" Crackler and warns him to keep his feet tucked tight in his blankets! That night, Teddy gets a visit from the Crackler himself, and he learns the amazing truth about how wonderful a visit from the Wish Crackler can be!
Join Teddy, Ned, and The Wish Crackler every year on Christmas Eve and make this magical story a part of your family tradition.
How The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler Came to Be
From a midnight poem to a family tradition to a Christmas book.
About fifteen years ago, when his youngest son, Leif, was still a baby, poet and songwriter Nate Whiting woke up in the middle of the night with a story rushing through his head. He scribbled as fast as he could, losing a few lines along the way, and that late-night burst became The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler—inspired by his boys, Leif and Clay, with the Crackler himself reflecting the warmth of Nate’s own father.
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For years, the story lived as a private family tradition. Every Christmas Eve, Nate turned off all the screens, gathered the boys close, and read the Wish Crackler by the quiet glow of the holiday. He sometimes shared it with friends and on Facebook, and everyone said the same thing: “You should publish this.” Nate’s answer was always, “Maybe someday.”
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That “someday” finally arrived in December 2020, on Nate’s 50th birthday. His wife Jo gave him a card promising to fund an illustrator when he was ready to bring the Crackler into the world as a real book. That gift set everything in motion. Nate partnered with illustrator Viorica Vandor, whose artwork brought the story’s cozy, magical world to life. The first edition, with a red cover, was published in December 2021. They ordered just 100 copies and gave most of them to friends and family.
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One of those early readers shared a beautiful idea: they had the Christmas Eve reader sign the book and write a wish for the family. Nate and Jo loved it so much they added a special section in the book where the reader can write their name, date, and a wish for the child, family, or classroom—building a little history of Christmas wishes year after year. In 2022, Nate and Jo started selling the Crackler at local vendor shows, beginning with Himmel’s Landscape and Garden Center. From there, their world quietly expanded into publishing more books and sharing their stories with families near and far. Today, The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler is more than a Christmas story—it’s a reminder that when you put effort behind your dreams, they can become reality, and that the best traditions are the ones that turn into memories.
Watch and listen to Nate read The Tale of the Christmas Wish Crackler
